The Chicago Sky was no championship team, but the playoffs? That was definitely in the books when the lineup included Courtney Vandersloot, Ariel Atkins, Angel Reese, and Kamilla Cardoso, among others. But when their star veteran and the leading voice in the locker room went down after an ACL injury, so did the rest of the team. It has been a case of missed opportunities, injuries, and ‘could’ve beens’ for the team, and the Sky No.5 is hardly thinking of anything but her game and teammates right now.
There have been quite a few bright spots in this Chicago Sky roster. Atkins, Reese, and Kardoso have been holding the fort down, but recent injuries to Atkins are spelling trouble for the young core. Case in point, the team’s latest loss in their streak of six to the Washington Mystics. It was a dazzling show put on by rookies Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, who dropped 22 and 28 points, respectively, and led their team to a comprehensive 103 – 86 victory.
However, despite the 52 points Chicago conceded in the paint, and Iriafen putting up 22 points, Angel Reese didn’t seem too troubled about what happened. During the post-game availability, a reporter asked AR what mental space she enters ahead of a tough matchup against the likes of Kiki Iriafen. And the WNBA sophomore kept it pretty simple with her response. “Just another player. She’s another player that’s hungry. She has an opportunity, as a rookie, to do great things as well. So I know it’s always gonna be a great matchup.” Reese said.
The greats always give credit where it’s due, and it was no different with Angel Reese, as the six-foot-two center had nothing bad to say about her opponent as she talked about her mental space during a tough matchup. “She came out and played well tonight again. And just being able to stay poised and just do what I do? There’s no pressure. Any matchup, and any person in front of me is human so I look for ’em,” she explained.
That mentality is the need of the hour for Reese and the Sky, who sit 12th on the table with a 7-19 record. Tyler Marsh isn’t holding on to defined positions anymore, pushing his players to adapt, accept, and not give up. While the play-callings are being reworked around Kardoso in the paint, Reese has been tasked with ball-handling and playmaking. So as the playoff hopes crumble, the Chi-Town Barbie assures, “just push through. Through injuries, through battling, through everything. It doesn’t show up on the stat sheet, but… we are just going to keep honing in on.”
Angel Reese’s winning mentality is a good reason Chicago is not the deadlast in the entire league right now. The two-time All-Star knows how to win and what she needs to sacrifice to get the needed results. After all, she’s been putting her body on the line for her team every single night!
Angel Reese reveals candid mindset about injuries after decisive Mystics loss
Let’s be honest, we were all panicking when Angel Reese got ruled out for a couple of games. Injuries have been the name of the game this season, and we didn’t want AR to end up missing a dozen games like her rival. But nothing can keep Reese down for long–no injury, no niggle, nothing. The six-foot-two forward was back at it on Tuesday night, crashing the boards and putting in the effort for her team.
But is she fully fit? Well, that depends… Would you call 22 points and 13 rebounds fully fit? The Chicago Sky forward looked like she hadn’t lost a single step because of injury against the Mystics, and a large part of that is her mindset.
Jul 29, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Mystics guard Brittney Sykes (20) drives to the basket as Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) defends in the second half at CareFirst Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
In the post-game presser, Reese revealed her mentality after an injury. “When I am out there, I don’t think about an injury. It can happen anyway, anytime. If I’m thinking about it too much, it’s gonna happen again,” she said. “So, just trying to fight through contact as much as I can and do whatever I can for the team. It was ugly, ugly for me, but I tried to push through as much as I could for my teammates because I know they need me out there.” Her words make it seem like she’s not fully fit yet, which makes her performance even more awe-inspiring.
It has been an impressive sophomore season for her, and the developments in her game have been really exciting to watch. The Chicago Sky forward is proving every single day that she doesn’t buy into any limits that people try to impose upon her!
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