The Chicago Sky delivered unfortunate news on Tuesday, revealing that forward Rickea Jackson has torn the ACL in her left knee, sidelining her for the rest of the season. This setback is particularly harsh for Jackson, who had been showcasing impressive performances, propelling the Sky to an early 3-1 record.
“We’re heartbroken by Rickea’s injury, but we have full confidence in her recovery,” stated Sky’s general manager, Jeff Pagliocca, in a press release. “Rickea was performing at an elite level, both offensively and defensively, and was on track for an outstanding season. We are committed to her recovery, and our top-tier medical team will provide the necessary support to one of the league’s toughest competitors.”
How did the injury happen?
The injury occurred during the second quarter of the Sky’s victory against the Minnesota Lynx. Jackson received a hand-off from Natasha Cloud and aggressively drove towards the basket against Nia Coffey. In an attempt to create space, her shoulder collided with Coffey, leading to her left knee giving way.
Jackson fell to the court and was attended to for an extended period by the Sky’s medical team before being assisted off the floor and taken to the locker room. Subsequent MRI scans confirmed the extent of her injury.
In the immediate aftermath, Natasha Cloud was penalized with a technical foul for protesting to officials. Post-game, she criticized the referees, claiming they “failed to protect Rickea.”
“The officials’ primary role, beyond enforcing rules, is ensuring player safety,” Cloud emphasized. “I believe this officiating crew did not fulfill that duty today… Honestly, it’s infuriating.”
“You can be mad at me if you want to, but I’ll be damned if we keep getting players hurt in this league on any team because we refuse to control the game.”
What does the injury mean for Jackson?
Jackson, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, spent her first two seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks. While she showed plenty of impressive flashes as a scorer, particularly toward the end of last season, she didn’t have the smoothest tenure with the organization.
The Sparks eventually decided to go all-in this offseason to try and end their playoff drought, and traded Jackson to the Sky for veteran guard Ariel Atkins. The move gave Jackson a fresh start and the chance to be a primary offensive option on a nightly basis.
“I’m very excited that we are where we are. I feel like both sides got what they wanted,” Jackson said after the trade. “It’s just a great situation for both sides. I’m just happy to be here. I’m blessed to be here.”
Through her first three games with the Sky, Jackson was making the most of her opportunity. She scored 29 points in a loss to the Phoenix Mercury — the second-highest scoring game of her career — and was averaging 22 points, six rebounds, 2.7 assists and two blocks. She was off to another strong start against the Lynx before going down.
Now, Jackson will miss the remainder of this season, and is unlikely to play in Unrivaled again next winter. Her status for the start of the 2027 WNBA season will be determined at a later date, depending on how her recovery progresses.
This is a cruel turn of events for Jackson, who appeared to be in the early stages of a breakout season, and is also dealing with significant personal matters off the court. While a torn ACL is no longer a death knell for a player’s career, it remains a career-altering injury.
The Sky had previously picked up the fourth-year option on Jackson’s rookie-scale contract, which means her $486,638 salary for 2027 is guaranteed. But when she enters free agency in 2028, she’ll do so on the back of a major knee injury that is likely to affect her 2027 campaign.
What does the injury mean for the Sky?
The Sky went a combined 23-61 in Pagliocca’s first two seasons in charge, during which he made a number of controversial moves. Notably, one of them was trading the No. 3 pick (Sonia Citron) in last year’s draft and a 2027 first-round pick swap to the Washington Mystics for Atkins, who was later swapped for Jackson.
Ahead of this season, Pagliocca again wheeled and dealed to try and get the Sky back to the playoffs, and the early returns have been very positive. The Sky have the best defense in the league, are off to their best start since 2023 and are tied for second place with the New York Liberty — the preseason favorite to win the title. Other teams are already taking note.
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“I was struck by their cohesion, their identity defensively. Very very strong,” Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said after the Sky’s win on Sunday.
But as great as the Sky have been defensively, their offense has been shaky to start the season. They are 11th in offensive rating (103.4), 12th in true shooting percentage (52.6%) and 10th in assist rate (63.2%). Now, they’ll be without Jackson, who was their leading scorer and best individual shot creator.
In addition, the Sky remain without key offseason additions Azurá Stevens and DiJonai Carrington, as well as veteran point guard Courtney Vandersloot. Jackson’s injury will only further test their depth while those three remain sidelined.
The Sky are still going to be extremely tough and competitive, and they’ll win games with their defense alone — though Jackson’s size and athleticism will be a loss on that end, too. But eventually you have to score, and there were already questions emerging about the offense. Those concerns will only be magnified without Jackson.
Of course, looming over everything for the Sky is that they don’t control their first-round pick in 2027 or 2028. The Mystics have swap rights for the 2027 pick and own the 2028 pick outright via the Jacy Sheldon trade this offseason. There’s still a long way to go until the draft picture starts to take shape, but Jackson’s injury is a prime example of why it’s so risky to punt on future picks.
