WNBA offseason: Angel Reese says she plans to return to Chicago Sky for 2026 season, won't request a trade

Reese is under contract until 2027, when the Sky have a team option, but her future was in doubt after a tumultuous end to last season

Angel Reese is taking part in training camp with USA Basketball this weekend, and during her media session on Friday she stated that she will remain with the Chicago Sky despite a tumultuous end to the 2025 WNBA season. 

"I'm under contract, so yes, I plan on returning to the Sky," Reese told reporters during her first interview since September. 

"I'm continuing to talk to Tyler and building that relationship with Jeff and Tyler," she added, referring to Sky head coach Tyler Marsh and general manager Jeff Pagliocca. 

Reese is under contract through 2027, when the Sky have a team option, but there has been plenty of speculation about her future. The two-time All-Star did not play in the team's final four games due to a combination of injury and suspensions (both team and league issued), and gave a controversial interview to the Chicago Tribune, in which she aired her frustrations with the front office, coaching staff and roster construction, and called for major moves in free agency. 

"I'm not settling for the same shit we did this year," Reese said. "We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That's a non-negotiable for me.

"I'm willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that's what I'm going to do this offseason. So it's going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can't settle for what we have this year."

Reese also made comments about specific players, and at one point expressed concern about Courtney Vandersloot's age. 

"We can't rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at," Reese said. "I know she'll be a great asset for us, but we can't rely on that. We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who's been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before."

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Vandersloot responded publicly, saying her "age is absolutely not a factor" and stated her plan to return to the Sky in 2026. Reese later apologized, both privately and publicly, to her teammates and said her comments were "taken out of context." 

The organization eventually suspended Reese for the first half of the team's game against the Las Vegas Aces on Sept. 7; she had already been suspended by the league for the game on Sept. 5 against the Indiana Fever for accumulating too many technical fouls. 

Reese sat out of the second half on Sept. 7 due to a back injury and missed the team's final two games of the season due to the issue. She later opted out of her exit interview, as did Vandersloot and Ariel Atkins. 

"I am very vocal about what we need and what I want," Reese said in her interview with the Tribune. "I'd like to be here for my career, but if things don't pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what's best for me."

While that comment inititally seemed like a nod at leaving in free agency one day, the events that transpired after the interview led many to wonder if she would request a trade this offseason. Reese made it clear Friday that she will not force her way out of town. 

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That's great news for the Sky, who are trying to forge a path forward after a disastrous 2025 season. Despite making a number of win-now moves -- most notably, trading the No. 3 pick (Sonia Citron) and a 2027 first-round swap to the Washington Mystics for Atkins -- the Sky went 10-34, tied the single-season losses record and missed the playoffs for the second season in a row. 

The Sky have the No. 5 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft and, like every team, will have plenty of cap and roster space to make moves this offseason once a new collective bargaining agreement is in place.