CHICAGO — After just two seasons, the Chicago Sky traded their best player — who is also one of the league’s most high-profile athletes — and fans were quick to condemn the decision.
Angel Reese, 23, was traded Monday to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for two draft picks. The move comes just a month before the Sky’s season is scheduled to start May 9 vs. the Portland Fire. The team’s first home game at Wintrust Arena is May 20 vs. the Dallas Wings.
“An Angel’s DREAM. ATL, what up?” the WNBA forward posted on X with pictures of herself in a red Atlanta jersey Monday.
The trade came as a shock to Sky fans since Reese was drafted 7th in the first round just two seasons ago and has been an All-Star in both of her seasons in Chicago. She’s also easily been the most recognizable player on the team during her tenure.
“What you all are doing is basically franchise malpractice. … This Chicago Sky team continues to get decimated piece by piece by piece,” Marquita Wiggins, who hosts a video podcast on YouTube about the team, said on her show.
“As a Sky fan, this is straight up pissing me off. I’m so annoyed. The Chicago Sky traded Angel Reese for a bag of Skittles.”
In response to the team’s announcement on Instagram, some fans suggested they might jump ship with Reese gone — and suspected others would, too.
“We were only here for Angel. Let me unfollow y’all now,” one fan wrote. Another said, “Sky just lost 90% of their viewership lmaooo.”
“Sell the team,” Matthew Cherry, a former NFL player from Chicago who is now a filmmaker in Los Angeles, wrote in response to the team’s post.
“I hate the front office of EVERY Chicago sports team,” another fan wrote.
The timing of the move is also curious because Chicago is set to host the WNBA All-Star game on July 25 at the United Center, only the second time the city has done so.
“We can’t wait to build on the success of the previous All-Star game and celebrate the explosive growth of the league by showcasing the WNBA’s biggest stars on a world-class stage,” Sky CEO and President Adam Fox said in a statement when the game was announced. But now, if Reese is there, she will be representing another team.
“How we finna host the All Star game & we ain’t got no all star,” a fan wondered on Instagram.
Reese’s tenure in Chicago was not without controversy. She was suspended last fall for half of a game for conduct detrimental to the team when she expressed frustration with her situation in an interview with the Tribune, saying she “might have to move in a different direction and do what’s best for me” if the Sky didn’t put together a more talented roster. Some of her comments were seen as being critical of her teammates.
The team went 23-61 during Reese’s two seasons here, and last year the Sky had the second-worst record in the league.
Reese was also involved in a rivalry with Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark that dated to both players’ college days, although the rivalry was pretty one-sided last season with the Chicago squad losing by double-digits in both games.
While Reese was not able to reverse the team’s fortunes on the court, she had a huge presence off of it. There have been few WNBA players who have had as strong a cultural impact in such a short tenure as a pro. Former Stanford player and broadcaster Ros Gold-Onwude, on an episode of the Good Follow video podcast in October, listed Reese’s accomplishments off the court, including not only attending the Met Gala but serving on the host committee, being the first pro athlete to walk the Victoria Secret runway and appearing on the cover of Vogue magazine as well as the WNBA version of the game NBA 2K26.
“She can make anything cool,” Gold-Onwude said. “There is no WNBA player that has transcended the game like Angel Reese.”
“She’s setting the bar and raising it for future girls,” former Minnesota Lynx star Angel McCoughtry said on the show.
At least for the foreseeable future, Reese will be doing so from a home base far from Chicago.
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