2024 WNBA Draft: Chicago Sky select Angel Reese with No. 7 overall pick
With their second pick of the first round, the Chicago Sky have opted to draft one of the best rebounders in college basketball.
The Sky have selected LSU forward Angel Reese with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
The "Bayou Barbie" is now heading to Chicago.
This was a pick the Sky acquired on Sunday in a trade with the Minnesota Lynx. The Sky dealt a player and three draft picks to move up one spot.
The deal looked like:
Chicago received
2024 First Round (No. 7 overall) - From Minnesota
Nikolina Milić
Minnesota received
Sika Koné
2024 1st Round (No. 8 overall) - From Chicago
2025 2nd Round Pick - From Chicago via New York
Rights to swap 2026 1st Round Picks (with Chicago)
Now, with Reese, the Sky get another elite rebounder.
"We are absolutely thrilled we were able to get Angel at seventh overall," Chicago Sky General Manager Jeff Pagliocca said in a statement. "That was our hope. We have another incredibly competitive player in Chicago who fits our identity and culture of the city. She is a relentless rebounder, she is a national champion and an SEC Player of the Year and we cannot wait to see her here in Chi Town."
What Angel Reese brings to Chicago
The Sky have already selected Kamilla Cardoso. Now, they add another elite rebounders in a completely revamped front court.
Cardoso and Reese were two of the best players in the SEC this season. They're going to team up in Chicago.
Reese's defensive presence is impossible to ignore. She averaged 12.3 rebounds per game and a block per game.
The part of her game she might need to improve is her offensive game, specifically making it more versatile. However, she averaged 18.6 points per game. Concerns about her offensive game are overblown to some regard.
Reese also brings a recognizable name to the WNBA and the Sky.
If Caitlin Clark was the primary face of women's college basketball, Reese wasn't far behind. She won a national title with LSU over Clark in 2023 and was remembered for the gesture where she pointed to her ring finger as she earned a championship.
She will bring a personality to a Sky team that need one after Kahleah Copper and her killer mentality were traded this offseason.
Column: Players like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese won't take a pay cut in the WNBA. Stop saying they do
Let me make it clear. Women’s college basketball players do not take a pay cut if they declare for the WNBA Draft and turn pro. Stop saying they do.