A knee ends it at 19 games
Chicago made the call on Tuesday. Skylar Diggins will play no further part this season. The Sky confirmed their point guard is being shut down after a knee issue that had already kept her out since the start of July.
The franchise says the reasoning is straightforward: protect the player. After talks with Diggins, her camp and the club’s medical staff, Chicago is putting her long-term health first. In sporting terms, sitting at 15-25 with the playoffs already gone, there is no argument for taking the slightest risk with a 36-year-old.
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Seven All-Star nods, and a first Chicago year that never got going
Diggins arrived with plenty of pedigree. Seven All-Star selections, a career built across Tulsa, then Dallas, Phoenix, Seattle and now Chicago. Her first year with the Sky ends after 19 games, all of them starts, at 14.2 points and 4.9 assists a night.
Those numbers sit below her usual level. Across 354 career games, 341 of them starts, Diggins has averaged 16.3 points and 5.3 assists. The gap tells the story of a season spent chasing the pace rather than setting it.
The Sky are losing more than a playmaker. In a year when the franchise was trying to rebuild around her, the veteran’s long absence has cost them far beyond the box score.
Chicago keeps saying “long term” without saying “next season”
Diggins will turn 37 before the next tip-off, coming off an injury-hit campaign that lasted barely half the year. Chicago’s statement keeps stressing the long view, which is usually code for a return that nobody wants to promise out loud just yet.
For the Sky, the closing weeks of the regular season are now a testing ground. With nothing left on the line, the staff can rotate the roster and get a proper look at the younger players. That is about as good as it gets when the only thing left to play for is draft position.
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