May 22, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) drives to the basket against New York Liberty forward Kennedy Burke (22) during the second half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky Are Off to Awful WNBA Season Start

Originally posted on Women's Fastbreak on SI
By Robin Lundberg | Last updated May 23, 2025 8:15 AM ET

The Chicago Sky made moves in the offseason like a team that wanted to compete for the playoffs. This was made evident by the trade Chicago made with the Washington Mystics for Ariel Atkins, as the franchise parted ways with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and a first-round swap in 2027. The hope obviously being that Atkins could combine with the core led by Angel Reese to see the Sky to the postseason.

However, while there is still a long way to go, the struggles for Chicago to begin this season are not a great indicator of how things will turn out. Because following a 99-74 blowout loss to the New York Liberty, the Sky are now -60 after the first two contests, the worst mark through two games in WNBA history.

Tough start to 2025 in Chicago: The Sky's -60 point differential this season is the worst through the first two games of a season in WNBA history. They'll head back on the road in search of their first win, starting with a meeting Sunday versus L.A.
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) May 23, 2025

While such performances are of course a team effort, the Sky's most noteworthy player has also struggled mightily to begin the 2025 campaign. Angel Reese went without a field goal in the game against the Liberty and boasts a league worst +/- number to start the season.

Angel Reese has the lowest +/- in the WNBA. pic.twitter.com/b0AWM3yjeW
— Polymarket Hoops (@StatMamba) May 23, 2025

The latter statistic is more a function of the Sky's performance as a whole, but Reese's individual woes cannot be ignored. The Sky star's most noteworthy issue has been finishing at the rim, a problem that has continued to begin this season. Reese is 5 for 22 from the floor overall, and only 4 for 17 from within 5 feet, or 23.5% in the 0-2 start.

In addition, Reese currently leads the league in turnovers per game, another indicator of how awful things have been for her and the squad to begin the season.

Of course, the hope from Sky fans is that Reese and the team can do what she does best and rebound from what is only two games. Still, it's hard to see this start from her and Chicago as anything but a cause for concern.

This article first appeared on Women's Fastbreak on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: