A tradition of sorts takes place whenever Minneapolis native Rachel Banham comes to town. The 10-year WNBA veteran guard and this reporter, who covered her during her Minnesota Gopher years and subsequent pro career, sit down and chat. I don’t remember exactly when it started, but Banham now expects at least one media request to speak with me after a team shootaround.
“My routine every time, hang out with Charles after shootaround,” Banham said, smiling as we chatted the morning of May 16.
Later that night, the 5-foot-10 reserve combo guard scored 13 points off the bench, accounting for six of Chicago’s 23 third-quarter points in the Sky’s 86-79 victory over the Lynx.
“She had some big buckets that we needed,” Chicago Coach Tyler Marsh said afterward.
“Rachel was great for us tonight,” added forward Natasha Cloud.
Banham has been a scorer since she started as an eighth grader on the Lakeville North varsity basketball team. She carried that scoring prowess to the University of Minnesota, where she set numerous records. She bounced back from a season-ending ACL injury in 2014-15 to finish her Gopher career with her best season ever, averaging over 28 points per game, including a 60-point performance in her redshirt senior season that earned her a congratulatory text from the late Kobe Bryant.
Banham was the fourth overall pick by Connecticut in the 2016 WNBA Draft. As a pro, she has not been asked to carry the scoring burden she bore at Minnesota, but she has never lost her knack for delivering buckets when needed through two stints with the Sun (2016-19; 2024); her time with the Lynx (2020-23); and now in her third season in Chicago after a mid-season trade from Connecticut in 2024.
Marsh told the Spokesman-Recorder he has deep respect for what Banham brings. “I can’t say enough good things about her because of the way she continues to work and make a niche for herself in this league,” he said. “It’s tough for anybody to last 10 years. She’s one of the more respected players around the league, certainly on this team, and she comes through in these types of moments. It was good for her to be back home.”
After a historic free agency period created when the new CBA was signed in March, making every returning player a free agent, Banham said she never considered leaving Chicago. “I told them last year I wanted to be here,” she said. “They wanted me back, and I wanted to be here. I love Jeff (Pagliocca, the Sky GM) and have a great relationship with them.”
As always, Banham and this reporter covered plenty of ground, basketball and life in general. She had delivered a big game in her hometown in front of family and friends. “I went home yesterday. I got 30-plus people coming tonight,” she said, “so I’ll get to see everybody after the game.”
Jackson out for the season
The Sky received difficult news last week when the team announced that forward Rickea Jackson will miss the remainder of the 2026 season after an MRI revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, suffered during the May 17 Sky-Lynx contest in Minneapolis. She will undergo surgery.
Jackson’s injury came during Chicago’s 3-1 road trip, which included the 86-79 victory at Minnesota. She had been playing at a career-best level. The Sky are also without Courtney Vandersloot (knee), DiJonai Carrington (foot), and, until recently, Azurá Stevens, who returned to action last Saturday at home against Minnesota and finished with six points.
CBA finally signed
The WNBA and the WNBPA last Friday formally signed the new collective bargaining agreement that players ratified on March 23 and the WNBA Board of Governors approved on March 24, completing a process that stretched to the eve of training camp.
“It was getting kind of sketchy for a while, but I truly thought we were going to get it done eventually,” Banham said of the months-long negotiations. “I didn’t think it was going to go until this late, literally right before training camp. But I wasn’t too worried. I didn’t think we were going to have to miss the season.”
Charles Hallman welcomes reader responses at challman@spokesman-recorder.com.