Chicago Sky Season in Review: Sika Koné
Continuing through December 18th, I’ll have a weekly post reviewing one member of the Sky’s 2023 season each Monday. Each post focuses on…
Continuing through December 18th, I’ll have a weekly post reviewing one member of the Sky’s 2023 season each Monday. Each post focuses on three positives from the player’s season and one thing I’d like to see more of from them next year. Think of it like a (highly positive) end of season report card. You can view past reviews here.
No Sky player’s rise in 2023 could have been as out of the blue as Sika Koné’s. After suffering a facial injury in the lead up to the season, her facemask probably got more attention than her play in the season’s early weeks. The flashes she did show, however, suggested the Sky might have a very special talent on their hands. When she returned from international duty in August, the flashes became more consistent, and everyone in Chicago started to understand just how good of a player Koné already is. Let’s unpack the positives of a season that has left Sky fans heavily anticipating year two.
1.Bravery
When she eventually reestablished herself as part of the rotation after her return from AfroBasket, Emre threw some of the WNBA’s toughest match-ups (Stewie and A’ja) at Sika over the final eight games, and the results were quite promising. Physically, there are few players that can push her around because of her natural strength (odds are she’ll get stronger) and she’s quick enough to recover and impact shots even when beaten. I won’t call her a 2024 DPOY candidate off this small sample size, but I can try to project forward based on what we’ve already seen from Koné at the defensive end.
Moreso than the physical attributes and technique, her willingness to take big challenges impresses me most. Defending the best players in the league, even if its your job, takes a little bit of courage — especially for a young player. No-one is ever going to say they ‘can’t’ do it because of the message that sends to their coach, but some players’ body language when matched up with a top player will tell you everything you need to know. The result of this lack of confidence is usually a far more cautious 1–1 defender. You take a great player from almost any sport, and they’ll have a capacity to sniff out that caution and attack it. The result can be disastrous — not only for that one game but for the player’s confidence as a whole. In the case of Sika, we saw her bring the same aggression and enthusiasm defending every opponent — even the MVP candidates. As her massive potential starts to come together into a complete player, her fearless mentality will likely make her one of the best (and most frustrating to beat) defenders in the W.
2. Offensive and Defensive Positioning
Before I get to the praise, let’s be clear and say that — at times — there was definitely defensive lapses. For a twenty-one-year-old rookie, that doesn’t really concern me as much as it seemed to bother others. Her lapses all seemed to come from getting lost in coverage — especially in a zone or when switching on the pick-and-roll. To me, that seems relatively easy to fix as she spends more time on the practice floor with great communicators like Elizabeth and Kah. Regardless, it’s hard to knock Sika’s one-v-one defending once she only has to worry about the player in front of her. Like most great defenders, she’s aggressive but also aware of her limits. She tightens up just enough (and with her wingspan she can be further than most) to make the ballhandler feel the heat while also keeping enough of a cushion to avoid being easily beaten on the dribble. When you pair how well she positions her body with her blend of strength and speed, there’s no obvious roadmap to scoring easily against her one-on-one.
On the opposite end of the floor, Sika has a natural post game which we’re getting the chance to see blossom overseas. Having now seen her in Europe, I see the reasons why she spent so much time in the W posting up and calling for the ball. For the Sky, a lot of those post-ups (especially earlier in the season) seemed to end unsuccessfully, but she definitely has the depth of skill around the basket to finish those chances when her Spanish team (Avenida) feeds her down low. You might attribute the difference in success to the difference in quality of opponent, but I think there’s more nuance to it than that. Both with the Sky and Avenida, I love Sika’s post positioning. She’s strong — of course — but she also has a broad frame which makes establishing position that extra bit easier. The problem with the Sky was what happened after she received the ball and turned towards the basket. Too often, it was catch, turn, and shoot all in quick succession. The predictability of this move (likely brought on by feeling a bit rushed) made it far too easy for opponents to throw their arms straight up and have a fair chance of impacting the shot. Overseas, I’m seeing a lot more in Sika’s bag. She’s shown the ability to drop step, dribble underneath the basket and finish with a reverse lay-up or even put the ball on the floor and back the opponent under the basket. When you toss in her ability to finish in the pick-and-roll after setting screens, we’re seeing a lot more depth to her offensive game in Spain. I get the feeling that most of that offensive skill will translate as she gains experience and the WNBA game slows down.
3. Rebounding
There’s more skill to rebounding than is sometimes suggested, but a large part of it is definitely down to effort. If there’s one thing Sika has never had a problem with, it’s giving great effort. So, it’s no surprise she’s a great rebounder of the ball. Her stats this season (3.0 rebs in 9.3 minutes per game) don’t necessarily fully highlight how great she was on the glass, but some more detailed metrics really tell the story. Without Sika on the floor, the Sky had a 74.1% defensive rebound percentage — only 11th best of the 12 WNBA teams. With Sika on the floor, that percentage jumped to 78.7%, a mark which would have led the league. On the offensive glass the Sky weren’t as poor without Sika (23.3%, 6th best), but they still jumped to first in this category (34%) when she was on the floor. The impact Koné provides pushes the Sky from a 47.9% total rebounding percentage up to 56.1%. In the simplest terms, this means that Sika is the difference between the Sky winning and losing the rebounding battle. At almost any level of basketball, you’ll find that winning this battle is a great foundation for winning games.
Now, before you cry “small sample size,” consider the traits that made these metrics possible. In points 1 and 2, I’ve talked all about how — physically — Sika is basically a complete package. Add in her high energy levels and the effort she brings, and you’re putting together just about everything you’d need to craft a great rebounder. The last piece is judging the angles of the ball (something that makes Courtney so great) which Sika already seems to have a decent knack for and should continute to improve with time. Because she is strong enough to hold box out position and quick enough to crash from the perimeter and grab long rebounds, Sika is in the mix for just about every board at both ends of the floor. More minutes for the Malian next season should translate to the Sky improving their defensive rebounding — the facet of their defense which was weakest in 2023.
What I’m Looking for From Sika Next Season:
To put it bluntly, I think Sika has MVP potential. Not in 2024 but not as far away as you might think either. To help Sika take the step from where she is now to that level, a couple things need to happen.
The first is having a coach that is 100% bought in to developing her to be the best player in the world. In Teresa Weatherspoon, I get the feeling that Sika will get exactly what she needs in this department. Spoon was a college coach for many years at Louisiana Tech and that experience crafting and molding young talents should make her perfect to help Sika (and other young players) along. I assume the tape will show Spoon she’s got a player on her hands, but, if not, she’ll know after a few practices. For a rookie head coach, there’s very few things better than having a young player of this caliber dropped into your lap, devoid of bad habits and ready to be molded in your vision.
Lastly, Sika — with the help of coaches and teammates — just needs to channel her energy to the right areas. A lot of times, I see her getting out of position defensively because of over exuberance. She’s not falling asleep or failing to get through a screen; she’s helping too aggressively and leaving behind her own responsibilities. I attribute this to that fact that, like most professionals, Sika has almost always been the best player on the floor to this point in her life. Consequently, she probably left matchups all the time at lower levels and made highlight reel blocks or steals as a result. She still has the potential to do those things at the WNBA and EuroLeague level — she just has to pick her spots very carefully. Again, I think this is a dream ‘problem’ to have for a coach. Trying to engage a lackadaisical player defensively can be quite the challenge, but dialing back a player who always brings the energy is generally easier. An extra year of experience playing at a high level in Spain and the W should also help Sika understand, personally, how to better focus her otherworldly enthusiasm into the right areas.
