LSU forward Angel Reese, right, and South Carolina center Kamilla Cardoso battle under the basket on Jan. 25 in Baton Rouge, La.
Gerald Herbert/AP
NEW YORK — Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca and coach Teresa Weatherspoon were standing in the middle of a thunderstorm Monday, each holding a lightning rod.
Their goal was simple: to divert energy into the organization both have been given the task of rebuilding.
When lightning finally struck, it was possibly enough to power the entire city.
Of course, Pagliocca and Weatherspoon weren’t actually standing in a thunderstorm holding metal rods. No, they were in Chicago, executing the first WNBA Draft of both their careers. And the lightning was whom they selected with the No. 3 and No. 7 overall picks: center Kamilla Cardoso of South Carolina and forward Angel Reese of LSU.
In a draft class that has been tapped as the one that will change the trajectory of the league, there was arguably only one franchise (the Fever) that drafted more star power, and it had the No. 1 overall pick (Caitlin Clark).
‘‘My first time playing Kamilla was one of the biggest stages of my life,’’ Reese said. ‘‘She played for Hamilton Heights and I played for St. Frances in high school, and we battled. Now being able to be teammates is going to be amazing.’’
‘‘She’s a great player,’’ Cardoso said of Reese. ‘‘I’m a great player. We’re going to do great things together.’’
The greatness Cardoso and Reese bring lies in the battles they carried out for years while competing against each other in the SEC.
Both terrorized opponents this season, and when they went against each other, it was a guaranteed box-office hit. Now the two will share the court with the Sky, and the team and the WNBA will reap the benefits of their star power together.
Not that the two picks will result in an immediate turnaround for the Sky because both have some developing to do. But what bodes well for both is that they will have
ample opportunity to do so in Chicago.
‘‘Player development is something that I was looking for,’’ Reese said. ‘‘And they looked for [it] in me.’’
At 6-7, Cardoso is a formidable force in the paint. Her size and shot-blocking ability are what made her a player the Sky couldn’t pass on. In her first season, she’ll have the benefit of learning from another exceptional shot-blocker in Elizabeth Williams.
Beyond her shot-blocking, Cardoso’s agility and ability to move with the ball are two qualities that make it hard for defenders to stop her. In her senior season with the Gamecocks, she averaged 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds. She shot 59.4% from the field and helped lead South Carolina to a 38-0 season and an NCAA championship.
‘‘A player that can move as well as she can move [and] that’s as competitive as she is [has high value],’’ Pagliocca said. ‘‘She’s a two-way player. She has incredible hands. Her footwork is on its way, but we want her to shoot the basketball. Slowly but surely, we’ll start pushing her out to the perimeter.’’
The 6-3 Reese’s rebounding is the most impressive aspect of her game right now, and she’s a high-effort player. The Sky want to see her face-up game develop, along with her ability to get out and run the floor to help make plays for her teammates in transition.
‘‘The good news about Reese is she wants to get better,’’ Pagliocca said. ‘‘When we spoke with her, this is stuff that’s a priority to her.’’
The Sky took Gonzaga guard Brynna Maxwell with their final pick, No. 13 overall.
The Sky’s training camp will be highly competitive, with 14 players under contract and only 12 roster spots. Pagliocca signed three players to training-camp contracts, and those are whom Maxwell will be competing against for a spot on the final roster.
‘‘Everybody is going to get a fair chance,’’ Pagliocca said. ‘‘We have a coach that won’t hand anything to anybody. Everybody that wants to make this roster will have to earn it.’’