FEW PEOPLE have greater insight into the basketball madness set to descend upon Chicago for February’s NBA All-Star Game than Allie Quigley. After all, Quigley is the defining basketball player of this Chicago generation.
A Joliet, IL, native, Quigley has blossomed in her pro career thanks to two facts. First, an ability to sink long-distance shots—she has two WNBA three-point contest titles to her name and is the WNBA’s active leader in three-point accuracy at 39.9 percent. And second: Allie Quigley, for her entire life, has been Chicago basketball.
Joliet Catholic Academy. DePaul University. And now, the longest-tenured member of a Chicago Sky team that reached the playoffs in 2019 and has championship aspirations in 2020.
It’s all pretty improbable, especially considering Quigley’s early professional path: A second-round draft pick who struggled to stick on rosters in a variety of other WNBA outposts—Phoenix, Indiana, San Antonio and Seattle.
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THE THIRD Coming
FOR DJ WAGNER, SON OF DAJUAN AND GRANDSON OF MILT—BOTH FORMER NBA PLAYERS—BASKETBALL RUNS IN HIS FAMILY’S BLOOD. OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, HE’LL USE THAT TALENT AND HIS NO. 1 RANKING IN THE CLASS OF 2023 TO LEAD CAMDEN HS TO THE TOP OF THE BASKETBALL WORLD (AGAIN).
STATE of the UNION
CHRIS PAUL HAS BEEN A NATURAL LEADER SINCE AS FAR BACK AS HE CAN REMEMBER. BUT THROUGH 2020, AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE NBPA, PAUL HAS LED ALL 450 NBA PLAYERS THROUGH THE MOST TURBULENT OF TIMES—THROUGH A PANDEMIC, A SOCIAL JUSTICE MOVEMENT, A BUBBLE, AND A SEASON THAT SOMEHOW STRETCHED 355 DAYS—AND THOSE LEADERSHIP ABILITIES HAVE BEEN MORE CRUCIAL THAN EVER. WE SPOKE WITH CP3 ABOUT THE LEGACY OF THE PAST YEAR AND MUCH MORE.
The Fresh Princesses of Blair
IT’S STRAIGHT UP DOMINATION WHEN OLIVIA MILES AND DOMINIQUE DARIUS, TWO OF THE BEST GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PLAYERS IN THE COUNTRY, ARE ON THE FLOOR AT THE SAME TIME.
BREAKING BOUNDARIES
MEET THE SALAM SCHOOL STARS—AN ALL-MUSLIM GIRLS’ TEAM THAT’S CHALLENGING GENDER-NORMS WITHIN THEIR COMMUNITY.
Back For More
ATHLETIC PROPULSION LABS’ first basketball sneaker got banned from the NBA because it gave wearers an “advantage.” The brothers who launched the company have returned to the game 10 years later, with a duo of brand new sneakers.
3 the HARD WAY
THREE NBA CHAMPIONSHIPS WITH THREE DIFFERENT TEAMS MEANS DANNY GREEN KNOWS A THING OR THREE ABOUT WINNING. AS HE WRITES HERE, THE THIRD WAS THE MOST SATISFYING.
Hollywood
Though her first year in the WNBA was anything but normal, Atlanta dream star Chennedy Carter is on her way to a long career in front of the bright lights.
NO MERCY, NO FEAR
THE NBA IS BACK AND NEW ORLEANS PELICANS STAR ZION WILLIAMSON IS AS CONFIDENT AS HE’S EVER BEEN. LET THIS BE YOUR FINAL WARNING.
THE PEOPLE'S CHAMP
NATASHA CLOUD HAS ALWAYS FOUGHT FOR WHAT’S RIGHT. BY OPTING OUT OF THE 2020 WNBA SEASON TO FOCUS ON SOCIAL JUSTICE, THE REIGNING CHAMP CONTINUES HER FIGHT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY.
PACK MENTALITY
MEET ROBBY SIKKA, THE SUPERFAN TURNED DOCTOR TURNED NBA TEAM VP WHOSE EXPERTISE HAS BEEN CRUCIAL FOR THE NBA THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC.
Ryan Travis Christian
Naughty by Nature
Judas and the Black Messiah – In the Struggle
Is it possible to make a convincing Hollywood movie about an anti-capitalist radical?
CRIME DOESN'T PAY
EMPIRE OF SIN is ambitious, but undermined by a mountain of issues.
GETTING FAMOUS IN COINS
Donn Pearlman is the History of Coin Promotions
Playoff glories of yesteryear
It is January, which can only mean one thing: post season football is near. Some of the greatest performances in NFL playoff history have occurred right here in New York and New Jersey. Let’s take a look back at some of them
Things We Are After
Fresh and On Deck
Chicago's Hard Choices
Mayor Lori Lightfoot pushed through an austerity budget, alienating some progressives
Would the ACLU Still Defend Nazis' Right To March in Skokie?
Former Executive Director Ira Glasser discusses the past, present, and increasingly shaky future of free speech.
LEO SULLIVAN Q&A
QUESTION & ANSWERS
RAT'S ENOUGH!
Push to ban blow-up rodent union uses to fight scabs