Angel Reese Sits Out With Injury, Chicago Sky Get Waxed By Atlanta Dream

The All-Star forward was nursing a leg injury and the rest of her team pretty much also decided not to play

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Chicago Sky All-Star forward Angel Reese didn't play on Wednesday afternoon against the Atlanta Dream and her team, apparently, decided they didn't really want to play, either. The Dream never trailed in the game, led by as many as 43 points and ultimately coasted into the WNBA All-Star break with an easy 86-49 victory.

Reese definitely takes her share of criticism – much of it earned, some of it not – but it was pretty clear on Wednesday afternoon (why the heck was there a WNBA game on a Wednesday afternoon three days before the All-Star Game is something we may never know) that the Chicago Sky looked much worse without her than with her. 

Chicago Sky All-Star forward Angel Reese didn't play on Wednesday afternoon against the Atlanta Dream and her team posted a pathetic performance in her absence.

Chicago Sky All-Star forward Angel Reese didn't play on Wednesday afternoon against the Atlanta Dream and her team posted a pathetic performance in her absence.

(Getty Images)

The team scored 13 points or fewer in each quarter, shot 25% from the field, and just generally looked completely lifeless. Though, I guess that's what you get from a team that's 7-15, playing in the middle of a weekday, missing one of its best players, and about to have a mini-vacation. Or, as the kids are calling it, a "micro-retirement." (I didn't make that up, that's a real thing.) 

Reese was listed with a leg injury, but reports indicate she's expected to participate in the WNBA All-Star festivities this weekend, so she likely took the opportunity to rest up for that. Love her or hate her, Reese is one of the bigger draws in the WNBA. 

Of course, Caitlin Clark is the biggest draw – by far – but Clark suffered an apparent injury on Tuesday night and is now in doubt for the All-Star Game. Perhaps the league didn't want the same thing to happen to Angel Reese. Good plan. 

Unfortunately, the Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark probably should have followed a similar path. If the league is leaning on Angel Reese to draw an audience for one of its marquee events, that's not a great sign. 

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Dan began his sports media career at ESPN, where he survived for nearly a decade. Once the Stockholm Syndrome cleared, he made his way to OutKick. He is secure enough in his masculinity to admit he is a cat-enthusiast with three cats, one of which is named "Brady" because his wife wishes she were married to Tom instead of him.