The situation for Skytown does not seem to be changing this year. With a plethora of losses, the Chicago Sky couldn’t qualify for the WNBA playoffs, on the same day that the Dallas Wings were also eliminated. Following the grim news, the players surely find it hard to keep themselves motivated, and this surely reflects on the team’s performance. In their recent encounter, Sky took on the Las Vegas Aces. And as they succumbed to their 28th defeat, Ariel Atkins had some brutal words to share.
There was a glimmer of hope when Sky rose up like a phoenix and defeated the New York Liberty. With the fans’ hopes going up, it soon came crashing down after the team fell in consecutive games. Naturally, following such a poor showing, the negative noises have been building up. However, as per Atkins, she does not care much about the negativities.
Ariel Atkins Stresses Building A Solid Foundation For The Next Season
While speaking about their approach, Atkins stated bluntly that the team would never go into a game not wanting to win. She further detailed how the group would need to learn how to brush off the bad days and regroup while picking themselves up from the dust. And while stressing on building a solid foundation for the upcoming season, the 29-year-old bluntly stated that she did not care about all the negative criticisms.
“I know some people probably don’t like the way that sounds, be it that we’re towards the end of the season, but I don’t really care. Our goal is to build a foundation for what we want to be and who we want to be. We want to walk out of this season with dignity and knowing we put our all into this because who knows what it’s going to be like next year,” said Atkins.
Surely, her never-give-up attitude was evident from the manner in which she played. Despite her team taking the ‘L’, the 29-year-old was phenomenal. Playing for 34 minutes, the 2019 WNBA champion dropped 30 points. She further complemented it with four rebounds and seven assists as fellow teammate Angel Reese surpassed Tina Charles for WNBA rookie double-double history. Meanwhile, Atkins is not only unfiltered with her statements, but on the court, too, she has a no-nonsense attitude. And she got a pat on the back from Chi-Town Barbie for the same as well.
Scroll to continue reading
Trending WNBA News
Angel Reese Lauds Ariel Atkins Despite Getting Ejected
Atkins is quite an aggressive character on the court. And the quality was in full display at the Mohegan Sun Arena when Sky took on Connecticut in mid-August. While Chicago lost the game 71-62, the game was highlighted by as many as three ejections. During a point in the game, Sky’s Rebecca Allen fought for the ball with Bria Hartley. As both players ended up in a tangle, it resulted in them losing their tempers.
With things getting physical, Hartley shoved Allen to the floor. Falling on the ground, Allen grabbed Hartley’s jersey, escalating the situation further. It was here that Atkins stepped and charged in to defend her teammate. The officials ejected all three players, with the 29-year-old sharing some heated moments. However, Reese seemed pretty impressed by the two-time WNBA All-Star’s knack for defending her teammate. Taking to her X, formerly known as Twitter account, wrote, “ARIEL A REAL ONE. BEEN.”
Now then, it is evident that Atkins is giving her best to make Chicago a solid side. With her blazing performances this season, fans expect her to deliver the same next year, too. Now all she needs is a perfect partner to hunt down the opponents.