WNBA FINALS: PHOENIX VS. CHICAGO

October 15, 2021

James Wade

Chicago Sky

Game 3: Postgame

Sky 86, Mercury 50

Q. James, what are you most impressed with from your team tonight? They held Phoenix to the worst field goal percentage in a WNBA Finals game but also everybody was involved offensively. What are you most impressed with?

JAMES WADE: Our defensive activity was really good. I thought that we were very active and we were connected. You saw a lot of covering for each other, a lot of communication. I think it created easy opportunities for us. We were able to turn them over and score out of those turnovers, and I was pretty proud of that.

Q. What can you say about this crowd tonight? I think this might have been the most packed we've seen Wintrust Arena since you became head coach here.

JAMES WADE: Yeah, it was amazing. It was a sight to see. I appreciated the energy, and I really feel Chicago. I really feel it. The way they came out and they support, you can feel the passion that they have, and it just gives us more, gives us more passion. Hopefully we can see the same thing Sunday and we can all celebrate together.

Q. James, Kahleah [Copper] is a player who was averaging six or seven points only a few years ago, she's had a star turn in these Playoffs. What have you seen from her in general after such a great performance tonight?

JAMES WADE: So we have a great coaching staff, and they work with the players every day. So it's a 50/50 -- you have players that work, but you have players like Kah[leah] that really put in the work and you see it right away. So the players have to be willing to put the time in, and the coaches, they're going to put time in. So this is what you have, a product of this, when you have somebody as talented as she is with a motor and a skill set.

The one thing that probably doesn't get talked about as much, her competitiveness. That's what it takes to get to the next level.

We used to see it every day, even when she wasn't playing as much. It's no surprise to us because we know what we have in her, and this is just -- now she's letting the world know. It's just who she is.

Q. In the middle of the second [quarter] there you had that 10-0 run to sort of break things open. What did you see from your team during that stretch?

JAMES WADE: I saw our pace pick up. When we're playing at that type of pace, we're really hard to guard. We just have to continue to play at that pace, continue to move the ball and to continue to attack close-outs when we have an opportunity.

Q. What does it mean in a game like this, you were able to rest your starters at the end of the game when you have a close-out game on Sunday?

JAMES WADE: Yeah, it was important. I was going back and forth with my staff because the game is in less than 48 hours, and so this is a dream come true, if you can get the starters rest, and knowing they'll have their legs, no excuses to not have their legs on Sunday. We were pretty happy about that.

I thought about it. I was like, okay, should I go back to them at some point, but we all discussed that if -- I had four time-outs, so if they go on a run or we see that we're a little winded, we'll call a couple of time-outs. But our bench -- I called one time-out to compose us a little bit, and then our bench kind of went to work and got back to the rhythm.

Not only was it good for our starters, but for our bench to actually separate a little bit, because these games are really -- you don't want to have momentum going into Sunday, and so what our bench was able to do was really important because they didn't allow them to get momentum, and so I really appreciated that. Our bench was really important today.

Q. Folks call Candace the quarterback of the defense. I'm curious if you can apply that extended metaphor to Kah, how important defensively she is for this team.

JAMES WADE: You want me to use football terms?

Q. Yeah, completely extended metaphor, why not.

JAMES WADE: Quarterback of the defense, wow, I never heard -- but that's offense. Okay, so Kah is like the wide receiver of the defense, I guess? I have no idea. That kind of threw me for a loop. Yeah, she's the wide receiver of our defense, but an elite one, like -- what's the guy -- I'm not naming a Bears player but maybe like [DeAndre] Hopkins or something, I guess? Yeah, she's like that.

Q. How do you keep them -- what were you talking about the in the locker room to keep them from getting too high or whatever going into a clinching game?

JAMES WADE: I just talk about -- I point out what we did successfully as a unit. I talk about individual performances. I know they're going to -- they're a prideful team. They have three trophies, and I know they're going to come out and punch. But we're going to punch, too, so I just told them we have to be aggressive. We've had the same saying for the entire Playoffs, and we're going to stay with that. We know what Game 4 means for us, but for us it's about winning the game and winning it in a fashion where we're aggressive and we have to play as desperate and connected as they will, or even more.

Q. You're a game away from possibly winning a WNBA championship, one of the few Black coaches in that position. Have you thought about that, and what does it mean to you to be in a position to continue to carry on that legacy?

JAMES WADE: You know, I think about it. You know, like I do, this is something we can't escape, so we live in this skin and we have to represent because we -- the world is a little bit unfair to us in the way we're represented and the way we're looked at and the chances that we don't get. You always have to protect yourself at all times. You get proud of these moments, but sometimes I have to act like that I'm supposed to be here, even though life has told me that I'm not.

It means a lot. It means a lot. It means a lot that my son is here and he gets to see his daddy coaching in front of a lot of fans just cheering, and he gets to see success. So maybe in 15 years it won't be a big deal for him.

I'm glad you asked that question. Yeah, that's it.

Q. My question is related to what you just said about what does it mean to have your family here all the way from France during this crucial stretch, and your son is wearing a Courtney Vandersloot jersey. Is that his favorite player?

JAMES WADE: Well, he likes all of them. He has a couple of jerseys. It depends on the weather. You can ask him today, it'll be Courtney Vandersloot, tomorrow it'll be Kah. He has a special place in his heart for Candace, though, and that's a forever constant. So Candace is the one that he's known since he was a baby. So he's really close to her.

I think more often than not it will probably be Candace than anyone.

Q. The differential between the two teams, how surprising was it to you that you won by so many? And what is the impact of that going to be for Game 4?

JAMES WADE: I don't focus on what we won by. It's just how we played. I don't think the scores really indicate a lot of things. Sometimes you can lose some close games and you play great. For us it's about the how. We know we have to stay focused and focus and concentrate.

I want them to feel good about tonight's win, but after tonight we have to really hone in on the next game, like we have to hone in on the next game. It gives us collective confidence, I'm sure, so you can't get around that, but we really have to come and take care of business.

Tomorrow we'll get back in the gym and we'll figure out some things that we didn't do great, and we'll try to figure out how they're going to attack us, and we'll clean it up, and hopefully we'll come out and give a great effort on Sunday.

Q. The team was dominant; obviously the score reflects that, and the individual stats reflect that, 44 percent from three, won the rebounding battle and only had to me the most impressive stat, 13 turnovers, which usually is very high for the Sky. When you're looking at what the team needs to do to win on Sunday, what's the number one aspect you think will help them win?

JAMES WADE: I mean, you pointed out some key facts. I think we only had maybe four turnovers in the second half, and so that helped us out a lot. The fact that we were able to take care of the ball and continue to be aggressive and had spacing, we had good spacing on the floor, which helped that out, I think that's something we have to continue to build on. Not sending them to the free-throw line, us winning the free throw battle today helped us in our aggressiveness toward the basket helped us as well. I just think we have to stay there as far as not fouling them and then taking care of the ball.

If we can get to a point where we're taking around the same amount of shots because we're not turning over the ball, then I think it helps us.