Angel Reese, happy with Dream, prepares for first return to Chicago

WNBA star Angel Reese will face her former team for the first time when the Atlanta Dream visit the Chicago Sky on Tuesday night.

A two-time All-Star who was selected seventh overall by the Sky (4-7) out of LSU in 2024, Reese was traded this spring from Chicago to the Dream (7-3) for a pair of first-round draft picks.

Reese set the WNBA's single-season rebounding record with the franchise as a rookie -- grabbing 446 boards, or 13.1 per game. The 6-foot-4 forward from Baltimore also became the fastest WNBA player to reach 500 points and 500 rebounds in a career, surpassing a pace set by Tina Charles.

Reese is also just the fourth player -- in the NBA or WNBA -- to tally 50 double-doubles in their first 75 professional games.

With the Dream, Reese has continued to play at a high caliber under coach Karl Smesko, averaging 13.3 points, 3.1 assists, 1.3 steals and a league-leading 11.7 rebounds per game.

"I think just being able to sit with someone that really works with you," Reese said of Smesko recently. "He continues to trust and believe no matter how many shots I miss. We're happy when we see it in the game and it transitions easily. He told me from the beginning I need to be patient and give myself grace."

The Dream, in Smesko's second season at the helm, lead the WNBA in steals (9.4) and offensive rebounds (11.4) per game. Allisha Gray leads the team in scoring with 19.7 points per game.

Chicago has struggled since losing star Rickea Jackson -- who was acquired in a blockbuster trade with the Los Angeles Sparks in exchange for Ariel Atkins -- for the season with a knee injury. They were 3-1 when Jackson got hurt and just 1-6 since. They're coming off an 85-68 loss to the Toronto Tempo, and after the game Skylar Diggins voiced her disappointment with the team's performance and composure.

"We gotta have more maturity and more leadership on and off the floor from the players on the floor, and from the staff as well," Diggins said. "It's been an extremely frustrating experience."

In her first season with the Sky, Diggins is averaging 14.4 points and 4.7 assists per game. The Sky rank last in the league in rebounding rate (45.7 percent) and are second-to-last in 3-point shooting with a 26.3 percent clip.

Brionna Jones continues to be sidelined for the Dream with a knee injury, while DiJonai Carrington (left foot) and Courtney Vandersloot (right knee) are out for the Sky.

--Field Level Media