Angel Reese’s sophomore season ended with a lot of questions and uncertainties. After an interview was published in which Reese said that she wanted to win and the Sky’s current roster wasn’t good enough to do that, she was suspended for half a game for “comments detrimental to the team.” Reese didn’t play the second half of the game or the rest of the season due to a back injury. It seemed that a deep rift had sprung up between Reese and the Sky’s front office and coaching staff. 2026 will only be the third year of Reese’s rookie contract, but she could try to force the Sky into a trade if she really wanted to leave Chicago.
Reese said during Team USA training camp that she plans on returning to the Sky for the 2026 season. However, her expectations for the team have not changed one bit.
On her podcast, Unapologetically Angel, she spoke about her goals for 2026. “Basketball-wise, just continue to be great, continue to elevate myself and be a great player, a great person, continue to be an All-Star, break records,” Reese said. “Win, win, win, win, win. 2026, I’m looking for the playoffs.”
The Sky tried to accelerate their rebuild in 2025
Just one season after drafting Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso, the Sky sensed an opportunity to accelerate their rebuild and try to build a competitive roster right away. They signed veterans Kia Nurse, Rebecca Allen, and Courtney Vandersloot in free agency and traded the third overall pick in the 2025 Draft for Ariel Atkins. The four veterans were supposed to provide a combination of experience, 3-point shooting, defense, playmaking, and high-level scoring to take the Sky to the next level.
Chicago never reached that next level. Courtney Vandersloot suffered a season-ending injury just seven games into the season, nothing clicked for the Sky, and they finished with a worse record than in the 2024 season.
Even with Vandersloot in the lineup, the Sky started with a 2-5 record, beating only the Dallas Wings. They looked nowhere near close to competing with the Fever, Liberty, Sparks, and Mercury.
This offseason is the Sky’s big chance to rectify their 2025 mistakes
The biggest free agency period in recent memory poses a final chance for the Sky to rectify their miscalculations from the previous offseason. Almost every veteran will enter some kind of free agency, and the Sky will have a chance to completely revamp the roster around Reese and Cardoso—if they can convince big-time free agents to join the team despite the Sky’s reputation as one of the worst-run franchises in the league.
The Sky also have the fifth pick in a stacked 2026 WNBA Draft. Trading a lottery pick for a veteran All-Star already didn’t work out this year, but it would be one way for the Sky to bring in high-end talent if they strike out in free agency. Reese is under contract through the 2026 season with a team option for the 2027 season. If Chicago cannot build a competitive team until then, Reese may be the next star on her way out.