Isabelle Harrison is confident about the position she is in.
Sky’s new forward is finishing his second Athletes Unlimited season and has a comfortable grip on fourth place on the leaderboard. The speed of getting to this point in her career is a bit shocking for the eight-year WNBA veteran.
“It sneaks up on you so quickly,” Harrison told the Sun-Times. “I don’t know where the time goes. I’m just grateful for what I’ve learned in what seems like so little time, but it’s not.
Harrison, 29, feels like a completely different player than the one who spent one season at Tennessee under legendary coach Pete Summitt.
It makes sense considering his career trajectory. She is eight years into her professional career but has only played six seasons in the WNBA. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament months before being drafted by the Phoenix Mercury with the 12th overall pick in 2015, sidelining him for his rookie season. In 2018, he took a leave of absence from his Las Vegas Aces team due to personal medical reasons and sat out the entire season.
After spending the last four seasons with the Dallas Wings, Harrison signed with the Sky as an unrestricted free agent. Her second season with Athletes Unlimited is preparing her not only for the upcoming season with her new team, but a new role she can see herself in after her days on the court are done.
In his first season with AU, Harrison spent four of the five weeks as captain, meaning he was responsible for drafting his team in those four weeks. This year, he has spent two of the five weeks in that role.
“I would love to be a general manager for any sports team, especially basketball,” Harrison said. “Even one day in the WNBA. AU gave me a new perspective on basketball. I never thought I’d be doing half of what I’m doing.
Last season in the WNBA, Harrison found herself in an unfamiliar position. This time, though, it wasn’t necessarily welcome.
Harrison’s minutes suffered when former Wings coach Vicki Johnson cut her from the starting rotation midway through the season in favor of Terra McCowan.
After being underutilized — Harrison averaged 6.6 points in 12.5 minutes over his final 15 regular-season games in 2022 — he approached AU as a chance to reset ahead of his first season with the Sky.
“This season with AU was personal for me,” Harrison said. “I wanted to make sure I bounced back because I know the type of player I am. I know I can contribute to any team I play on. Even in free agency. During, I had coaches tell me that.
Sky’s exodus of frontcourt players opened up many possibilities for Harrison in Chicago, something he and coach/GM James Wade discussed in free agency.
His exact role wasn’t necessarily solidified, but his ability to start and provide meaningful minutes was what sold Harrison on Sky.
“For me, it’s proving who I am,” Harrison said. “Personally, I felt like Chicago, going there with the players that I have, it’s going to be a good opportunity to — I hate to say it — improve myself. Also, everybody should have that.” To explain what is going on.