CHICAGO –– The Chicago Sky announced today the signing of forward Emma Meesseman, a WNBA Champion, WNBA All-Star, and 2019 WNBA Finals MVP.
It’s a historic move for the WNBA, making Chicago the first team in the league’s 26-year history to sign three WNBA Finals MVPs in three consecutive seasons. Chicago is also now only the second team to have three WNBA Finals MVPs on the same roster, the first being from 2016-18 in Minnesota.
“Emma is a world-class athlete who has won at every level,” Wade said. “I’ve had the fortune of coaching Emma in the past, so I’ve seen up close exactly what she brings – and she is someone who plays the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”
Born and raised in Ypres, Belgium, the 2022 season will be Meesseman’s eighth in the league and first with Chicago. Standing at 6’4”, Meesseman comes to the Sky after spending her entire WNBA career with the (2013-17, 2019-20) after being selected by the team with the 19th pick in the second round of the 2013 WNBA Draft.
After being selected by Washington, Meesseman, 28, played in all 34 games for the Mystics in her rookie season. By season two, she was a starter, and went on to start for every game in the next three consecutive years. In her last season with the Mystics (2020), she averaged 13 points, 1.5 steals, and 4.5 assists.
In 2019 she became the first reserve player in WNBA history to win WNBA Finals MVP for leading the Mystics to winning the title in just three games. Meesseman currently plays overseas for Russia’s UMMC Ekaterinburg with record-breaking Sky guards Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley, which is the same team that Wade previously served as an assistant coach. UMMC has won four SuperCup titles, six EuroLeague titles, nine Russian Cups, and a staggering 15 Russian league championships.
“Emma already has familiarity with our players and has won with players in our group,” Wade said. “She will only continue to help us play at the highest level. It’s another exciting day for us, because in the past six years, there have been five Finals MVPs and we now have three of them on our current roster. Now we’re just looking to the future.”
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