Chicago Sky to Face Phoenix Mercury Without Young Star

Angel Reese, who leads the Chicago Sky in points, rebounds, and assists per game, will miss Sunday night's game against the fourth-place Phoenix Mercury. It will make a tough matchup an even bigger uphill battle for the struggling Sky.

Aug 1, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Injured Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (C) looks on from the bench during the first half of a WNBA game against the Golden State Valkyries at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Mercury will be wrapping up a difficult road trip in Chicago against a Sky team that will be missing a key part of their lineup. Angel Reese, the second-year forward who already has two All-Star appearances, has been ruled out with a back issue, per Underdog WNBA. She's been out since the Sky's 103-86 loss to the Washington Mystics on June 29th.

It's a huge blow for the Sky. Reese not only leads the team in scoring, at 14.2 points per game, but also leads everyone but Courtney Vandersloot, whose season ended after just seven games played, in assists per game too, with 3.7. She's also the team's leading rebounder, by a huge margin, with her 12.6 a night eclipsing their second-leading rebounder, Kamilla Cardoso, who averages eight.

Reese's prodigious offensive rebounding could have caused issues for a Mercury team that has been struggling with interior defense and protecting cleaning the defensive glass during this recent rough patch. Her relentlessness inside could have put pressure on a Phoenix defense that hasn't matched their opponents' intensity of late.

Jul 9, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5)grabs a rebound against the Dallas Wings during the first half at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Reese had a tough start to the season for the struggling Sky, who had hoped to take a big step toward fighting for a playoff spot this year, and she struggled mightily with finishing in the paint in particular. It was a concerning development after she shot just 39.1% as a rookie, an issue compounded by the fact that the Sky took the 6'7" Cardoso, a traditional big, in the same draft, hoping to build around dominating the interior with two first-rounders at power forward and center.

The Sky have found a way to get Reese's play to perk up though. She's been considerably more efficient as a scorer since moving into a sort of point forward role, and a team that's weak at the guard spot has leaned on her nascent playmaking abilities. Her shooting percentages have also improved over the course of the season. Reese is now shooting a solid 44.4% from the field after a brutal start.

The playmaking void just got even bigger for the Sky and they'll be up against a team that, for most of the season at least, had an elite defense. Phoenix beat Chicago 107-86 the last time they played and Reese had an off night, scoring nine points and pulling down just two boards.

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