Chicago Sky Announce Jeff Pagliocca as New General Manager

The Chicago Sky have announced that Jeff Pagliocca has been hired as the WNBA team's new General Manager.

The move comes after joint head coach and GM James Wade left the team somewhat suddenly in July to join as an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors. Wade's departure left two sudden vacancies. Now, with Pagliocca's hire, both have been filled.

Pagliocca has spent the past four seasons as an advisor to Wade while assisting with player development, according to a statement released by the Sky. He spent the 2023 season as the team's Director of Skill Development.

President and CEO Adam Fox said that Pagliocca had "sophisticated basketball IQ" and mentioned his experience in talent development as a strength in the new position in the statement.

Pagliocca also owns a basketball training and player development facility, Evolution Athletics, in Deerfield, Illinois, and is also a strategic consultant and advisor.

The GM announcement comes a few weeks after the Sky announced the hiring of Hall of Famer Teresa Weatherspoon as its new head coach on Oct. 12. Weatherspoon served as an assistant for the NBA's New Orleans Pelicans from 2019 until this past June, and was the head women's basketball coach at Louisiana Tech, her alma mater, from 2008 to 2014.

During Weatherspoon's eight-year WNBA career, she a five-time WNBA All-Star and a two-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. The Texas native was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2019.

The Sky finished the 2023 season at 18-22, clinching the No. 8 seed for the postseason before falling to the top-seeded Las Vegas Aces, 2-0, in the first round. Emre Vatansever, who was named interim head coach and general manager after Wade's departue, led the team to a 11-13 record.