Can the Chicago Sky build a winner around Angel Reese?

On the first possession of the Chicago Sky’s preseason, Courtney Vandersloot pitched the ball to Angel Reese on the left wing. The second-year All-Star turned, drove to the right side of the basket and earned a shooting foul.

However you choose to classify the play — a handoff, a drive right or something miscellaneous — it would have been a rarity last season. Reese was the recipient of two handoffs last season (ending in an offensive foul and a missed elbow jumper) and drove right 34 times, or once per game.

No matter. The Sky, led by first-year coach Tyler Marsh, has preached all offseason that Reese’s versatility (as well as Kamilla Cardoso’s) extends far beyond what she displayed last season, and the team is confident enough to showcase it from the jump in 2025. The only limits on Reese’s potential came from a 2024 roster that lacked spacing, playmaking and maturity.

The Sky entered the offseason knowing that the only way to build around its franchise frontcourt would be to fix those deficiencies, specifically on the experience front. A year after three of their top-five minute-getters had three or fewer years of WNBA tenure, the roster has turned over, becoming older in the process.

“We want the best players, but we also have to make sure that there is balance, and the best teams operate with vets,” general manager Jeff Pagliocca said during training camp.

Last season, too much was individually placed on the shoulders of Reese, who immediately assumed the role as the face of the franchise and ended the season as Chicago’s best player and lone All-Star. The Sky cratered without Reese, their net rating dropping from plus-0.8 to minus-21.0 points per 100 possessions when she was off the court. Although Reese sought out mentorship from then-coach Teresa Weatherspoon and luminaries around the league, Chicago’s goal for this season was to bring players in-house for Reese to learn from, allowing her to focus on her game instead of preemptively having to lead the team as well.

Vandersloot is merely the tip of the iceberg. The Sky also acquired Ariel Atkins and Rebecca Allen via trade, signed Kia Nurse in free agency and welcomed back Elizabeth Williams after an injury limited her to nine games last season.

“I just love that we have a group of leaders,” Reese said. “Having those vets is just like a breath of fresh air, and knowing and being directed and having direction, that was the best thing for me.”

Vandersloot, Atkins and even Marsh can provide the championship know-how that Reese is searching for; collectively, that trio has been a part of five of the last six WNBA titles. Reese said missing out on the postseason left a bad taste in her mouth all offseason. Going to the finals as a spectator provided more motivation to chase the playoffs in her second season.

Vandersloot’s conditioning has already inspired Reese, who said the 14-year vet is a “well-oiled machine” and at 36 still looks 21. The presence of winners also elevated competition in camp, something Reese didn’t realize she was missing as a rookie.

“It’s something you can’t really put a price on,” Marsh said. “Those are people who’ve been around this league and have shown their value a long time on the court, but they certainly have value in our locker room as well when it comes to our younger players, and kind of showing them the ropes on how to work, and how to be a professional.”

The veterans are also around to make Reese’s job easier on the court. Too often last season, Chicago’s post players operated in a crowd. Now, Atkins and Allen come in as career 36-plus percent 3-point shooters to draw defenders from the paint and create some space. With the returning Rachel Banham and Michaela Onyenwere, the Sky will always have at least two credible shooting threats on the floor.

Vandersloot also organizes the offense in a way few point guards have in league history. Her teams have been top three in assist percentage seven of the last eight seasons, including three first-place finishes. Her first setup for Reese was a sign of things to come for both young posts. She then had four pick-and-roll assists to Cardoso in the second preseason game; Cardoso had 19 total baskets as the roller last season.

In 2024 Chicago finished last in league assist percentage, with players seemingly not on the same page. Allen told the Chicago Tribune when she played against the Sky as a member of the Phoenix Mercury, “I remember you had to be pretty alert as a defender against Chicago last season, just because you didn’t know what was going to happen next — and I don’t think that they did either.”

More space and playmaking allow the coaching staff to move Reese to different areas of the floor. More than half of her possessions as a rookie came on post-ups, cuts and putbacks. Marsh wants to put her in the pick-and-roll, make plays from the short roll and even pop out of the screens on occasion. Reese can sometimes facilitate the offense as a trailer in transition and function as a point forward.

“It’s about creating space, and making defenses honest, what it ultimately does is open up the paint,” Marsh said of the new system. “We don’t want to limit (Reese) just to being a rebounder, because she’s so much more than that, her potential is so much more than that.”

By focusing their future on their young frontcourt, the Sky front office eschewed other team-building paths. Chennedy Carter was Chicago’s leading scorer in 2024 but wasn’t given a qualifying offer and is not on a WNBA roster. As Pagliocca noted on media day, without alluding to Carter specifically, “Maybe you move on from a talented player to ensure that there’s a good fit long term.”

The Sky discovered a talent base in 2024. Now comes the hard part of building a foundation around Reese, Cardoso and the next draft class of Hailey Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld. The brain trust determined that the best way forward would be to surround youth with proven veterans, even if that meant sacrificing some draft equity in the process.

The franchise has a stated goal of returning to the playoffs, from Pagliocca at the top, who said, “we’re always going to be in win-now mode,” to Reese and the rest of the roster. There isn’t an appetite for a slow build.

Like Reese on that opening possession, the Sky moved decisively this offseason. It’s looking for an immediate result.

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