Former Sky guard Marina Mabrey did not leave the organization quietly. In fact, very few of the Sky’s former stars who requested trades have remained quiet. One week ago, 2021 WNBA Finals MVP and Olympic gold medalist Kahleah Copper returned to Chicago for the first time since being traded in February. She detailed contributing reasons, the main one being that the Sky would not be able to help her become the player she wanted to be.
Mabrey’s reasons included her fit with the organization. She was extremely critical of the Sky in a recent interview about her new home with the Sun. “Being part of a team like this that is so disciplined with a championship mindset, I haven’t been part of that yet,” Mabrey told reporters in Boston ahead of the Sun’s 69-61 win over the Sparks in front of a sold-out TD Garden.
Before Mabrey was traded to the Sky in 2023, she played three seasons for the Wings. Her comment is as much an indictment of the Wings and Sparks as it is of the Sky, though the Sky triggered the trade request. On Friday, they’ll face the Sun for the third time this season and the first since Mabrey was traded in July.
“Marina was a great player and teammate for us,” Sky forward Michaela Onyenwere said. “Going into that, we know she’s a great shooter. She’s a three-level scorer. She can get down to the basket and post up smaller guards, can have a quick trigger off the screens. It helps that we played with her for the first half of the season.”
The Sky are 1-2 since trading Mabrey and inserting Onyenwere into the starting lineup. The Sun are 2-1 in their first three games since adding their new sharpshooter. In her debut, Mabrey shot 7-for-12 from the field and 3-for-5 from three-point range, finishing with 17 points in an 18-point win over the Wings.
Mabrey significantly improves the Sun’s title hopes. In the first half of the season, they were tied with the Sky for ninth in the league in three-point percentage. It’s a small sample size, but in the three games since returning from the Olympic break, they jumped to fourth in the league, shooting 38.5% from three.
The Sky, meanwhile, have had their lackluster offense exposed. Aside from Mabrey and Chennedy Carter’s ability to create for themselves, the Sky have depended heavily on their rookie bigs. “The three-point line has been our Achilles’ heel,” Onyenwere said. “Especially last game. As guards, we talked about how we have to make shots. We’re putting a lot of pressure on our bigs to do a lot. We have to be able to be confident and make those shots.”
The issue is the Sky are without a consistent shot-maker. Onyenwere emphasized the guard unit is “putting in the work every day.” Onyenwere is the strongest three-point option in the starting backcourt. She’s a 32% career three-point shooter who averages only 2.4 attempts.
The Sky’s reality is precisely as Mabrey painted it: They are not a championship franchise and haven’t been since their title roster imploded in 2022. This marks the first time that Sun player Marina Mabrey is facing off against her former team since Chicago adhered to her request to be traded on July 17.
A video surfaced online in which Chicago team members can be seen entering the court. While they share a hug or shake hands with everyone from the Sun’s team, athletes don’t take notice of Mabrey who is busy talking to a guy. Meanwhile, Mabrey too, keeps her back to them as An awkward situation develops. While Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese can be seen having a good time with their opponents, the same cannot be said of Mabrey.
The video shows several Sky players, including Chennedy Carter, hugging some Sun players while ignoring Mabrey's presence. She was speaking with a Sun staffer while all of this happened, but fans were quick to point out and criticize the behavior of the Sky players. Some agreed that the Sky is a toxic environment and supported Mabrey's decision to request a trade. Somebody said it might be a mutual feeling since Mabrey approached only one of her former teammates. Another fan was curious about what prompted her to request a trade, and someone else suggested that Angel Reese and Chennedy Carter were part of the problem.
Marina Mabrey caught a lot of attention earlier in the day. The five-year veteran spoke about the differences between playing for the Sun, saying that she's finally part of a team with championship aspirations. This might be the reason why the Sky players walked past her and didn't even acknowledge her presence. She was one of the best players on the team in the first half of the season, alongside Angel Reese, but now is focused on helping a different organization challenge for the title. In three games with the Sun, Mabrey is averaging 30.9 minutes, 11.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.
This comes after Mabrey had stated that one thing she learned in Chicago was not to have expectations since it “leads to a letdown,” and hence, she “won’t be going into Connecticut with any expectations,” as per Chicago Sun-Times. Mabrey was traded to the Chicago Sky in February 2023 to become a core player of the team. But unfortunately, a change in the head coach position prompted Mabrey to abruptly end her time with the Sky.
When Mabrey became a part of the Chicago Sky, she was being developed as a core shooter for the team under the wing of the then-head coach James Wade. The Sky earned themselves a spot in the playoffs propelled by Mabrey’s exceptional skills. She averaged 15 points with 3.7 rebounds per game, shooting 41.1% field goals.
Coming into this season under the leadership of Teresa Weatherspoon, Mabrey’s role somewhat diminished. She was prompted to play the role of a facilitator which impacted her game. In her last 10 games with the Sky, Mabrey averaged 12.4 points per game with 32.4% from the three-pointer line, which did not go down well with Mabrey, hampering her expectations.
Hence, when Mabrey was traded to the Sun along with a 2025 2nd-round pick in exchange for Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson, a first-round pick from the 2025 WNBA draft and the opportunity to swap 2026 first-round picks opened up. However, much like how she had quite a turnaround with the Sky, the Sun too surprised her.
The Sun is in pursuit of its first championship title with a 20-7 tally, occupying the second place in the eastern conference division. Since Mabrey’s acceptance into the team after the Olympic break, the Sun has won two of the three games it has played, with Mabrey playing crucial roles in all those matchups. This came as an unexpected boon since Mabrey thought that a relocation mid-season might end her hopes of being an important player for another franchise, but the case is different with the Sun.
During the game against the Dallas Wings on Saturday, Mabrey scored 17 points with 4 rebounds and an equal number of assists. And in the next game against the Atlanta Dream, Mabrey hit 11 points with 6 rebounds. All this led to Mabrey expressing her satisfaction with the Sun team, before their Wednesday clash against the Los Angeles Sparks, stating, “…being part of a team like this that is so disciplined with a championship mindset, I haven’t been part of that yet.” Now, we don’t know if that’s a dig on her previous teams.
But, Mabrey certainly seems to be enjoying her team. Therefore, now that she ignored her ex-teammates who also didn’t pay much heed to her, it might translate on the court when Mabrey takes on the Sky on Friday night in the much-anticipated clash.
