Skylar Diggins to Miss Remainder of WNBA Season With Knee Injury
Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins has been ruled out for the rest of the 2026 WNBA season because of a right knee injury, the team confirmed this week. The veteran hasn’t played since scoring 19 points in a July 3 loss at Las Vegas, and Chicago has already been eliminated from playoff contention ahead of the league’s World Cup break.
Skylar Diggins ruled out for remainder of Sky season with knee injury
Chicago’s backcourt picture changed dramatically this week, as Sky guard Skylar Diggins was ruled out for the rest of the 2026 WNBA season because of a right knee injury.NBC Sports/AP The veteran hasn’t appeared in a game since she scored 19 points in a 98-90 loss at Las Vegas on July 3.NBC Sports/AP
Chicago, which sits at 15-25 and has already been eliminated from playoff contention as of Aug. 23, now has to navigate the final stretch of its schedule without one of its most experienced guards.NBC Sports/AP
A major loss in the backcourt
Diggins’ absence had already been felt since early July, but the team’s announcement that she will not return this season removes any uncertainty around Chicago’s rotation.NBC Sports/AP The guard brought playoff pedigree and shot creation to a Sky team trying to re-establish itself in the postseason mix.
Her last outing — a 19-point performance in that road defeat to Las Vegas — underscored the offensive burden she was still capable of carrying.NBC Sports/AP Without Diggins since then, Chicago dropped out of the playoff chase before the league’s late-August pause.
Sky’s season already decided, but questions linger
The timing of the news comes as the WNBA is on a two-week break for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, with league play paused from Aug. 31 to Sept. 16.ESPN Chicago has four games remaining once the season resumes, but those contests will be about evaluation rather than playoff positioning.NBC Sports/AP
The combination of Diggins’ season-ending knee injury and the team’s elimination from contention shifts the focus firmly to the organization’s longer-term plans. Without her, the Sky will need extended minutes and responsibility from their remaining guards as they close out the year and assess how the backcourt should be built going forward.
League-wide context: a break and a reshuffle
Diggins’ injury status is part of a broader reset league-wide. The WNBA’s pause for the World Cup has halted games for more than two weeks, a rare midseason interruption designed to accommodate international play.ESPN While Team USA heads to Berlin in pursuit of a fifth consecutive World Cup title, several franchises, including Chicago, are using the downtime to regroup ahead of the regular season’s final stretch.USA Today
For the Sky, that regroup now definitively does not include Diggins on the floor. Once the league returns from the World Cup break, Chicago’s last four games will be played with clarity about her status — and with an eye on how to move forward after a season that ends for their veteran guard on the injury report instead of the court.NBC Sports/AP