Jia Perkins comes to the Chicago Sky from the Charlotte Sting. This 5’8” guard was drafted in the third round and 35th overall for the 2004 season by Charlotte, however missed most of the season because of the birth of her daughter Aalirah and an unfortunate groin strain. Last season, able to play in 30 games, Jia averaged 5.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Against two formidable opponents, the Seattle Storm and the Phoenix Mercury, she scored 21 points, a career high. She ended the season ranked 8th in the WNBA for averaging .9 steals per turnover, and 5th in steals per 40 minutes (2.5).

Born in Granbury, Texas, Jia decided to stay close to home for college. At Texas Tech she averaged 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 115 games and was named the team Most Valuable Player and All-Big 12 Honorable mention as a freshman. For the 2002-2003 season she was named All-American Honorable Mention by Associated Press and Kodak All-America Honorable mention. As a junior, Jia was named to the All-Big 12 first team and was selected as a member of the Big 12 All-Tournament team. Jia left her college career ranked 4th in scoring (1,768), second in steals (305) and 7th in assists (376) on Texas Tech’s all-time leader board. In 2002, Jia played on the USA Basketball World Championship for Young Women’s Qualifying Team that won the gold medal in Brazil

Jia knows what it takes to play professional sports, her father, Johnny Perkins, played professional football for the New York Giants.