Chicago Sky’s Season Hits Breaking Point as Angel Reese Benched in Embarrassing Blowout

What was billed as a fresh start for the Chicago Sky has spiraled into a full-blown disaster. On national television, with fans and critics watching closely, the Sky imploded against the Phoenix Mercury in a game that will be remembered not for a loss, but for a surrender.

The final score—100-86—doesn’t tell the full story. The Chicago Sky, now 3-9, never looked competitive. They opened the game with a catastrophic 31–8 first quarter and committed 21 turnovers, cementing their reputation as one of the most dysfunctional teams in WNBA history. Phoenix shot a blistering 57.1% from three-point range, while the Sky barely looked like a professional outfit.

At the center of the storm: Angel Reese, the once-celebrated rookie phenom whose transition to the WNBA has been anything but smooth. Reese finished the game with just nine points, two assists, and two rebounds—a stat line painfully dubbed a “triple single.” She took only one shot from the field, largely frozen out by her teammates, and was a team-worst minus-25 in plus-minus.

Coach Tyler Marsh, brought in with the credentials of a back-to-back WNBA champion, made the shocking decision to bench his entire starting lineup—including Reese and standout rookie center Kamilla Cardoso—midway through the third quarter. This wasn’t about load management or foul trouble. It was, unmistakably, a white flag.

“He quit,” one commentator stated bluntly. “He wasn’t coaching—he was escaping.”

Marsh later defended the move by citing the team’s tough schedule, but his body language told a different story. It was the look of a man resigned to a sinking ship. Critics have since lambasted the decision as not just ineffective but damaging, both to team morale and to Reese’s already fragile confidence.

Reese, for her part, tried to spin the disaster as a learning experience. In her postgame interview, she spoke of “growth” and “grind,” insisting, “I don’t complain—I just work.” But her words rang hollow in the face of repeated poor performances. She’s now shooting just 30.9% from the field and a dismal 28% from within three feet of the basket—an alarming figure for a forward known for her interior game.

While Reese shoulders much of the media attention, the Sky’s issues run far deeper. Their defense is the worst in the league, allowing over 95 points per game and letting opponents shoot more than 45% from beyond the arc. They average nearly 19 turnovers per game—five more than most elite teams. And their offense is non-existent without Cardoso, who had 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting before being inexplicably benched.

What’s most troubling is the team’s public face. While other franchises regroup after tough losses, the Sky have chosen to mask dysfunction with empty rhetoric. Reese’s insistence that “people would die to have this job” might resonate off the court, but it does little to address the visible frustration on court—especially from teammates like Cardoso, whose disillusionment grows with each passing game.

Even Marsh’s once-respected coaching acumen now reads like crisis management. In his recent remarks, he lamented, “We can’t continue to beat ourselves,” a euphemism for the kind of self-destruction the Sky display night after night. At this point, he’s more damage controller than strategist.

As the losses pile up, comparisons to league leaders like Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever become increasingly unflattering. While Clark is hitting logo-range threes and leading a revitalized franchise, Reese struggles to find her footing amid mounting criticism. Her performance against Phoenix—where she failed to assert herself offensively or on the boards—has further fueled speculation about her ability to adapt to the WNBA level.

To be fair, Reese isn’t solely to blame. The Sky’s roster construction has been erratic at best. With key injuries and a lack of reliable scoring outside Cardoso, the team has no clear identity or go-to plan. They’re not rebuilding. They’re not contending. They’re unraveling.

And the consequences are becoming increasingly public. This game—broadcast to a national audience—was supposed to be a showcase. Instead, it turned into a cautionary tale. Fans tuned in to see future stars rise. What they got was a front-row seat to a franchise in freefall.

If the Sky don’t act fast—whether that means reshuffling their lineup, changing their coaching philosophy, or both—this could go down as not just a bad season, but one of the most catastrophic in league history.

For Angel Reese, the road ahead is critical. She still has time to grow, but growth requires reflection and adaptation. Right now, she’s giving speeches about progress while the scoreboard—and the stats—paint a grim reality.

The Sky may have entered the season with lofty dreams, but at this rate, their only real competition is becoming the league’s most embarrassing punchline.