Despite the growing importance of the Chicago star to her franchise, Angel Reese is continually victimized on social media and heavily criticized when her performances fall below the required standard. Yet, the LSU graduate is rarely praised when she inspires the Sky to a victory. This could not be any more obvious after the All-Star starter list was released, and Reese was not on it. She was, however, named Player of the Week after a string of impressive games.
During her rookie campaign, Chicago's seventh overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft impressed with her elite ability on the boards, smashing the single-season rebounding record (446). With the records mounting up, the Sky fan-favourite was awarded her first All-Star selection while winning the WNBA Rookie of the Month award for June.
With a change of head coach in Chicago, a change of responsibility came too for the Sky fan-favourite, with the newly appointed Tyler Marsh trusting Reese to become the team's primary playmaker, forced by the Sky's agonising point guard problem. Regardless of what her coach believes, All-Star starter voting has suggested that the forward's expanded skillset does not convince a section of the WNBA viewership.
Is the Sky forward's latest All-Star snub a representation of a star being undervalued in the WNBA? Or are there simply better frontcourt options more deserving of a prestigious starter spot?
Angel Reese has had some great performances despite her team’s struggles
Chicago Sky's Angel Reese was selected as the WNBA's Player of the Week after a sensational string of performances saw the star average a phenomenal 19.7 points, 17 rebounds, and two steals over three games.
In addition to this, the 23-year-old became the first player in WNBA history to end four successive games with 15+ rebounds. The dominoes just kept falling for Reese as she scored a season-high 24 points in a 92-85 victory over fellow regular-season strugglers, the Los Angeles Sparks.
Reese has continued to fine-tune her performances as this campaign has progressed, with a magnificent triple-double performance during the 78-66 win against the Connecticut Sun on June 15, registering 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Not only did she exhibit her offensive prowess, but the star showcased her two-way ability by stealing the ball on three occasions and rejecting two of her opponent's shot attempts.
It hasn’t been an easy season
A second consecutive year of setting records has come with challenging periods for Angel Reese. During the first seven games of the 2025 campaign, Marsh's offensive general did not record one performance with a field-goal percentage of over 45%, including a matchup with defending champions, the New York Liberty, in which she did not score on any of her eight shots.
On top of the woeful shooting to start the year, the 6-foot-3 star turned over possession of the ball 14 times in her first three games. With the Sky commencing the season with a four-game losing streak, it would be hard to dispute that these turnovers weren't a major contributing factor to this awful form.
Angel Reese was undervalued in the All-Star starter voting
When analysing the fan voting, it is understandable that Reese missed out as an All-Star starter with names such as MVP candidates Napheesa Collier and A'ja Wilson.. However, it is the breakdown of the voting that clearly shows disrespect towards the second-year star.
Surprisingly, Reese topped the fan voting out of the 12 candidates. Yet, the media brutally placed her bottom of the pile—below Washington Mystics' impressive rookie Kiki Iriafen and Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams. Even the WNBA players' vote only had Reese ranked twelfth.
Here are the overall WNBA All Star scores.
— Rachel Galligan (@RachGall) June 30, 2025
Each player’s score was weighted based on 50 percent for fan votes, 25 percent for player votes and 25 percent for media panel votes. pic.twitter.com/6mHW9SXRHw
Whether you believe Angel Reese's performances during the 2025 WNBA campaign warrant an All-Star starter spot, it cannot be denied that the star continues to be undervalued despite her ever-developing skill set.