The Chicago Sky know the formula for Angel Reese’s success.
They spent the last two years cultivating and supporting the forward’s tenacity on the boards. Her play in the paint was a key fixture of the Sky’s attempts to build a new culture under head coach Tyler Marsh. But even that familiarity couldn’t help the Sky outlast their former star in an 82-75 loss to the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday, a game that marked Reese’s first regular-season return to Chicago.
For most of Tuesday’s loss, the rematch between Reese and former teammate Kamilla Cardoso provided every ounce of its billed hype. Reese pestered Cardoso at the top of the key and tapped rebounds up and out of her reach on the offensive boards. Cardoso slammed the ball — and, by proxy, Reese — out of bounds with a block in the fourth quarter.
Despite showing much-needed fight, the Sky still lack the legs to outlast a better opponent. The Dream scored four second-chance points fueled by offensive rebounds from Reese in the final two minutes, allowing Atlanta to crack open a double-digit lead after previously trailing in the clutch. Reese led Atlanta with 17 rebounds and 17 points, which included a rare 3-pointer in the first half. Another double-double from their former star plunged the Sky back into another skid of consecutive losses.
“I don’t think it takes a game coaching against her — once you’ve coached her — to appreciate what (Reese) brings on a nightly basis,” Marsh said. “It’s really remarkable to watch. She’s showing continuous improvement each year in her game, no matter what aspect of it is. … She’s a competitor. She’s a winner. She’s a fighter. She’s in a really, really good situation for her to continue to thrive and to compete for a championship.”
Reese earned an emphatic swell of cheers when she was introduced in the Dream starting lineup. Her No. 5 jersey dotted the stands. But Tuesday’s game was also played in front of an undersold crowd at Wintrust Arena. Most of the Sky Deck sat empty. Long stretches of courtside seats remained unfilled. And the crowd reached its loudest fever pitch in the moments when Cardoso earned a jump ball with the score tied at the end of the third quarter.
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Chicago fans loved Reese, but they loved her most when she played for the Sky. Now, she’s simply the latest addition to a lengthy list of beloved former stars who return to town a few times each season.
Two months after the fact, both sides of the trade are still a work in progress. The Dream are a top-three team in the WNBA with an 8-3 record. Reese is still the league’s leading rebounder (11.7 per game) and could break her own offensive rebounding record if she maintains her current rate of 5.6 per game. Reese remains a shaky shooter whose offensive fit — while improved — isn’t perfect in Atlanta. Still, the Dream are resoundingly bettered by her consistency on defense and on the boards.
The Sky, meanwhile, are struggling. They lost seven of their last eight games. They’re only two games from the bottom rung of the league. And they don’t own their first-round draft pick next year, which erases any silver lining for another losing season.
Injuries can be blamed, but can’t be labeled a surprise due to general manager Jeff Pagliocca’s decision to sign three injured players (Courtney Vandersloot, DiJonai Carrington and Azurá Stevens) in free agency. But the Sky can’t make 3s, contain the ball or stop themselves from fouling, key weaknesses that snuffed out any early positivity from a 3-1 start.
Skylar Diggins slammed the team’s collective effort after Sunday’s blowout loss to the expansion Toronto Tempo, citing a “loser mentality” on the boards and directing specific tactical questions back to Marsh.
“We’ve got to have more maturity and more leadership on and off the floor, from the players on the floor and from the staff as well, and more connectivity,” Diggins said after Sunday’s loss. “The games ain’t going to slow down and teams are going to keep getting better and better around us. So we’ve got to figure out how we’re going to turn this corner here. It’s been an extremely frustrating experience.”
Tuesday offered an improvement in the effort department, but ultimately didn’t change the trend for a Sky team descending toward the bottom of the WNBA. It’s still early. Despite a poor start, the Sky are only five games back from the first team in the league and two games back from what would be the playoff cutoff line. The return of Carrington and Vandersloot could offer a lift. Seasons are long for a reason.
Still, the early returns on the trade for Reese do not inspire confidence — especially since there is no evidence that the Sky will suddenly become successful in their utilization of late first-round draft picks in these next two drafts.
Chicago failed to identify and develop non-lottery talent in its first three years under Pagliocca, especially with non-lottery picks. Former No. 11 pick Hailey Van Lith was cut in training camp this spring. Ajša Sivka never made it stateside. Reese is gone. These late first-round picks do not have a static value. In Chicago, they’re worth less than ever. And that means the value of this trade still seems to rest largely on whether the Sky can win this season.
Maybe that’s not a fair metric. The Sky couldn’t win with Reese. They still can’t win without her. And the cracks in the foundation of this organization run much deeper than any single player — or trade.
