Angel Reese or Kamilla Cardoso?

Any time a team has the luxury of adding two high caliber players in the same draft, that team should be on pace for greatness. The Chicago Sky benefited from not only having the second overall selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft, but they also had another lottery pick that same night.

With two first-round picks, the Sky solved their rebounding woes from the 2023 WNBA season and added a pair of former NCAA champions in Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese.

For two seasons together, Chicago has failed to return to the WNBA Playoffs with their twin towers. Both will enter their third year for the Sky in 2026. However, only one is poised to take the next step in her game.

Arguably, Angel Reese has become the bigger name of the two. Yet, the Sky selected Cardoso several picks ahead of Reese two years ago.

Chicago’s starting center won two NCAA Championships with the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. She also played at Syracuse University.

Cardoso saw an overall improvement from her rookie season last year. She upped her points, rebounds, and assists per game.

From the floor and the free-throw line, Cardoso has been consistent. She has made nearly 52% of her shots and 72% of her free throws in both seasons. Unfortunately, Cardoso turned the ball over more in her second season while seeing a slight dip in her steals and blocks totals.

Where Kamilla Cardoso can elevate her game is becoming more of a double-double machine like her teammate Reese. Despite going on a tear this past summer where she recorded 10 double-doubles in a 12-game span, Cardoso failed to score at least 10 points in 25% of the games she played in during the 2025 WNBA season.

There’s no doubt about the ability of “Bayou Barbie” to secure the ball of a missed shot, even if it’s her own. However, the Sky learned the hard way that Reese’s ball-handling skills leave people wanting more from her.

The former LSU Tigers star coughed up the ball 1.7 more times in 2025. Despite being the league’s best rebounder in both of her seasons in the WNBA, Reese has also been one of the most turnover-prone players.

While seeing a 6.7 spike in her points per game from her rookie season, Reese broke and set a new record for most double-doubles in a player’s first two seasons in the league. The previous record was held by veteran center and WNBA legend Tina Charles.

For Reese to take the next step, she must learn to maintain possession of the ball and continue to find effective ways to score. She has a lower shooting average and about the same free throw percentage as Cardoso.

Both have a chance to be what the Sky need to return to the WNBA Finals for the first time since their 2021 title. However, Cardoso may make a better teammate and cornerstone piece for the franchise, given the end-of-season drama that went on in Chicago’s locker room.

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