Angel Reese says she plans to return to the Chicago Sky for third season

DURHAM, N.C. — After a tumultuous end to her second WNBA season that included a team-issued suspension, Angel Reese said she remains committed to the Chicago Sky.

Speculation about her future have swirled after her late-season team suspension. “I’m under contract, so yes, I plan on returning to the Sky,” Reese said Friday at Team USA’s training camp at Duke. “(I’m) continuing to talk to (coach) Tyler (Marsh) and building that relationship with (general manager) Jeff (Pagliocca) and Tyler.”

Reese is one of four players under contract with Chicago next season: fellow 2024 all-rookie player Kamilla Cardoso and 2025 draftees Hailey Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld.

Reese’s second WNBA campaign was much more challenging than her first. Although she was named an All-Star for the second consecutive season and improved much of her statistical output (she recorded more points, assists and blocks per game while increasing her field-goal and free-throw percentages), Chicago struggled mightily, finishing 10-34, tied for last in the WNBA standings. The Sky were essentially eliminated from playoff contention before the All-Star break despite making win-now moves during the offseason, including trading the No. 3 pick in the 2025 draft (which became All-Star Sonia Citron) for a one-year rental of Ariel Atkins.

Reese, a former college star at LSU, publicly expressed her dissatisfaction with the state of the franchise in a Chicago Tribune interview in September, lamenting that the Sky needed better talent but didn’t have much to attract players in free agency. She later apologized that her comments hurt teammates, yet the Sky still suspended her for half a game for conduct detrimental to the team.

Reese didn’t suit up for Chicago after her suspension and was listed a DNP for the remainder of the season because of a back injury. Reese said on Friday that she “recovered at the end of the season, I was all good.” She has been a full participant at Team USA camp.

The Sky are no strangers to players demanding trades away from the franchise while still signed with them, including Sylvia Fowles, Elena Delle Donne in 2017 and Kahleah Copper in 2024. That Reese is under contract was no guarantee that she would want to return to Chicago.

Regardless of her apology to her teammates, Reese’s expectations for the future of her WNBA career haven’t changed. She wants to play with other great players — an opportunity afforded to her by Team USA — and she wants to compete for championships.

Her statement that she would honor her contract gives Chicago some security in the short-term, but perhaps not for much longer if the direction of the franchise doesn’t change.

This article originally appeared in The Athletic.

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