One and done. In a stunning move that left Chicago Sky fans and supporters reeling, the Sky have given the hook to coach Teresa Weatherspoon after only one season at the helm, according to Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times.
One critic of the move is Sky star Angel Reese, who posted a passionate and lengthy statement on social media in which she praised and endorsed Weatherspoon as a coach and said she “didn’t deserve this.”
“I’m literally lost for words knowing what this woman meant to me in such a pivotal point in my life,” Reese wrote. “She was the only person that believed in me. The one that trusted me. Many don’t even know what it’s like to be a black woman in sports when nobody believes in you. You had a tough job. All the crazy circumstances that we went through this year & when your back was against the wall, you always believed.
“I came to Chicago because of YOU. You were an unsung hero in my life. We built a relationship in a short amount of time that will last forever.”
Reese had an unprecedented season, setting a WNBA record with 15 consecutive double-doubles. Reese, the No. 7 draft pick out of LSU, averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds in 34 games.
According to the Sun-Times, Sky players stood behind and were vocally supportive of Weatherspoon during the season, however, things turned around on a dime and it was apparent that something was wrong during their exit interviews. Several players reportedly noted the team’s changing play style through the season and discussed the learning curve of a first-year head coach.
The Sky just wrapped up the regular season with a disappointing 13-27 record, missing out on the postseason for the first time since 2018 and posting their worst winning percentage since their inaugural season in 2006. Not many were expecting them to fare much better, however, as the team was going through a rebuilding year.
After a first-round exit and head coach James Wade leaving the organization last season, the Sky hoped Weatherspoon, with all her WNBA experience as a player, mostly with the New York Liberty, could lead a roster led by franchise star Kahleah Copper back to the WNBA Finals, which the team won in 2021. Things did not work out exactly as planned. Copper requested a trade to the Phoenix Mercury after the team failed to land its top free agent targets, which included Skylar Diggins-Smith and Nneka Ogwumike, according to the Sun-Times.
The Sky chose to trade Copper to the Mercury and embrace a full rebuild. Former All-Star Courtney Williams was allowed to walk out the door in free agency and Marina Mabrey was later dealt to the Connecticut Sun during the season.
With those veterans gone, the Sky poured their energy into their young talent on the roster, particularly Reese and No. 3 overall pick Kamilla Cardoso from the University of South Carolina, as well as Chennedy Carter.
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The team did not win enough to make the eight-team playoff field in a league of 12, but Reese did make a name for herself as one of the faces of the league, setting a WNBA record with 13.1 rebounds per game.
It apparently was not enough for the Sky’s brass, which is now looking for its fourth head coach in the last three seasons, which is not a way to build continuity.
Weatherspoon is the second WNBA coach to be fired since the end of the regular season, along with Curt Miller, whom the Los Angeles Sparks announced was out as coach on Tuesday after just two seasons on the job.
