Sky HC Looks to Chart New Course for Locker Room Amid Angel Reese Fallout

The Chicago Sky needed a spark, and for a night, they found it. When they stepped onto the court against the Connecticut Sun on September 3, 2025, they were as dominant as ever. They put up the first eight points of the game and never looked back. By the time the final buzzer sounded, it was an 88-64 win. But while they’ve improved to 6-15 in home games, they’re already out of playoff contention. And though the team’s done for the season, Tyler Marsh is yet to face his toughest assignment.

After replacing Teresa Weatherspoon, first-time head coach Tyler Marsh stepped into the Sky with a vision to play with space and pace. “I think it’s about establishing identity. It’s really all of our first year together, so it’s a clean slate. Establishing a culture, a mindset, and an identity of who we want to be — not just for this year but for the future — that’s how we’ll gauge our growth,” he shared on his arrival. With offseason acquisitions and an incoming rookie class, everything just felt right. Yet, in the final week of the season, Marsh failed to help the Sky accomplish a playoff berth for the second consecutive year. And now, everyone’s expecting the HC to acknowledge the season’s drawbacks.

But Marsh isn’t going to look at the glass half empty. When asked about the bittersweet win and the future of the Sky franchise in the postgame press conference, Tyler Marsh used the opportunity to highlight the team’s achievements. “I think you’ll drive yourself crazy looking at what was or lamenting on what you know what this season has been thus far. You’ve got to continue to look forward and to be present and to look forward. And I think for us, again, we want to be playing our best basketball ending this season, and I think that we understood as a unit that there was still another level for us to get to,” he added.

The Chicago Sky are 1-4 and have averaged 78.8 points per game in their last five outings, but the spotlight remains on their recent win against the Sun — not just because they won, but because of the effort every player poured in. While the Sky’s cornerstone Angel Reese added 18 points with 13 rebounds, Kamilla Cardoso scored 16 points to snap a four-game losing streak.

But it wasn’t just the two of them. Kia Nurse added 12 points, while Rachel Banham and Elizabeth Williams each scored 10. “I was proud of the effort that we came out today with, especially considering how the last couple of games against Connecticut have gone. To be able to stay in it, locked in, and confident, I thought our team was really, really good today,” added the head coach. And he’s got a point.

Even after 30 losses, the Sky have a few things they can hang their hat on after 44 games. One of them is that they rank second in rebounds per game. Their star forward Angel Reese still leads the league in total rebounds despite being sidelined by injury in late July. And all of that’s only been made possible with the help of players willing to contribute in whatever way they can.

We’ve seen Angel Reese take a more dominant form this season on both the offensive and defensive fronts. Quite a few times, Windy City fans have even been left amazed by her assists. And can you ignore Kamilla Cardoso? Even she’s had to take on a bigger role with the team. Over the last five games, she’s averaged 15.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3 assists per game. Not just that — two of those five games even saw a double-double from her.

She, along with Elizabeth Williams, has elevated the team’s presence. The two bigs have been guiding the Sky in the right direction. So far, they’ve even combined for 14 double-doubles this season, including two paired ones in games against the Mystics and Mercury.

Yet, the team’s lacking cohesion and rhythm on offense, with consistency issues on the defensive end. This has ranked them near the bottom of key statistical metrics, like being 12th in offensive rating. But the head coach is still looking forward, hoping to grab more wins before the season closes out.

But Can the Sky Do That Without Angel Reese?

The Chicago Sky still has four games left in the season, but things aren’t getting any better. That’s because Angel Reese, who just recorded her 23rd double-double in a win, is suspended for a game. She received her eighth technical foul this season against the Sun.

In the final minute of the second quarter, she jockeyed Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards for an offensive rebound. She then collided with her back-to-back while trying to gain positioning under the basket. In the process, she made contact with her head, which was later reviewed as a flail by the refs.

Though it wasn’t called before, after an official review, the foul was elevated to a technical. “Any contact to the head like that, we’ll just take a look at that for potential, just for the severity of the contact,” the official for the game, shared. “We think it was just an unsportsmanlike act.”

While a flail often results in a Flagrant 1 foul, because it was called later, Reese ended up getting another technical. Though a Flagrant 1 would have exempted her from a suspension. “I think we’re going to go back and talk to the league about it,” Reese said in the postgame press conference, as the Sky didn’t receive an explanation behind the decision. But whatever it is, the consequences are still there. While the Sky had their third victory in the last 20 games, Reese is going to be out for the upcoming matchup against the Fever. So, is it possible for the Sky to add a win without her?