Was it all a dream?
When Angel Reese was drafted No. 7 in 2024, it felt like a new day in Chicago. The world’s attention was turning toward women’s basketball, and now, blessed with one of the sport’s biggest names, Chicago would be at the epicenter.
Reese had her naysayers coming out of LSU, but she proved many of them wrong.
Her game, it turned out, translated to the pros. In her rookie season, she surpassed Sylvia Fowles to claim the single-season rebounding record and set a WNBA mark for the most consecutive double-doubles with 15.
There was still a lot of room for growth, sure, but it looked like, if she kept growing, she could be the kind of star who changes a franchise.
It wasn’t just that she was a generational rebounder with All-Defense potential and MVP aspirations.
It was also that she was the kind of larger-than-life figure the Sky had not had since Candace Parker. She was the kind of star who ensured celebrities were always courtside at Wintrust — the kind who could hit the Met Gala on a Monday and help down the Liberty on a Tuesday.
That meant something. Players who become the face of a franchise don’t just produce; they project their personality. Reese had all the flair in the world: she was unapologetic, multi-dimensional, a fierce competitor.
Maybe she could come to symbolize Chicago, too.
There was a certain grace in the fact that she wanted to be here. The Sky had struggled to find their footing since the 2021 championship core split and general manager and head coach James Wade departed abruptly during the 2023 season. But Reese embraced it. She wanted to play for Teresa Weatherspoon, a WNBA legend and first-time head coach, and the city rallied around them in 2024.
But the fame and the spotlight Reese carries also embedded a tension into the partnership with the Sky. While Reese pulled Chicago into the WNBA’s modern era, the Sky remained relative stragglers on the organizational side.
As franchises in New York, Phoenix, Minnesota and Las Vegas began operating more like NBA teams—elevating player experiences and infrastructure—the Sky lacked a dedicated practice facility, an in-house analytics team or a robust performance staff. Still, Reese defended them. She told reporters at media day in 2025 that while people want to start with the “glitz and the glamour,” you sometimes have to “start in the gutter.”
It still seemed like maybe Reese and the Sky could evolve together. Growing pains and all.
The second season had plenty of them. Reese endured an epic slump to start the year, struggling to finish around the rim and looking hesitant with her outside shot. But she played through it, adapting to coach Tyler Marsh’s system and showing she could be a playmaker and a ballhandler, too.
Meanwhile, the Sky were headed toward one of their worst seasons in franchise history, weighed down by injuries and a talent deficit. Organizationally, they were trying to elevate the player experience in small ways, but the reality of practicing in a public recreation center overshadowed a lot of it.
By the end of the season, Reese’s public comments suggested she was far less satisfied with the view from the gutter.
On the Sky’s facilities: “Y’all saw the rec where we practice at … I don’t think anyone wants to practice there.”
On their performance staff: “I think they’re doing what they can with what we have — not a lot.”
On their roster: “I’m not settling for the same s— we did this year,” Reese told the Tribune. “We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That’s a non-negotiable for me.”
The Sky ultimately suspended Reese for a half-game for comments she made in the Tribune interview, and she sat out the remainder of the season with a back injury.
The relationship was at a crossroads. Could she still be a foundational piece? A pillar? Somewhere in between? Then, poof, she was gone.
To hear both sides tell it now, it is almost as if the era never happened. Both insist it was a mutual parting: no trade request, no aggressive ouster, no love lost. Just a general manager making an opportunistic move, just a player doing what was best for her career.
“There’s a lot of gray area in basketball and trading and there’s no black and white answer of this is right and this is wrong,” Sky guard Hailey Van Lith said before Wednesday’s preseason game against the Dream. “People just go with their gut and I think that’s kind of what played out. It’s a gray area, and you have respect for everyone involved and you keep pushing.”
The Dream won the gray area Wednesday night, 87-78, with Reese’s game popping. She intercepted predictable passes, pushed the pace in transition and found her shooters in the corner. She looked like what her new teammates have been calling “the missing piece.”
What’s possible for this Dream team in the regular season?
“I think what’s possible is ultimately win a championship,” coach Karm Smesko said before the game.
What’s possible for the Sky?
It’s still tough to get a good read. On paper they look like a playoff-caliber team, but three of their major offseason signings—Azurá Stevens, Courtney Vandersloot and DiJonai Carrington—are all out with injuries and lack specific return timelines.
The Sky do have candidates for the face-of-the-franchise question in Rickea Jackson and Kamilla Cardoso. They’ve also taken steps to professionalize their operation, now practicing at UIC’s Flames Athletic Center and adding a performance staff.
But there’s plenty of gray area left to work through.
Latest on the Sky and WNBA
