The 2025 WNBA season was imagined to be a time of progress for Angel Reese.
After being chosen No. 7 general within the 2024 draft, the younger star went on to characterize the rebuilding Chicago Sky franchise within the WNBA All-Star Sport and later bought chosen to the All-Rookie staff.
With sights set on a push again into the postseason, the Sky introduced in confirmed veteran leaders to help within the growth of Reese and different younger gamers. The return of Chicago legend Courtney Vandersloot was on the high of the record, however her return ended method too quickly after a torn ACL in Saturday’s loss to the Indiana Fever ended her season.
“It’s been rough,” first-time head coach Tyler Marsh mentioned of the times after Vandersloot’s harm. “I think that it’s been a time that we are able to — another point of adversity, we were able to come together and stick together as a squad and as a team. And we’re going through all this as a unit.”
The loss is brutal.
It relegates the 36-year-old (who performed two seasons with the Liberty) to the sidelines for the remainder of her fifteenth WNBA season. The franchise is now with out the “Floor General,” a nickname becoming for the Sky’s all-time chief in assists (2,387).
Extra importantly for Chicago’s future, it leaves younger frontcourt franchise cornerstones in Reese and Kamilla Cardoso with out Vandersloot’s on-court steerage and management.
The Sky drafted Reese and Cardoso — one other All-Rookie choice — in 2024 with hopes of anchoring Chicago’s frontcourt. Even with early numbers in 2025 season not wanting promising, the bodily presence of the skilled guard was imagined to uplift the younger core.
Via the primary seven recreation of the 2025 season, Reese’s general subject objective proportion (30.9%), two-point subject objective proportion (30.8%) and factors per recreation (9.1) dipped from her 2024 season (13.6 ppg on 39.1% taking pictures from the sphere and 40.0% from two-point vary).
Cardoso, nonetheless, is having a greater begin to the brand new season. Her numbers via the primary seven video games — 10.9 ppg on 50.8% from the sphere — are nearer to her All-Rookie 12 months numbers: 9.8 factors per recreation on 52.1% from the sphere.
These numbers from the previous lottery picks at the moment are anticipated to rise with out Vandersloot on the ground. However, Marsh believes what the guard brings off of it would nonetheless pay dividends.
“I think that part of her leadership has been her vocal presence, so it’ll be good that we still have that,” Marsh mentioned throughout Tuesday’s shootaround at Barclays Heart. “Obviously we’re missing a floor general on the court and everything that she brings with her years of experience, but I think just from a morale standpoint, just to have her around and to have her be around this team and still in the locker room and and traveling with us when the time permits, I think it’ll still be a good uplifting for our players.”
Marsh mentioned Tuesday that Vandersloot has but to endure surgical procedure on her torn ACL, and the staff didn’t present a timeline past the 2025 season. For now, the Sky will deal with Vandersloot’s absence “by committee,” per Marsh. This 12 months’s No. 11 general decide Hailey Van Lith logged 26 minutes off the bench following Vandersloot’s exit on Saturday. The top coach mentioned Ariel Atkins and Rachel Banham will share “ball-handling responsibilities” as properly.
The 23-year-old Van Lith is wanting ahead to the chance, saying that she’s helped her collegiate groups in unlucky eventualities equally to what the Sky are in now.
“I think in college, this is what I did. I stepped up and I led teams in uncomfortable situations,” mentioned Van Lith, who hung out at Louisville, LSU and TCU. “I’m kind of excited that this is what I specialize in. So let’s see if I can do it at the next level.”
Van Lith and Reese starred collectively on the 2023-24 LSU staff that finally fell to Caitlin Clark’s Iowa squad within the Elite Eight. As each gamers look to develop for the rebuilding Sky, Van Lith feels her earlier expertise with Reese will help within the course of.”
“My relationship with Angel helps for sure. She’s a huge encourager for me, even in the game when the injury happened and I had to play 25 minutes, she was just reminding me what I do best, what spots I can get to, if I wasn’t aggressive,” Van Lith mentioned. “She reminded me that I need to be aggressive. She’s great for me in that way. And she knows my game really well. So sometimes when I can’t see it, she sees it for me and tells me about it. So definitely going to help me a lot having her around. So yeah, I’m grateful for that.”
