2024 Chicago Sky Player Report Card: Michaela Onyenwere
Under appreciated for much of the season's first half, the fourth year player finally got her chance to shine as a regular starter after the Olympics.
If you follow a basketball team’s fanbase on social media for long enough, you’ll find that every season, almost without fail, there’s one player that the majority of the team’s support wants to see get more minutes. Some recent examples that quickly come to mind are Rui Hachimura (who Darwin Ham used inconsistently before eventually making a starter towards the end of last season) and Laeticia Amihere (who still hasn't really gotten a stab at a consistent WNBA role after two seasons in Atlanta). A common thread you’ll find with players of this type is that they usually bring dynamic scoring ability, high defensive energy or some combination of both. For the 2024 Sky, that player was Michaela Onyenwere and, for reasons I’ll explain below, she brought all of that and more when on the court. Yet, as with Hachimura and Amihere, it took time for her coach to realize what she had to offer. And like with Hachimura (Amihere, again, still hasn't really got her chance), the evidence suggests the fanbase—not the coach—was right about the player all along. Let’s dive into what made Onyenwere such an asset when she eventually broke through following the All Star break.
1. Multi-Level Scoring
She’s not Breanna Stewart or A'ja Wilson, but Onyenwere is higher on the list of the WNBA’s most gifted multi-level scorers than you’d probably think. In fact, she was considerably more efficient from 3 than both Stewart (who shot a career worst 29.5%) and Wilson (31.7%)—sitting near 40% from long-range for much of the season before a 1-9 mark in her final two games saw that slide to 36.8%. To say that Onyenwere could score at all three levels was a justifiable take before the season, but she proved it with her performances in 2024—especially after she was elevated to the starting line-up after the Olympic break. The most valuable aspect of her abilities is the way she can create shots for herself—specifically in the mid-range and in the paint. Onyenwere is good at putting the ball on the floor to work past her defender, attack hard closeouts or exploit mismatches that she frequently finds thanks to her dynamic blend of size and strength.
The big problem for the Sky was that the coaching staff clearly didn’t fully grasp how best to use her skillset—even after she provided them with lots of great film to study after averaging 18 PPG on nearly 60% 2PT last offseason in Turkey. The W game, of course, is more difficult than the Turkish League, and Onyenwere’s unique physical profile is less dominant in a league comprised solely of the best players in the world, but there was still no reason she should be getting DNPs and averaging just 10 minutes per game in the first half of the season. Once she did get into the starting five, it was clear that Onyenwere (1) could help alleviate some of the Sky’s spacing issues with her ability to shoot and (2) was capable of handing considerable offensive burden when given the chance to establish a degree of rhythm—though a slow finish to the season hurt some of her efficiency numbers.
In fact, her performances as a starter raise reasonable questions about what the Sky might have achieved in the first half by giving her more time to play. Chicago was highly dependent on paint scoring throughout the season, but the extra spacing Marina Mabrey did provide would make Onyenwere a strong compliment to her on court. In the 111 minutes they did play together across 14 games in the first-half, Mabrey and Onyenwere was the Sky’s most efficient 2-player pairing both from the floor (47.4% FG) and from three (45.1% 3 PT) with the team’s offensive rating (100.4) jumping more than a point compared to its season-long mark of 99.1. Thus, the question moving forward becomes whether the front office is able to put “Mabrey-like” perimeter pieces around Onyenwere if she is back with the team next season. If they can, 2024’s sample suggests Onyenwere can be a high-end complementary option at the offensive end for a WNBA team.
2. Defensive Energy
While her offensive game wasn’t terribly consistent during the early part of the season when she had an inconsistent role, one thing Onyenwere always brought was exceptional energy at the defensive end. From the games in May and June where she was playing only 4 or 5 minutes to her 18-point outing in Chicago’s home finale where she played the full game, Onyenwere was consistently one of the Sky’s most energetic and dependable defenders—even while shouldering a bigger offensive load late in the season and taking on some high profile match-ups defensively. Continuing to bring that energy even when being boxed in by a subpar role speaks to the player’s attitude and should instantly make Onyenwere a favorite for whoever the Sky’s next coach is. The challenge for that coach, then, will be finding the role that best takes advantage of the unique physical tools that Onyenwere has.
Because while she’s neither a rim-protecting force nor a lockdown guard, Onyenwere has the physical traits needed to do some of all of that and take on the most dynamic and difficult to guard “wing” players in the game like Napheesa Collier (who’s really more of a post) or Rhyne Howard (who’s really a big scoring guard). Given the Sky already have a couple of players they trust on the interior in Reese and Cardoso, there will be few if any times they ask Onyenwere to tussle with a bona fide post player like Wilson (who isn’t a good match-up for her 6’0” frame), but she’s a convincing enough help-defender to aid her bigs with that type of challenge while still possessing the agility needed to recover to the perimeter if the ball moves out of the post. We saw plenty of that and more in 2024, and the Sky could have a real luxury moving forward as Onyenwere’s physical presence and incredible energy at the defensive end means she could be a team’s defensive focal point but doesn’t have to be since anchors like Reese and Cardoso are also available.
2025 Goal: A Guaranteed Role
The Sky, of course, have a decision to make on Onyenwere this offseason—as she enters restricted free agency following the completion of her rookie contract. On the evidence provided in the sixteen starts she made to end the season, the Sky should match any and all offers that come in for the former Mercury and Liberty player. That being said, there should be no shortage of front offices—particularly the expansion team in Golden State—that think about how a player of this blend of skills might fit into their team. Onyenwere, in truth, is the perfect player to be a third or fourth option on a team that has serious aspirations to win a WNBA championship. She’s talented enough to take on more responsibility than that, but using her talents in a hyper-focused role at both ends while elite players take on the heavier burdens would make her a seriously dangerous threat.
The Sky are looking to build that type of team, and Onyenwere could eventually slide into that third or fourth option role alongside some combination of Reese, Cardoso, Carter, and the Sky’s 2025 first-round pick, but it is difficult to see just how those puzzle pieces will fit together yet. Based on several early indicators, the two rookie bigs and Carter will form the Sky’s core in ‘25, but the rest of the starting five’s make-up is uncertain. To truly overhaul the big issues the team did suffer from this season, a change at one (or both) of the other starting spots may be seen as priority for GM Jeff Pagliocca this winter, and that would mean that one of Onyenwere or Lindsay Allen would slide to the bench (at minimum).
Given her performances this season, I see no reason why Onyenwere would feel she needs to sign on for a bench role. No one knows what promises the Sky can or will make to her about her role (especially with a new coach arriving), but I’d be very surprised if she doesn’t sign an offer sheet with another team—forcing the Sky to decide whether they want to match (at what could be a big number) or look elsewhere for a player who can provide this type of skillset. By giving her a decently-sized contract, Chicago would implicitly commit themselves to 4 of 5 starters from a team that struggled mightily in the season’s second-half coming back as their core next season. When phrased that way, it seems that the only decision is to let Onyenwere walk if a big offer arrives. However, the counter is that players with the shot creation abilities Oneynwere brings plus her size, strength and work rate at the defensive end are few and far between. In the end, that’s what makes this the classic team-building conundrum. Do you pay players like Onyenwere that are useful now but perfectly fit your future title ambitions? Or is your focus strictly on finding the players that most improve next season’s team? Regardless of where the Sky’s brain trust lands on that, the decision for Onyenwere should be much more clear—any team that will offer a defined role with serious minutes should get her priority in free agency.