Angel Reese established herself as one of many WNBA’s greatest stars due to a formidable rookie marketing campaign.
Getting into the league because the seventh general decide of the 2024 draft that was headlined by Caitlin Clark, the Chicago Sky All-Star set data earlier than her season was minimize brief by harm.
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There isn’t any doubt that Reese’s character, each on and off the court docket, additionally helped the WNBA soar to new heights in reputation as she and Clark took their high-profile rivalry from faculty to the professionals.
Now, the Chicago star is seeking to encourage a brand new class of rookies.
Forward of the 2025 season, the Sky drafted Hailey Van Lith and Maddy Westbeld from TCU and Notre Dame respectively.
Van Lith and Reese are former faculty teammates, having performed collectively for a 12 months at LSU, and have already made a championship prediction amid their reunion within the Windy Metropolis.
Westbeld, in the meantime, has additionally heaped reward on Reese, describing her as a ‘distinctive’ basketball star.
“Angel is such a trailblazer on this sport, and only for ladies’s sports activities, ladies’s management on the whole,” the rookie advised CBS Sports activities.
“I am grateful to share the ground along with her, and to have the ability to see the influence that she’s making and the love that surrounds her, which is clearly very nicely deserved.
“I am so grateful to have the ability to compete along with her every single day as a result of her relentless exercise is one thing that may be very distinctive.
“Simply with the ability to up my sport, up my stage of exercise every time I am competing towards her in apply, or simply with the ability to watch her, even within the sport, how she communicates along with her teammates.”
Westbeld went on to additional reward Reese for the management she’s proven heading into her second 12 months with the Sky.
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“She’s an outstanding chief, and I feel folks do not actually see that,” Westbeld defined.
“However being along with her every single day in apply, she’s an amazing communicator and he or she’s an amazing chief.
“I am grateful to be on the identical crew as her.”
Whereas Reese — who just lately launched a heartwarming enterprise alongside an NBA legend — has clearly made an impression on Chicago’s newest rookie, the Sky struggled in her debut season.
The crew completed tenth within the WNBA with a 13-27 file and missed the playoffs for the primary time since 2018.
Heading into 12 months two, Reese – who missed the ultimate weeks of her rookie season by way of harm – is seeking to change issues.
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“I wasn’t used to that,” she mentioned of the dropping file final week.
“It simply takes an adjustment. It is one thing that you do not wish to get used to since you do not wish to get in a mindset, like, ‘Oh, we’re simply going to be dropping each night time.’ We had been proper there each night time.”
In a bid to show their fortunes, Chicago fired former coach Teresa Weatherspoon after one 12 months and employed Las Vegas assistant Tyler Marsh in her place.
The Sky have additionally introduced in veteran management, together with franchise profession help chief Courtney Vandersloot and two-time All-Star Ariel Atkins.
Chicago will hope these additions, in addition to rookies Van Lith and Westbeld, will assist them compete in 2025.
That, in line with basic supervisor Jeff Pagliocca, is one thing of giant significance to Reese.
“She desires to win, she’s any person that places that above all the things else,” Pagliocca mentioned.
“With on a regular basis that she places into constructing her model and flying everywhere in the world, she nonetheless has confirmed to us time and time once more she places basketball first.
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“Solely a aggressive participant goes to have all this stuff in her life which can be so particular however nonetheless wish to be the best participant she may be.”
The Sky have misplaced two shut pre-season video games towards the Minnesota Lynx in latest days, as they put together for his or her 2025 opener towards Clark’s Indiana Fever on Saturday, Might 17.