Angel Reese is ready to start
winning in the WNBA after injuries and record-setting season
[May 10, 2025]
By ANDREW SELIGMAN
CHICAGO (AP) — Angel Reese's rookie year surpassed nearly all
expectations.
The Chicago Sky All-Star set records before her season got cut short
by an injury and helped the league soar to new heights in popularity
after she and the Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark took their rivalry
from the college ranks to the pros.
One thing Reese didn't do was win. Not the way she is accustomed to
winning. That's something she wants to change, starting with a
marquee opener at Indiana on May 17.
“I wasn't used to that," Reese said. "It just takes an adjustment.
It's something that you don't want to get used to because you don't
want to get in a mindset, like, ‘Oh, we’re just going to be losing
every night.' We were right there every night.”
The Sky finished 10th in the WNBA with a 13-27 record last season
and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018. The
disappointing results were despite getting significant contributions
from Reese and fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso. The two young stars
are back, and the team made major roster changes to give them some
help.
Chicago fired former coach Teresa Weatherspoon after one year and
hired Las Vegas assistant Tyler Marsh to replace the Naismith Hall
of Famer.
The Sky also brought in veteran leadership, including franchise
career assist leader Courtney Vandersloot and acquiring two-time
All-Star Ariel Atkins from Washington. Chicago hopes the additions
will help Reese and Cardoso take their games to another level.
“She wants to compete, she wants to win, she’s somebody that puts
that above everything else," general manager Jeff Pagliocca said of
Reese. "With all the time that she puts into building her brand and
flying all over the world, she still has proven to us time and time
again she puts basketball first.
"Only a competitive player is going to have all these things in her
life that are so special but still want to be the greatest player
she can be.”
Reese and Clark helped change the landscape of the WNBA, drawing
sellout crowds and record ratings while spurring debates about the
sport and society. The rivals from LSU and Iowa showcased a style
and swagger that captivated the nation when they were going at it in
college.
Reese, who finished second to Clark in the Rookie of the Year
voting, averaged 13.6 points and a league-record 13.1 rebounds. She
set a WNBA record with double-doubles in 15 straight games and
finished with 26 on the season — the most ever by a rookie.
Reese briefly held the mark for total rebounds with 446, only to
miss the final six games with a wrist injury. While she was out,
league MVP A’ja Wilson finished with 451.
But while the records piled up, so did the losses.
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Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese responds to the crowd after a WNBA
exhibition basketball game against Brazil in Baton Rouge, La.,
Friday, May 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
In two seasons at Maryland and two more at LSU,
Reese's teams lost a total of 20 games and never dropped more than
two in a row. She won an NCAA championship with the Tigers in 2023,
beating Clark and Iowa in the final.
The Sky, meanwhile, lost 12 of their final 14 games last season.
They dropped seven in a row before beating the Los Angeles Sparks on
Sept. 6, only to have Reese suffer a hairline fracture in her left
wrist that required surgery. With their star sidelined, they won
their next game and lost the final five.
“Obviously, that left a bad taste in my mouth,” she said.
Reese had a busy offseason, playing in the Unrivaled 3-on-3 league
and trying to increase her range and develop into the sort of
stretch power forward the Sky envision her becoming. She shot 39%
last season and made just 3 of 16 3-pointers.
“We want her to be dynamic,” Marsh said. “We want her to be able to
score inside. We want to be able to create space for her to have
more one-on-one finishes inside and to not have to have to feel like
she's got to play in a crowd. We want to put the ball in her hands
on the perimeter and allow her to facilitate and create off the
dribble as well.”
Reese said the issue was more her hesitancy to take the shots than
her ability to hit shots from the perimeter.
“I always just tell myself if I work out and make the shots I might
as well take them in the game,” she said.
Reese got a taste of the championship atmosphere when she sat
courtside during the WNBA finals between New York and Minnesota. She
showed up for Game 5 wearing what looked like a custom outfit split
down the middle with a Liberty jersey on her left side and Lynx
jersey on the right.
Reese also excelled in Unrivaled. Her team Rose BC won the
championship, though she missed the playoffs after hurting her
surgically repaired wrist. She likes the makeup of the Sky and
believes Chicago will be difficult to beat.
“I think we have the right pieces this year,” Reese said. “We have
the great veteran leadership. We have coaches that just built a
culture from the beginning and built the standards, so I’m excited.”
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