Angel Reese teammate reveals ‘miserable’ hardship behind the scenes ahead of Chicago Sky’s $60m transition

Bec Allen has revealed that the conditions at the Chicago Sky were not all as they seemed.

In the wake of a ‘transformational’ Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) being struck, 10-year veteran guard Allen opened up about the stark differences in facilities among WNBA teams.

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In the 33-year-old’s lengthy pro basketball career, which has taken her all over the world to the likes of Spain, Turkey and Poland, Allen has also suited up for three WNBA teams, including the New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury.

In February 2025, Allen was traded to the Connecticut Sun, who will play a final season at Mohegan Sun Arena in 2026 before relocating to Houston where they will be reviving the iconic Comets name.

Two days later, she was traded to the Sky as part of a larger four-team transaction.

On an April 3 appearance on The 6th Woman Basketball Podcast in Melbourne, the Australian spoke candidly of the shocking conditions she faced when teaming up with superstar and WNBL franchise investor Angel Reese at the Sky.

“I didn’t realize how lucky I had it in New York until I left,” Allen said, “And went to, there was two other organizations, where I was like, ‘oh wow, so that’s why they have minimum standards’ is so that organizations like that can raise their level. …

“In the sense of now, [as it pertains to] facilities, there’s a minimum standard. … Sometimes it comes down to having food for a post-practice, post-game when you finish late and there’s nothing open. …

“Having your own locker room so you’re not sharing it with the random public. That was the first time I’d experienced that was in Chicago.

“So we were at a rec center, and I’d never really experienced something like that before too and I was really overwhelmed by that. I was like, ‘oh, wow.’ I had a random lady getting changed next to me.”

Sky’s $60m facility on track to open in spring

Fortunately for the Sky players, they will now be able to bid farewell to sharing a locker room with people of the public as their brand new state-of-the-art practice facility in Bedford Park is due to open this spring.

With two full-sized basketball courts, a weight room, performance and recovery center, private and secured parking, as well as a host of other amenities, including an on-site doctor’s office and even a mothers and family room, the Sky are finally investing significantly into their women’s team.

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Despite facing some delays due to torrid weather in the Windy City over the winter, the $60 million project — which will be the biggest in the league until the Indiana Fever opens their 108,000 square foot facility in 2027 — is still currently on track to open before the 2026 WNBA regular season gets underway on May 8.

Although Allen admitted that she wished she had gone to Chicago with more of an “open mind,” she outlined the fundamental advice she would give to any team owner around the WNBA.

“You have to put your players first,” Allen said. “If people aren’t happy, the performance goes down massively.

“If people don’t feel valued, if they don’t feel like they’re taken care of, they get frustrated. I think that was something that I experienced in my last season.”

The 2025 season was one for Allen, Reese and co to forget after winning just 10 of their 44 games, which saw them finish with the worst record in the league.

This came despite Reese averaging 14.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals a game – everything bar the rebounding numbers were a career-high for the Bayou Barbie.

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On the other hand, Allen’s 5.1 points per contest was her lowest offensive production since the 2018 season, with her describing her time in Chicago last season to the podcast hosts as being “a little bit miserable.”

For context, she described her time at the Liberty as being her “home” and time in Phoenix as being “hot.”

Allen is currently an unrestricted free agent, so it remains to be seen whether she will re-sign with the Sky and give the team another go now that they will be operating out of their new facility.

“I now go off a lot of what the Phoenix Mercury do, the facility, also just the general vibe, every time you walked into that gym,” Allen added.

“Firstly, you felt motivated. Secondly, you felt upbeat. It was really hard to not be happy seeing everyone and you’ve got a mix of personalities.”

Based on her comments made toward the Sky organization, though, and her speaking far more highly of her former teams, it seems unlikely that she will be teammates with Reese again in 2026.

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