Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot. Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Angel Reese takes direct shot at Chicago Sky teammate and former Gonzaga guard Courtney Vandersloot

Originally posted on Gonzaga Bulldogs on SI
By Andy Patton | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 11:57 AM ET

It's no secret things are going extremely poorly for the Chicago Sky in the 2025 WNBA season.

It's also not a secret that Sky second-year forward Angel Reese is unhappy about it, as she went to the press and called out multiple teammates and coaches by name, including former Gonzaga guard Courtney Vandersloot.

According to Annie Costabile of Front Office Sports, Reese questioned how Vandersloot will return to form "at the age she's at" after she tore her ACL seven games into the season. Reese went on to say, "We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who’s been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before."

Vandersloot is not only willing to compete for a championship, she's won a pair of them, bringing Chicago its first title back in 2021 and winning another one with the New York Liberty in 2024.

The five-time All-Star has led the WNBA in assists seven times and is second in league history behind Sue Bird. She is almost certainly going to be a first-ballot hall of famer whenever she does retire, and Reese calling her out when the injury occurred a few minutes into the seventh game of the regular season feels misguided at best — after all, the Sky were 2-4 prior to the injury (33%) and have gone just 7-26 (21.2%) since then.

It's true Vandersloot will be 37 next season, but she is only under contract for the remainder of this year — which she will spend on the sideline recovering. Reese implying the Sky need a new, younger, point guard is already icky, but saying it about a WNBA legend who suffered a catastrophic, potentially career-threatening injury over four months ago, and who isn't even under contract after this season, is downright cruel.

Reese made sure to spread the love, directly stating she doesn't believe teammates Rachel Banham or Hailey Van Lith are capable of leading a playoff team — ignoring that another guard on the team, Ariel Atkins, won a championship with the Washington Mystics in 2019.

Plus, Van Lith is a rookie averaging just 12.4 minutes per game through her first 29 professional games — most players don't exactly look like championship-level guards that early in their career, especially in the WNBA, where rookies have historically always struggled. And Van Lith has already proven herself a winner by taking three different teams to the Elite Eight while in college.

The Sky have five regular season games remaining before the offseason, where they will have a tough decision to make. Reese has a high motor and is an elite rebounder, but the two sides may not have a repairable relationship at this point.

Insulting a franchise icon, while she is recovering from a brutal injury suffered competing alongside you, is a pretty easy way to make enemies around your team.