Angel Reese opens up on Chicago Sky departure: ‘I wanted more’

WNBA starAngel Reesespoke out about her recent departure from the Chicago Sky during her first news conference with the Atlanta Dream on Friday after she was traded from Chicago to Atlanta earlier this month.

“I’m always gonna be grateful for that because I did experience a lot of great things,” Reese said Friday of hertime in Chicago.“I enjoyed being able to grow within my first two years, but I wanted more.I love to win, I love to compete and I wanted to be surrounded by people that can make me better.

“And I am not satisfied with what I am as a player, and I felt like being around these kinds of players would help me be better.I can help them in different ways to help them win, and that’s all I ever wanted. 

“I don’t care about anything else that comes with it.I want to win and being able to come to an organization that really cared about their players.”

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese reacts against the Phoenix Mercury in the first half at Phx Arena Aug.28, 2025.(Mark J.Rebilas/Imagn Images)

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The Dream acquired Reese from the Sky April 6 in exhange for first-round draft picks in 2027 and 2028.Atlanta also received the right to swap second-round picks with Chicago in 2028.

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One of the WNBA’s most recognizable stars, Reese led the league in rebounds in each of her two seasons with the Sky.

Reese is known in mainstream pop culture as one of the WNBA’s most polarizing players due to her ongoing rivalry withwomen’s basketballphenom Caitlin Clark.

There has been suspected tension between Clark and Reese dating back to their meeting in the2023 NCAA women’s basketball championship game.

CAITLIN CLARK’S FEVER MAKE SEVERAL KEY OFFSEASON SIGNINGS IN CHAMPIONSHIP PURSUIT

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese gestures toward the crowd after scoring during the second half against the Los Angeles Sparks June 29, 2025, in Los Angeles.(Jessie Alcheh/AP)

Reese taunted Clark by pointing to her ring finger during the game, prompting outrage and sparking an ongoing feud between fans. 

Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes got revenge on Reese’s LSU Tigers a year later in the Elite Eight, but the tension hit a whole new level when the players reached the pros for their rookie WNBA seasons.

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In their first WNBA season in 2024, Clark took a series of questionable fouls from Reese’s Sky throughout the 2024 season, including one from Reese June 16. 

In 2025, the two had a heated exchange after Reese pushed Fever forward Natasha Howard in the back as she grabbed an offensive rebound off a miss by teammate Rebecca Allen.Reese brought the ball low, and Clark fouled her before she went up for a shot.Reese fell tothe ground.

Reese got up from the floor and got into the face of Clark.

Referees reviewed the play and determined Clark used her left hand to shove Reese to the floor.They upgraded the personal foul on Clark to a flagrant foul.And Reese and Aliyah Boston of the Fever were issued technical fouls.

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Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) reacts to a flagrant foul from Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) May 17, 2025, at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.(IMAGN Syndication/The Indianapolis Star)

When the two played as teammates at theFIBA World Cup qualifiersqualifiers in March, Clark ignored Reese’s gesture for a high-five during a game.

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Now with Clark’s Indiana Fever contending for a championship in 2026, Reese’s Dream could prove to be a legitimate challenger.

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Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to the enforcement of Title IX, and in legacy media outlets including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.