In professional sports, there’s a carefully maintained wall between the locker room and the public. Even in the worst of times, teams project an image of unity and resolve. But every now and then, a player says something so honest and so raw that it shatters that wall completely. For the 2024 Chicago Sky, that moment came from forward Michaela Onyenwere, and her words suggest the team isn’t just struggling—it may have already given up.

After yet another loss in a season spiraling out of control, Onyenwere laid the team’s issues bare. It started with the typical athlete-speak about needing to be more focused and executing better. But then, she delivered a line that served as a eulogy for her team’s competitive spirit. “There just has to be a will to win, and we don’t have that right now,” she admitted, before adding the fatal blow: “…and we haven’t the entire season.”

This wasn’t just a heat-of-the-moment complaint. It was a diagnosis of a chronic, season-long disease. For a player to publicly state that the fundamental drive to win has been absent from the start is an unprecedented indictment of the team’s culture. It suggests that the losses seen on the court are merely a symptom of a much deeper rot—a collapse in morale, motivation, and belief that has infected the entire organization. Onyenwere’s words were a cry for help from a sinking ship.

When a team’s spirit breaks so profoundly, the first place people look is the sideline. While professional athletes are expected to be self-motivated, it is the head coach’s ultimate responsibility to harness that motivation and forge a resilient, competitive identity. The current coaching staff is now facing intense scrutiny, with many questioning if they have what it takes to lead at this level. There’s a growing belief that while some coaches excel at player development—honing individual skills—they lack the crucial ability to manage personalities, inspire a collective fight, and navigate the team through the psychological toll of a losing season. When your own players are telling the world they’ve lost the will to compete, it’s a sign of a catastrophic failure in leadership.

The problems extend to the roster itself. The Sky’s front office made huge waves by drafting both Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, a move celebrated as the foundation for a new era. Yet, the on-court product has been disjointed. The team lacks the “scrappiness” and defensive identity that defined past Chicago teams, and questions are emerging about the long-term fit of its two young stars. Critics have pointed to questionable draft decisions and a failure to build a cohesive unit around their franchise players, leaving them with a roster that looks good on paper but lacks synergy on the court.

With the season effectively lost, the conversation has shifted from “how can they fix this?” to “should they just blow it all up?” The most shocking speculation centers on the idea of trading one of their prized assets. Some analysts are suggesting the once-unthinkable: trading Kamilla Cardoso. The logic, however painful, is that if she isn’t the ideal long-term partner for Angel Reese, the team should cash in now. Could they find a team desperate enough for a young center to give up a high lottery pick? Could a team like the Washington Mystics be a potential trade partner, allowing Chicago to recoup future assets and restart their rebuild?

This leads to an even more drastic strategy: completely punting on next season. By trading away pieces and embracing a full-on tank, the Sky could position themselves for another top pick in the draft, potentially finding a player who is a better schematic fit alongside Reese. It’s a gut-wrenching proposition for any fanbase, but it may be more realistic than trying to salvage the current, broken core. The front office is facing a franchise-altering decision: Do you try to repair a fractured locker room and hope for a miraculous turnaround, or do you cut your losses and begin a painful, multi-year teardown to build something that can actually last?

Michaela Onyenwere’s candid admission did more than just explain a loss; it exposed the truth of her team’s condition. The Chicago Sky are not just a team that is losing—they are a team that has lost its way. The fight is gone, the hope is dwindling, and now, the entire organization is faced with the monumental task of not just rebuilding a roster, but rediscovering the fundamental will to win.