The Chicago Sky were, for the first half of the WNBA season, one of the best stories in the league. Led by rookie sensation Angel Reese, they were firmly in the playoff picture going into the All-Star and Olympic break. Unfortunately, they could not maintain that pace after returning from a month off, trading veteran sharpshooter Marina Mabrey to the Connecticut Sun and going 3-13 from that point — with Reese eventually getting shut down for the season with a wrist injury.
Even so, it felt to many like the Sky were at least showing signs of moving in the right direction and would get another crack at a lottery pick in the 2025 Draft to try and create some better roster balance for next year. Apparently the Sky front office did not feel that was good enough, and on Thursday night word broke from Annie Constable of the Chicago Sun Times that they were firing head coach Teresa Weatherspoon after going 13-27 her first year on the job.
It was a fairly stunning decision, particularly given the relationship Weatherspoon had with Reese. That was evident in Reese’s response to the news, as she posted a lengthy statement to Twitter saying she was “heartbroken” and that Weatherspoon was the reason she came to Chicago and that she was an “unsung hero in my life.”
“I’m heartbroken. I’m literally lost for words knowing what this woman meant to me in such a pivotal point in my life. She was the only person that believed in me. The one that trusted me. Many don’t even know what it’s like to be a black women in sports when nobody believes in you. You had a tough job. All the crazy circumstances that we went through this year & when your back was against the wall, you always believed. I came to Chicago because of YOU. You were an unsung hero in my life. We built a relationship in a short amount of time that will last forever. I’ll never question God why he brings people in my life and takes them away from me in the capacity that I need them but i’ve always believed everyone is in your life for a reason and a season. You were the best reason & season. You didn’t deserve this but I can’t thank you enough. I love you Tspoon. @Finisher_11”
It certainly isn’t the response you typically want from your star player after firing a coach, as usually there’s at least some tension in that relationship that leads to a coach’s dismissal. Instead, it seems the Sky made this choice without consulting or even considering Reese’s opinion on the matter, which is certainly their prerogative, but puts some serious pressure on whoever they bring in as a replacement.
It’s the second surprising firing in the WNBA this week, as Curt Miller got let go in Los Angeles after the Sparks finished the season with the league’s worst record (while pretty obviously still early in a rebuild).
