Chicago Sky head coach and GM James Wade has stepped down and will join the Toronto Raptors’ staff as an assistant before the 2023-24 season, the team announced on Saturday.
“@coachjameswade has accepted an Assistant Coach position for the @Raptors, and has stepped down as Chicago Sky General Manager and Head Coach. Thank you for EVERYTHING, James. Good luck in Toronto!” the team wrote on Twitter.
“We are thrilled that James can fulfill a lifelong dream to join the NBA, and we send him our warmest congratulations and best wishes,” Sky Principal Owner Michael Alter said in a statement. “We thank James for establishing a winning, team-oriented culture in Chicago and leading the Sky to our first ever WNBA Championship in 2021.”
.@coachjameswade has accepted an Assistant Coach position for the @Raptors, and has stepped down as Chicago Sky General Manager and Head Coach.
Thank you for EVERYTHING, James. Good luck in Toronto! 💙
📰 https://t.co/oPSdDX7ncX pic.twitter.com/14qjISCamw
— Chicago Sky (@chicagosky) July 1, 2023
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James Wade notched a few WNBA and overseas assistant coaching gigs before landing his first head coaching job with the Sky in November 2018. He won the WNBA Coach of the Year award in his first season, and led the franchise to its first ever WNBA title in 2021. He was also named executive of the year in 2022.
Wade now joins Darko Rajakovic’s first staff as head coach of the Raptors.
Emre Vatansever has been named interim general manager and head coach of the Sky, effective immediately.