The Chicago Sky are building around Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso. The Bayou Barbie helped lead a historic rookie class and is arguably the second-most popular player in the W. New head coach Tyler Marsh is excited to help his two young building blocks improve and seems like the perfect person for the job. His focus on development is key.
Reese was an All-Star and a historically great rebounder as a rookie, but she has a massive flaw. The 22-year-old shot just 39.1 percent from the field and 18.8 percent on her 3-point attempts. She struggled to score from anywhere on the floor and her jumper needed a mechanical adjustment. Not ideal for a player the Sky hope becomes one of their top talents.
Reese is not wasting any time. She is already back in the gym and working on her offensive game. There have already been tweaks to the jumper and noted improvements. Fans should not fall too hard for Instagram hype videos, but Reese displayed several needed changes.
The 6’3 forward made three 3-pointers in her rookie season, but her shooting mechanics were not ideal. Fans can see her first WNBA career make below.
Angel Reese hits her first career triple to notch 16 FIRST HALF POINTS vs. the Storm 👏
📺 #IONWNBA pic.twitter.com/BB0eZjfb3G
— WNBA (@WNBA) July 6, 2024
Reese changed her hand position and made her base wider. The mechanics are not textbook but are much cleaner. Fans should not expect her to become a lights-out shooter in year two, but being able to stretch the floor and knockdown the occasional triple could pay massive dividends for the Sky.
Fans saw plenty of moves from Reese that she hopes to add to her game. The WNBA season does not resume until April, so seeing her putting in work already proves the Bayou Barbie wants to take the next step. She will be playing in Unrivaled in January, so fans will get to see the improvements against some of the W’s best.
Finishing around the rim and expanding into the mid-range are musts for Reese in 2025. The Sky have two non-shooting building blocks, so Angel needs to be able to space a bit. Finding a comfortable mid-range attack and putting back her offensive boards would help her scoring average and make Chicago even more dangerous.
The Chicago Sky face a crucial offseason. They already found a new head coach and their leading scorer is a restricted free agent. They need improvements from Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso if they want to be back in the playoff mix in 2025. Reese is already working and looks primed to make a leap. That should build even more excitement in the Windy City.
