The Big Lead

Angel Reese’s ‘heartbroken’ response to Chicago Sky firing Teresa Weatherspoon

By Max Weisman

Weatherspoon was fired after just one season with the Sky
Weatherspoon was fired after just one season with the Sky / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
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The Chicago Sky surprisingly fired head coach Teresa Weatherspoon Thursday night, less than a year after she was hired. The Sky missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018 this season, finishing with a 13-27 record, two games out of the eighth seed. Their .325 winning percentage is the Sky's second lowest in franchise history, ahead of only their inaugural season in 2006 when they finished with a 5-29 record, a .147 winning percentage.

When the news broke Thursday night, Angel Reese couldn't believe it. Reese posted on her X account that she was "heartbroken" over the Sky's decision to let Weatherspoon go.

"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."

While the Sky had a disappointing 2024 season, Reese quickly became a star. She averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds per game in her rookie season.

Claire Watkins, host of The Late Sub for Just Women's Sports said Weatherspoon wasn't given a fair chance with Chicago.

"The Sky gave Teresa Weatherspoon a fundamentally broken roster when she took the job and she handled the development of two rookies and multiple requested trades with a lot of grace," she wrote on X. "You can't do that to people, man."

"When T-Spoon took the job she thought she was going to be coaching Kahleah Copper, that’s how much change she rolled with and built a great relationship with the new core of the team," Watkins added.

In February, the Sky traded Copper, the 2021 WNBA Finals MVP, to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for four draft picks, and forwards Brianna Turner and Michaela Onyenwere. Instead of coaching a former Finals MVP, Weatherspoon was tasked with developing Reese and fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso, who the Sky took with one of the picks they acquired in that trade.

Weatherspoon entered the 2024 season with a completely different team than the one she was anticipating when hired. She wasn't given a fair shot with the Sky.