Angel Reese’s Team USA stint is a brutal reminder of the Sky’s many mistakes

For the first time in her professional career, Angel Reese is surrounded by great 3-point shooting and playmaking in a five-on-five setting. She had both of those things in Unrivaled, but never with the Chicago Sky. So, her stint with Team USA has been quite the change. 

It’s also showing Reese everything the Sky’s roster is still missing around her. Having passers, like Caitlin Clark and Chelsea Gray, and big two-way wings who can space the floor well, like Rhyne Howard or Jackie Young, next to Reese makes her life a lot easier. 

The worst part is: the Sky had the chances to get those pieces around Reese, but gave them up in a failed attempt to fast-track their rebuild. 

The Sky lost out on opportunities to get a high-level wing and a great passer

The Sky owned the third overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, but they traded it to Washington for Ariel Atkins. The veteran was solid for the Sky, but Chicago finished the season with a worse record than Washington, and Sonia Citron, whom the Mystics selected with the Sky’s pick, outplayed Atkins. The Mystics won that trade without any doubts.

Citron was named an All-Star and immediately established herself as a two-way wing with great potential. She shot 44.5% from three on 4.1 attempts per game and also averaged 14.9 points, 4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.3 steals. With her ability to guard tough perimeter assignments and space the floor, Citron would have been the perfect wing next to Reese and a great building block for the Sky’s championship pursuit. 

That wasn’t the only lottery pick the Sky gave up. They also gave the Minnesota Lynx the right to swap 2026 first-round picks in a draft-day trade in 2024 that allowed them to secure Reese. A year later, they gave the Lynx the pick outright for the pick that they used to select Hailey Van Lith. 

The decision to give the Lynx their 2026 first-round pick aged very badly. The Sky finished with a horrible record once again, and the Lynx landed the second overall pick in the lottery with the Sky’s pick. If the Sky still had that pick, they could draft Olivia Miles—one of the best passing prospects in recent memory, whose player comp is Chelsea Gray. The Sky still have a lottery pick—they will get to select fifth overall—but Miles isn’t likely to make it past the Lynx or Storm.

A core of Reese, Citron, Miles, and Kamilla Cardoso would be so much better than what the Sky have right now. That core could be the foundation for a championship roster. Instead, the Sky are just as far away from having a playoff team as they were on the day they drafted Reese and Cardoso. Seeing Reese surrounded by other young stars while playing for Team USA is just another reminder of that.