CHICAGO — Rachel Banham spent most of her WNBA career in a constant state of redefinition.

As a role player with the Connecticut Sun, Minnesota Lynx and now the Chicago Sky, each season always came with a new set of responsibilities. Banham is known and valued for her cheerful dependability, unflappable regardless of her minutes or place on any roster’s depth chart.

This year, that adaptability helped when Banham was unexpectedly pushed into the starting point guard role — and the best season of her career.

Banham is averaging a career-high 9.2 points and career-high 2.5 assists per game while shooting 36.9% from behind the arc. She ripped off a 13-game streak of making two or more 3-pointers, the longest in Sky history behind only Allie Quigley.

“I’ve grown and become more versatile and way more confident in who I am and what I can do on the court for my team,” Banham told the Chicago Tribune. “I’m getting to reintroduce myself.”

Chicago Sky coach Tyler Marsh did not see this coming.

When he tapped Banham to take over at starting point guard in mid-June, it was a decision driven by necessity — and desperation.

Star point guard Courtney Vandersloot had suffered a season-ending knee injury seven games into the season. Backup Moriah Jefferson hasn’t been fully healthy since she was traded by Connecticut last summer. And Hailey Van Lith wasn’t ready to take on starter responsibilities midway through her rookie season.

During his years scouting opponents as an assistant for the Las Vegas Aces, Marsh had seen Banham facilitate lightly for Connecticut and Minnesota. He knew she scored at will with the ball in her hands in college. But Marsh doubted how that experience would translate to full-time point guard duties.

Over a decade in the WNBA, Banham had never been a consistent starter or averaged more than 20 minutes per game. She carved out a role-player identity by slinging 3s off the bench. Marsh was asking the guard to shoulder the most crucial role on the court, knowing that she might fail.

“Her ability to command an offense is something that did take me by surprise in a positive way,” Marsh said. “I think that it’s still an adjustment for her because her more natural element is shooting the ball. She’s done a really good job at finding those spots where she’s able to be that even when she’s on the ball. She’s adapted really well.”

Banham didn’t see this coming either — but even in Year 11, she entered the season ready to adapt. That’s just been the trend of her career.

As a kid, Banham almost exclusively played point guard — a common trend among most guards in the pros. She loved playing in the pick-and-roll and finding an open teammate. Her father, Don, often had to harp on his daughter to “get more selfish” and put up more shots.

Banham continued at the one for her entire collegiate career at Minnesota, but she also adapted into a quick trigger shooter during that time. She tallied 3,093 points in five years with the Gophers, briefly setting the Big Ten conference all-time scoring record until it was broken by Kelsey Mitchell in 2018.

“No one remembers (I played point) because I scored so much,” Banham said with a laugh.

Banham knew her role would change again when she was drafted fourth overall by the Connecticut Sun in 2018. So she adapted again. The guard played off the ball with the Sun, then back-up one with the Lynx and a hodgepodge of the two positions in Chicago.

The one thing that has remained consistent over this decade is Banham’s sturdy eagerness to embrace any role thrown her way.

“When you realize what your team needs, you have to make those adjustments,” Banham said.

As a point guard, Banham’s game is driven by a stark pragmatism about her own limitations as an on-ball guard. At 5-foot-10, she can get swallowed up by lengthier defenders and trap situations. Her first step lags behind younger guards. Her dribbling isn’t always crafty enough to evade traffic.

Banham embraces a simple approach to running the offense. She doesn’t try to play above her speed or on-ball skill. Her process at the point is uncomplicated: get a defender on her hip, keep the ball in a safe position, and prioritize keeping the ball safe and secure.

The Sky’s offense utilizes a high volume of ball screens to create the separation Banham needs to both shoot and pass the ball. And while she sometimes struggles to turn down full-court passes to a teammate on the break — it’s hard, she admits, to resist the urge to turn into QB1 — Banham is a consistent facilitator, averaging three assists to two turnovers over her last 17 games as a starter.

“I’m not faster than them, I don’t have crazy handles, I know that,” Banham said. “But I’m gonna use my body and make them stay on the other side of me. I’m usually pretty good about being smart and not forcing things. For the most part, I’m an IQ player. If I know it’s not going to be smart. I’m not throwing it.”

If anything, Banham is shooting the ball more while running the point, highlighted by a 6 for 10 performance from 3-point range against the Lynx last month. Even as the primary facilitator, Marsh has not turned off the green light ethos that defined his primary expectation for Banham this season: “Shoot any 3 you want.”

Banham defines herself as a shooter by her willingness to pull up from anywhere. Yes, anywhere. If any of her shots seemed a bit wild this year, just trust that she has held back from taking even more from twice as deep. She prefers to shoot with a hand in her face, feeling her most confident on contested shots rather than the catch-and-shoot 3s often analytically prized as ideal shots.

This is a style predicated on confidence — something that Banham has, at times in her career, struggled to sustain. But that’s not a problem this season for the guard.

“I think I’m gonna make every shot I take,” Banham said. “Even if I brick one, I don’t really care. I know I’m gonna make the next one. It’s not really on my mind. That’s the kind of confidence I’m on right now.”

Banham’s career performance has been somewhat muted by the team’s overall disappointment this season.

The Sky have only won eight games. They just snapped an eight-game losing skid, but not before dropping firmly into the bottom rung of the standings. And even this improved consistency from Banham isn’t enough to prop the Sky into a routinely competitive form. But the guard refuses to let her own frustration with team results dampen her personal accomplishments.

“I’m definitely proud of myself, of the work that I’ve put in and the amount of years that I’ve had to go through to get to this point,” Banham said. “I’m really lucky to be a part of this organization that believes in me. I haven’t always felt that way and been so comfortable and been so trusted with the ball in my hands.

“That’s a shooter’s dream.”

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