The foundation of Angel Reese's sophomore season will be laid with Unrivaled
MIAMI — Angel Reese is at the center of what’s being built in Chicago.
The Sky’s fall from title contenders to the league’s bottom tier over the last two years would have included an erasure of relevance as well if not for Reese and fellow 2024 rookie Kamilla Cardoso. Despite the dismal season, Reese’s popularity, coupled with a record-breaking rookie year, kept them at the top of league discussions.
The Sky’s success in 2025, though, will hinge on two things: success in free agency and Reese’s continued development, which resumes in Miami, where she’s competing in Unrivaled’s inaugural season.
“Coming into the offseason, getting healthy was the most important thing for me,” said Reese, who had surgery to repair a fracture in her left wrist in September. “Then being able to work on the things I want to work on from my first year. I’m not going to put my hat down that I didn’t have a great rookie season, but I want to come back in Year 2 and be better, not just be complacent and be a one-dimensional kind of player.”
On Friday, Reese — a member of Rose BC — played in the league’s opening-night finale against Vinyl BC, led by former Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon. She finished with 10 points, 14 rebounds and four assists in a 79-73 loss. The first game was between co-founders Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier’s teams, Mist BC and the Lunar Owls. Stewart scored the first field goal in Unrivaled history in her team’s 84-80 loss.
There were questions about the impact playing three-on-three would have on a player’s development versus the typical five-on-five game. The consensus is that playing this format will expose players’ weaknesses, accelerating their development, specifically rookies.
“If I had a private client, trying to get them better, the three-on-three environment is one of the best ways,” Lunar Owls coach DJ Sackmann said. “There’s no substitute for playing. It’s a great developmental tool because you have way more usage in three-on-three. You get more touches than five-on-five. You have to defend the ball more. You can kind of hide in five-on-five a little bit, take possessions off. In this game, you can’t take any possessions off.”
Reese said the future of her game is to not be one-dimensional.
On Rose BC, she’s playing alongside vets such as three-time WNBA champion Chelsea Gray and 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper. Gray, who has played with three MVP forwards in Nneka Ogwumike, Candace Parker and A’ja Wilson, said Reese’s potential in the WNBA can be found in her approach.
“She obviously knows what areas she needs to grow and she’s gotten better and learns is what I’ve seen,” Gray said. “That’s the telltale of somebody that wants to be really good. Each year, you come in with a different thing, and you get better. Being here at Unrivaled will help accelerate that because she has an opportunity to play against great players all the time.”
Reese has been adamant that developing her game outside of the paint is a priority.
“You don’t want to continue to do the same things,” Reese said. “I know I can continue to bang, bang, bang but looking down the long road, sometimes I think how many years am I going to be able to get these double-doubles and all these rebounds. I continue taking shots, risky shots I guess and shots that people don’t expect me to take. This league, you want to win and play the right way, but work on things that lead into the WNBA season.”