Welcome to Chicago, Angel Reese.
The Sky made the former LSU star the No. 7 overall selection at Monday night’s WNBA draft, adding the high-profile forward to the mix alongside No. 3 overall pick Kamilla Cardoso.
Chicago’s frontcourt should be nasty going forward, and that had fans and pundits feeling pumped on Monday:
Reese, 21, spent two seasons at Maryland and two seasons at LSU in her collegiate career, averaging 18.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 49.8 percent from the field but just 15.6 percent from three.
There are concerns about her floor-spacing and ability to consistently generate offense at the WNBA level, but her defense and ability to crash the boards should make her an instant impact performer for TEAM.
She also brings a winning pedigree to the next level, with a national championship and a berth in the Elite Eight over the past two seasons.
In past years, Reese may have gone higher on the board, but the top of this year’s draft class featured a number of impressive post players and forwards, including Stanford’s Cameron Brink, South Carolina’s Cardoso, Tennessee’s Rickea Jackson and UConn’s Aaliyah Edwards. All four went above her at the draft, as expected.
That set up some uncertainty as to how the board would fall after No. 1, where the Indiana Fever were always guaranteed to take ascendant Iowa star Caitlin Clark.
But with Reese available at No. 7, Chicago pounced. And now Cardoso and Reese are the future of the Sky.