When the Chicago Sky selected Angel Reese, one of the most celebrated college players in years, with the No 7 overall pick last year, many believed she could be a turning point for the franchise. Yes, the Sky had won the NBA finals in 2021 but they have been a losing team for most of their history and Reese, in addition to her celebrity, would bring explosive athleticism and superb rebounding to the franchise. As a player, those lofty hopes have panned out: she is already a two-time All-Star and has led the league in rebounds in both her WNBA seasons.
As a teammate, things aren’t so smooth. The Sky were knocked out in the first round of the playoffs last season. This time around they finished with the joint-worst record in the entire WNBA, alongside the Dallas Wings.
Reese, it is fair to say, has not been shy about showing her feelings. After saying the Sky “have to get good players … have to get great players” and implying she’d seek a trade if that didn’t happen, Reese apologized. “I really didn’t intentionally mean to put down my teammates,” she said. The Sky duly suspended her for half a game for “statements detrimental to the team.”
As a former NBA player myself, I can testify that criticizing your teammates – in public at least – is a no-no. But is a suspension and a statement to the media the way it should have been handled? It seemed as though the Sky were attempting to embarrass Reese. She has been the target of abuse on social media ever since she entered the league, partly due to her so-called rivalry with Caitlin Clark (a rivalry both women play down). By reprimanding her, the Sky opened the way for her online critics to feast and slander Reese.
The punishment looked petty, and quickly backfired. Sky fans flooded social media with support for Reese, and at Chicago’s final home game, signs appeared in the crowd reading “Free Angel Reese”, while others called for the firing of general manager Jeff Pagliocca.
The suspension didn’t just seem heavy-handed, it was out of step with the rest of the league. Other WNBA stars have voiced frustrations with their teams without being punished. Pagliocca himself later echoed Reese’s sentiment about the need for better roster construction – the very thing she was suspended for. The message was unmistakable: when Reese says it, it’s insubordination; when the general manager says it, it’s a plan. That message is even worse when you consider how often Black women like Reese are attacked for speaking their minds.
The irony is that Reese’s clash with the front office is only the latest chapter in a much longer, shambolic narrative for the Sky. This is a franchise with a history of running off talent. WNBA journalist Trysta Krick recently told me on my podcast, The Collision, about problems at the Sky. Sylvia Fowles, Elena Delle Donne, Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot – all left Chicago frustrated (the latter returned this season to find things aren’t much better than when she left). Marina Mabrey spoke about racial tensions. Candace Parker, a Chicago native who helped Sky to the WNBA title in 2021, chose to leave. Time and again, the Sky have wasted the chance to construct a lasting championship roster.
“There are so many players that could be on the team right now but elected to leave the Chicago Sky due to their issues with the organization,” Krick told me. “Could you imagine a Chicago team with Kahleah Copper, Angel Reese, Marina Mabrey, Kamilla Cardoso? That’s a championship caliber roster. But they have a history of squandering away talent.”
Firing coach Teresa Weatherspoon only compounded matters. Reese said the decision left her “heartbroken” and added that Weatherspoon was the only person who “truly believed in me” as a Black woman in sports. It is difficult to imagine a more tone-deaf move if the goal is to keep your franchise player happy.
Perhaps this would be more palatable if the Sky were competing for titles. But the last two seasons have been, bluntly, abysmal. In 2024 they won 18 of their 30 regular-season games. In 2025, they won 13, finishing joint-last despite having two 2024 All-Star rookies, Reese and center Kamilla Cardoso. In addition this year’s rookies – point guard Hailey Van Lith and forward Maddy Westbeld – have had difficult seasons, despite being exceptional talents.
Even the draft has become a symbol of mismanagement. This year, Chicago passed on Sonia Citron, who blossomed into a rookie All-Star elsewhere, instead trading her rights – along with a future first-round pick – for Ariel Atkins, a veteran likely to leave in free agency. The Sky mortgaged their future for nothing, while their young stars struggled through another losing season.
It is little wonder that fans are already debating where Reese might play next year. Pairing with the Wings’ Paige Bueckers or even Clark at the Indiana Fever – a move that would send the internet into meltdown – are fantasy scenarios, but the point is simple: Reese has options. She is a proven star, still only at the beginning of her career, and she deserves an organization that treats her with the respect she has earned.
If Reese decides she’s had enough of the Chicago Sky, no one should be surprised. The blame won’t fall on her. It will be squarely on an organization that seems intent on driving its best players away.
