Chicago Sky have a lot of problems and Angel Reese is a big one

The WNBA season has not gone as expected for the Chicago Sky. There are a lot of reasons for that, but Angel Reese is a big one.

Reese, the seventh pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, is a lightning rod. She's tried to compare her stardom to Caitlin Clark, yet the product on the court hasn't matched up.

In their meeting earlier this season, the Iowa legend recorded a triple-double, looking like an MVP candidate. Reese, on the other hand, has struggled from the jump in 2025, at least offensively.

As a rookie, Reese averaged a double-double with 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game. She only shot 39 percent from the field, but there was hope that percentage would significantly improve this season.

It hasn't.

Reese is bringing down 12.6 rebounds per game. Yet, her scoring average has dipped to 9.3. What's even worse is that her field-goal percentage is 30.9 percent, including a dismal 30.8 percent on two-point attempts. 

That two-point percentage is 10 percent lower than last season. Reese is taking fewer shots and playing fewer minutes. Incredibly, the former LSU star is averaging 5.6 offensive rebounds per game, but she's known for often rebounding her misses.

Reese isn't Chicago's only problem, though. 

The Sky were expected to contend for the WNBA playoffs, and trading for a couple of WNBA All-Stars — Courtney Vandersloot and Ariel Atkins — signaled the organization's belief that it could take the next step.

Reese and Kamilla Cardoso were a huge part of that thinking. Cardoso, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA draft, has been better than Reese, but she hasn't taken a second-year leap either.

The 6-foot-7 center has upped her scoring average by a point (9.8 to 10.9), but the shooting percentage has dropped slightly with more volume (52.1 to 50.8). Her minutes are down, along with her blocks and rebounds (1.4 to 0.7 and 7.9 to 6.1, respectively). 

Reese and Cardoso were expected to be a dominant tandem. Instead, they have regressed in 2025.

The results don't lie. Neither do the advanced stats. Chicago has the 11th-best record (2-5) out of 13 teams, but is 12th in point differential (-12.7) and ranks 12th in offensive (97.4) and defensive rating (113.4). 

Atkins has played well. She's leading Chicago in scoring (13.7 ppg) and shooting 40 percent from three-point range. The five-time All-WNBA defender hasn't helped Chicago's defense, though. 

The offense took a major hit over the weekend, as Vandersloot is out for the season with a torn ACL. She was the Sky's best playmaker (5.3 assists) and the third-leading scorer. 

Hailey Van Lith is likely to see more minutes. She played a career-high 26 minutes on Saturday, scoring seven points. She may give the Sky a much-needed spark.

Up next are the New York Liberty on Tuesday, the defending WNBA champions. New York is beating teams by an average of 19 points, so things could go from bad to worse for Chicago.

Reese isn't the only problem. But she hasn't played like a solution either. 

The LSU product is an elite rebounder, but if she wants to be viewed in the same light as Clark, her game needs to expand. 

Reese has been one of the worst offensive players in the WNBA, and until that changes, Chicago will be stuck in the cellar.