A cursory look at the Chicago Sky’s record and bright red L’s practically scream at you. There are some blotches of green W’s thrown around in that 7-21 record, but they are as rare as gold dust. Right around that Minnesota Lynx game where they crushed the WNBA-leading team, Angel Reese and Co. seemed to have turned over a new leaf. However, after that, the Sky went back to their old ways and sank into another losing streak. After their last loss against the Golden State Valkyries, the Chicago Sky boss kept the hopes alive, “I think we’ve got to continue to use the togetherness,” Marsh appealed to the team.

The team took that drive and some motivation into their recent match-up against the Phoenix Mercury, shutting them down in the first quarter and leading 19-13. However, that effort couldn’t be stretched out over the 40 minutes. The class of Alyssa Thomas and Co. proved too much for this depleted Chicago Sky side. They fell short in almost every metric, including the boards, which is unlikely even for a bottom-of-the-table Sky side. They just let the Mercury blow past them after that impressive start, losing their 8th straight game, and Michael Onyenwere got frank about their attitude after the game.

She told the reporters, “There just has to be a will to win, and we don’t have that right now, consistently, and we haven’t the entire season. Um, so it’s looking at ourselves individually collectively and figuring it out cuz we do have, like we said, 17 or so games left and we can’t just give up on the season and we haven’t and I know we won’t but it’s we got to figure it out urgently.”

The Sky are virtually already out of playoff contention, something they hoped to achieve this season. “We’re always in win-now mode,” Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca said before the season beginning as he laid out the primary goal, saying, “The goal is to make the playoffs in an extremely competitive league.” And their offseason moves signaled the same, bringing in Ariel Atkins for their No.3 pick in the 2025 draft.

That turned out to be one of the rookie all-stars, Sonia Citron. Atkins has been injured for a while now with her leg injury, so that was one of the moves that did not pay off. With the face of the franchise, Angel Reese, sitting out with a back injury from ‘carrying the team’ like some fans joked, the mood around the Sky fans has been pretty glum as they see no future ahead. That could be the mood in the dressing room, too, as there is just a lack of clarity at the present moment. While coach Marsh mentioned that “This season isn’t over by any stretch,” after their Valkyries loss, and the remaining games, “should be enough to put forth the work ethic and drive to be teammates.” As Onyenwere mentioned, the stark difference between their actual results and goals has severely impacted their motivation to win.

But till those words translate into some tangible or even intangible results on the court, they remain empty. After this loss, they must accept that there will be no actual results from this season if the team doesn’t wake up now and focus on the squad’s development and form a proper identity. Their injury woes just won’t let them persist and go for the results as they are currently without their premier forward, their backup point guard in Hailey Van Lith, after losing their premier point guard, Courtney Vandersloot, earlier in the season. Onyenwere herself has been struggling through injury woes of her own and has only recently returned. Their squad depth was already an issue when the season began. This lengthy injury list hasn’t helped their cause, leading to a loss of will to win that they had before it began.

Play or Rest? The Angel Reese Dilemma

The Angel Reese injury situation has been weird. Before that nagging back injury, she was dealing with a quad issue before the All-Star break, which kept her out of the last game before that weekend. However, the Sky fans were delighted to see Reese back on the court at the game, and she did not look uncomfortable in any way. The quad issue turned into a back problem, and she missed a couple of games before returning against the Mystics. Just like the Caitlin Clark situation, that comeback came too early, as she has missed two games since.

Before that, Valkyries’ game coach Marsh clarified her situation, saying, “Continued. You know her back tightened up after the Washington game. So again, more precautionary stuff there. So she’ll be out tonight.” In that game against the Mystics, Reese did not hold anything back, playing for 32 minutes while scoring 22 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. The intensity of the Valkyries proved too much stress on her back, and she has been ruled out ever since. As Sky continues to lose, the precautions are unnecessary, according to this analyst.

“You, as the franchise player of that team, are going to want to do what you can do for your team when you’re healthy,” Ari Chambers said on WNBA Hoop Streams. “I’m not sitting out if I’m Angel.”

There is no question that Reese is the best player on the Sky side, but as history has taught us this season, things can spiral quickly. In the case of Caitlin Clark, they pushed her back too soon, and now her return timeline is unknown. The types of injuries are vastly different, as Clark has a muscular injury, while Reese’s exact injury is not known. But the Sky need to learn from others’ mistakes if they have to capitalise on their golden goose that is Reese.

Yes, they wanted to win and qualify for the playoffs, but that is out the window for this season; now, they can only look forward. It is not as if the forward did not try, but even her competitive spirit and the urge to fight through adversity couldn’t help her. “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,” she stated then.

The only thing to look forward to for the Sky is to revitalise this team and set up for next season, and hopefully get some wins along the way. Reese might or might not play a part in the future, but her long-term health must be prioritised. While Reese remains out injured, she is still the face of the franchise, but that is the exact reason to handle her injury with utmost care. In the front office, they could make moves similar to the Dallas Wings, trading veterans for future draft picks and talented youngsters.