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12 hours ago
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Despite leading the league in rebounds and being named to the WNBA’s All-Rookie team, Angel Reese’s 2024 debut season ended earlier than she had planned. A wrist injury sidelined her for the Chicago Sky’s final five games, and the team failed to make the playoffs. Still, she went to the WNBA Finals, watching the Liberty win the WNBA title over the Lynx, and found motivation.
“It left a bad taste in my mouth, not making the playoffs last year, not being able to help the team,” Reese said at Sky media day on Monday. “Obviously I went to the Finals, just soaking that up and feeling what they were feeling. It’s something that I'm really eager and really, really hungry for.”
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Kamilla Cardoso, Reese’s teammate, is also going into her second year. Like Reese, she dealt with injuries in her rookie season, and is hoping for an improvement in year two.
“I'll hope for year two to play harder, do whatever my team needs me to do in order for us to get the wins and make it to the playoffs,” Cardoso said.
They are returning to a Chicago team that underwent some change during the offseason. The Sky let go of Teresa Weatherspoon after one season in Chicago, hiring former Aces assistant Tyler Marsh to replace her as head coach. Then the Sky added several players with a strong veteran presence, including Courtney Vandersloot, who won a title with Chicago and another with New York, and Ariel Atkins, who won a title with Washington.
But for the Sky to improve on last season's 13-27 record and make it to the postseason, Reese and Cardoso will both be expected to take a step forward, and Marsh will need to put them both in positions to excel as they continue their development.
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“You get into the league as a rookie, you know you have to adjust, and a year has made quite a bit of difference we've seen already,” said Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca. “And I think with a new point guard and coaching staff, we see Kamila play a little differently, and I think we've already seen Coach Marsh highlight Angel’s ability to be versatile.”
Both Cardoso and Reese stayed busy in the offseason, playing competitive basketball with an eye toward improvement. Reese played in Unrivaled and was named the Defensive Player of the Year, while her team, the Rose Basketball Club, won Unrivaled’s inaugural championship. She played alongside Chelsea Gray and Kahleah Copper, both women who have won WNBA titles and Olympic gold medals.
“I think even just this offseason, just being able to have a great point guard like Chelsea, being around [Kahleah Copper], [was] the best thing for me this offseason," Reese said. "Being around vets and then coming back to Chicago and having great vets is just going to be great for us."
Meanwhile, Cardoso played for the Shanghai Swordfish in China. She averaged 20.2 points, 11 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, but said it wasn’t just the games that helped her prepare .
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“In China, we practiced a lot, so the practice has helped me a lot. Just getting a lot of minutes, like by playing a lot, I realized things that I could do, that I did in China, that I can do in the league,” Cardoso said. “So hopefully everything I've been doing in China can translate to the league this year.”
The Chicago Sky open their season on Saturday against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever at 3 p.m. ET.
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