Before the Chicago Sky’s game against the Connecticut Sun, comments made by Angel Reese about the state of the Sky’s organization went viral. Reese was obviously frustrated about her team’s lack of success for two consecutive seasons.
She told the Chicago Tribune, “I’m not settling for the same s—-we did this year. We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me. I’m willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that’s what I’m going to do this offseason.”
Reese also noted that she would love to spend her entire career with the Sky but might have to move on if the organization doesn’t build a winning roster. Moreover, she voiced a desire to be coached harder and for the Sky to bring in a high-level point guard after veteran Courtney Vandersloot suffered a season-ending ACL injury.
After an 88-64 win over the Sun, Reese, who led the team in points, rebounds, and assists, cleared up part of her comments and publicly apologized to her teammates.
“I probably am frustrated at myself right now,” Reese said in the postgame press conference. “I think the language is taken out of context, and I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates because they’ve been through this with me throughout the whole year…They showed up for me through thick and thin and in the locker room when nobody could see anything. So, I would apologize to my teammates—which I already have.”
However, Reese’s apology doesn’t erase the fact that the organization has some serious issues to clean up and roster holes to fill.
The Sky’s win-now approach to the 2025 season backfired
After drafting Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese in the first round of the 2024 WNBA Draft, the Sky quickly decided to accelerate their rebuild. Instead of trying to get more young talent to develop alongside Reese and Cardoso, the Sky fired head coach Theresa Weatherspoon and hired former Aces assistant Tyler Marsh, signed several veterans in free agency, and traded the third overall pick in the 2025 draft for Ariel Atkins.
Atkins is a talented scorer, a 3-point threat, and a strong perimeter defender. She perfectly fit the description of what the Sky needed on the wing. So did Courtney Vandersloot when it came to the point guard position. Her playmaking was supposed to unlock Reese and Cardoso and help the young duo take the next steps offensively.
Nevertheless, it took the Sky five games to get their first win, and they just got their tenth win when they beat the Sun. Even when healthy, the Sky had one of the worst records in the league. Then, Vandersloot suffered an ACL injury seven games into the season, destroying all hopes of a turnaround. Atkins and Reese also missed time, causing the Sky to fall off even more.
The Sky won’t even get to use their own lottery pick in the next draft. That pick will go to the Minnesota Lynx because of a previous trade. The fact that the Sky will get Connecticut’s first-round pick is the only consolation after a string of baffling moves and tough losses.
Essentially, the Sky gave up the opportunity to draft Sonia Citron, who was already named an All-Star in her rookie season and would fit perfectly next to Reese and Cardoso, and brought in a bunch of veterans to potentially finish the regular season with fewer wins than they did last year. Chicago finished the 2024 regular season with 13 wins. There are still four games left in this season, but three of them are against the Aces and Liberty. It will be difficult for the Sky to tie or exceed last year’s win total.
Angel Reese has been vocal about her desire to win before. The Sky’s first attempt to build a team that is ready to win right away didn’t pan out.