Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso made a formidable Chicago Sky frontcourt duo the past two seasons. Cardoso was the third selection in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Reese heard her name called four picks later.
They were a tandem until the Sky dealt Reese to the Atlanta Dream in the offseason, a seismic trade that yielded Chicago 2027 and 2028 first-round draft picks. On Tuesday, instead of sharing the floor as teammates, Reese and Cardoso went toe-to-toe against each other as opponents, both starring in the first half with 11 points apiece.
In the third quarter, Reese secured her eighth double-double of the season. The two-time All-Star finished with 17 points and 17 rebounds on 5-of-12 shooting in her first regular-season game back in Chicago. Her 17 rebounds tied a season high and were more than the Sky’s entire starting five combined (16). Cardoso, meanwhile, wound up with 13 points, 5 assists, 4 blocks and 2 rebounds.
That said, it was Reese’s Dream who came out on top with an 82-75 victory.
Atlanta (8-3) bumped its record to 3-1 in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup standings. Chicago (4-8), on the other hand, slid to 1-3 in the early-season competition.
All five Dream starters scored at least 14 points. Rhyne Howard joined Reese atop Atlanta’s half of the box score with 17 points, even though she went an uncharacteristic 1 of 10 from 3-point land. In addition to the production Cardoso provided down low, the Sky got 18 points from Natasha Cloud and 17 from fellow veteran guard Skylar Diggins.
Reese received a warm welcome from Sky fans Tuesday. It wasn’t her first return to Wintrust Arena since the trade. She was also there in April for a preseason game, in which she was welcomed with a tribute video.
That night, the former LSU standout played only the first half, like the rest of the Dream’s starters. As expected, she was on the court much longer this time around.
Despite the work Reese put in this offseason to further improve her outside shot, she came into the midweek clash with only one 3-pointer this season. She doubled her long-range output with a second-quarter stroke from downtown that beat the shot clock.
The lead changed hands throughout the night, as the Sky hardly looked like a team that had dropped six of their last seven games. Chicago was powered by Cardoso and Diggins in the opening half, and the Sky ended it with a 42-39 advantage.
Diggins hit a trio of 3s over the first two quarters of play, and the Sky went 5 of 8 from deep in that span.
Not long after the Dream went up five points in the third quarter, Cloud kicked things into gear. She repeatedly pushed the pace, first earning a pair of free throws and then setting the stage for a game-tying Jacy Sheldon triple.
The frame ended with Cloud knocking down a long 2 and then blocking Howard before the buzzer. And, so, Chicago went into the fourth quarter ahead 58-57.
Cardoso denied Reese early in the fourth, and, soon after, Cloud drilled a 3. Atlanta surged back. Eventually, the Dream used a 9-0 run to turn a one-point lead into a 10-point cushion. That stretch was capped by a wide-open Reese layup.
By that point, last-ditch efforts from Cardoso and Diggins were too little, too late.
On a night when Howard, 26, became the youngest player in WNBA history to record 2,500 points, 500 rebounds, 500 assists, 200 steals and 100 blocks in her career, Reese’s 17-and-17 performance stole headlines.
She picked up where she left off in Chicago, dominating the glass at Wintrust.
