A major trade rocked the WNBA world on Sunday as the Los Angeles Sparks sent forward Rickea Jackson to the Chicago Sky in exchange for guard Ariel Atkins, per ESPN’s Alexa Philippou.
Breaking: The Chicago Sky and Los Angeles Sparks have agreed to a trade that'll send Rickea Jackson to the Sky and Ariel Atkins to the Sparks, sources told ESPN. pic.twitter.com/2SnRv1sF0y
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— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) April 12, 2026
The player-for-player swap is arguably the Sky’s best move of the offseason so far. After trading star Angel Reese for two first-round picks, they added Azura Stevens and Skylar Diggins on Saturday.
Jackson averaged 14.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game last season and will likely be asked to take on much of the scoring load that was left behind by trading Reese.
While Chicago fans haven’t appreciated losing their franchise star, they can now breathe a sigh of relief as the team continues to build a strong roster.
For the Sparks, they add a two-time All-Star and Olympic gold medalist in Atkins. She was a starter on the Washington Mystics’ championship team in 2019 and has been named to an All-Defensive team five times in eight seasons.
Atkins averaged 3.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.6 steals for the Sky last season and will join a stacked roster.
The Sparks have now either signed or re-signed 10-time All-Star Nneka Ogwumike, two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum and three-time All-Star Dearica Hamby. They’ve also signed one-time All-Star Erica Wheeler to play alongside 2024 No. 2 pick Cameron Brink.
James Parker contributed to this story.
