Despite finishing at the bottom of the 2025 WNBA standings, the No. 12 Chicago Sky and No. 13 Dallas Wings will not be moving on from their current head coaches according to a report from Front Office Sports this week.
Dallas sideline leader Chris Koclanes and Chicago manager Tyler Marsh led their sides to identical 10-34 records in their first year at the helm — the worst in the league this season.
In contrast, 2025 playoff participants Seattle and New York are already making aggressive coaching changes, dismissing Storm boss Noelle Quinn and Liberty leader Sandy Brondello following first-round postseason exits.
While some fans criticized the presumed decision, Chicago Sky and Dallas Wings stars spoke out in support of their head coaches.
"Obviously the season didn't go how we expected, but being able to have a coach like Tyler, it was amazing through the ups and downs," Chicago center Kamilla Cardoso told reporters. "He always showed up every day with the same energy, no matter what the record was."
"The team embodies the attitude of your leader," echoed Dallas guard Paige Bueckers. "And for [Koclanes] to show up every single day at work and pour into all of us…it means a lot to us as a team."
Sky star Angel Reese watched from the sidelines as No. 12 Chicago fell 92-61 to the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces on Tuesday night, ruled out with a back injury after serving a half-game suspension on Sunday for making "statements detrimental to the team" last week.
Back pain that has troubled the forward throughout the second half of the 2025 WNBA season, with Reese opting to sit out Tuesday's clash despite earlier expectations that she would take the court.
"After warm-ups, she communicated that she just wasn't feeling it physically," Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said, after previously telling reporters he expected Reese to play. "She reported that pain, and so we wanted to hold her back."
Reese's relationship with the organization has been under a microscope since the 23-year-old criticized team leadership in last week's Chicago Tribune interview, prompting high-profile reactions from both within the league and beyond.
"Chicago is probably the worst-run organization in the league. You're gonna suspend your best player just because she's putting pressure on you to get better? That was embarrassing to see," an anonymous WNBA exec told the Dallas Hoops Journal in response.
"She got in trouble for telling the truth. And I feel like women, especially Black women, are over-policed in this league," Sports Are Fun guest co-host Greydy Diaz said on this week's episode. "If you really look at Chicago and its history, ownership, front office — it's been a disaster for years. You've had star players leave over and over…. I think they need to clean house in Chicago."
How to watch the final 2025 game for the Chicago Sky
Should her pain subside, Reese will suit up for the Chicago Sky's season finale on Thursday — though the league sophomore has already hit the requisite minimum number of game appearances to officially qualify as the WNBA's rebounds-per-game leader this year.
The No. 12 Sky will close out their 2025 campaign against the No. 5 New York Liberty at 8 PM ET on Thursday, with live coverage airing on WNBA League Pass.
No. 12 Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese rode the bench against the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces on Sunday night, serving a team-issued half-game suspension levied in the wake of the WNBA sophomore's controversial Chicago Tribune interview last week.
"The Chicago Sky values the safety, respect, and well-being of every player. We are committed to accountability so our players can stay focused on playing basketball," the team said in a statement, sanctioning Reese for making what they dubbed "statements detrimental to the team."
Reese served her suspension during the first half of Sunday's 80-66 loss to Las Vegas, before remaining sidelined for the game's second half due a lingering back injury.
Sunday marked Chicago's second straight matchup without the star forward, as Reese previously missed the Sky's Friday clash with the No. 7 Indiana Fever due to technical foul accumulation.
In the aforementioned Tribune interview, Reese criticized the franchise's roster construction, point guard development, and ability to attract free agents in the article, causing a stir across the Chicago Sky organization and beyond.
Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said on Friday that the decision to issue Reese a suspension came from the "top down," and that the team was "just going to handle it internally."
"She has a big influence, whether she says something good or bad, people like to interpret it a certain way," Sky center Elizabeth Williams told the Chicago Sun-Times last week. "I think she understands she just has to be mindful of the language she uses."
How to watch Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky this week
Reese has two more chances to suit up for the Sky this year, with Chicago closing out their 2025 WNBA season by facing the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces again before hosting the reigning champion No. 5 New York Liberty.
The Sky will tip off against the Aces at 10 PM ET on Tuesday, with live coverage on WNBA League Pass.
Thursday's season finale vs. the Libs will begin at 8 PM ET, airing live on NBA TV.
The Chicago Sky reportedly held a team meeting to address the explosive Chicago Tribune interview of Angel Reese this week, after the star forward put the already-eliminated WNBA team on blast.
"We are aware of [Reese's comments]," Sky head coach Tyler Marsh said on Wednesday. "We're addressing it in-house as currently speaking. That's where we'll stay right now."
"Angel has shown a commitment to wanting to be here," he continued. "We as an organization continue to show a commitment that we want people that want to be here."
Reese focused much of her critique on the team's leadership and roster construction, expressing disappointment as the Chicago Sky closes in on back-to-back losing seasons.
"We can't rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at," the 23-year-old Reese said of veteran Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot, following the 36-year-old's season-ending ACL tear in early June. "I know she'll be a great asset for us, but we can't rely on that."
"We need someone probably a little younger with some experience, somebody who's been playing the game and is willing to compete for a championship and has done it before," Reese added.
Notably, Vandersloot helped the Chicago Sky snag the 2021 WNBA title before taking the New York Liberty to a franchise-first championship last season.
Chicago star Angel Reese is speaking her mind, making waves after detailing improvements she'd like to see from the already-eliminated Sky in a Chicago Tribune tell-all on Wednesday.
"I'm not settling for the same s—t we did this year," Reese told basketball reporter Julia Poe, calling out Chicago's back-to-back losing seasons. "We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That's a non-negotiable for me."
"I'd like to be here for my career, but if things don't pan out, obviously I might have to move in a different direction and do what's best for me," she added.
One of five WNBA teams operating under independent ownership unaffiliated with an NBA team, the Sky have struggled to keep up with free agency demands in recent years, falling to No. 11 in the WNBA standings on a 10-30 record this season under new head coach Tyler Marsh.
"I'm willing and wanting to play with the best," Reese said. "So it's going to be very, very important this offseason to make sure we attract the best of the best because we can't settle for what we have this year."
"Honestly, it would be a leap of faith for a great, great player to come here and show that this is something that they want to be a part of."
Chicago managed to drown out the noise on Wednesday, dominating the No. 12 Connecticut Sun 88-64 to better the team's complicated lottery odds — and prompt Reese to walk back some of her earlier criticisms.
"I probably am frustrated [with] myself right now," Reese said after registering 18 points and 13 rebounds in the win — her 23rd double-double this year. "I really didn't intentionally mean to put down my teammates, because they've been through this with me throughout the whole year."
How to watch the Chicago Sky in this weekend's WNBA slate
The Sky will hit the road this weekend, first taking on the No. 8 Indiana Fever on Friday — though Chicago will be without their points and rebounds leader, as Reese will miss the matchup due to technical foul accumulation. The matchup tips off at 7:30 PM ET with live coverage on ION.
Chicago will then close out the weekend against the No. 3 Las Vegas Aces at 9 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on NBA TV.
Coming off Tuesday's 85-75 momentum-grabbing win over the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, the No. 2 New York Liberty will shoot to maintain late-season consistency against the now-eliminated No. 12 Chicago Sky in Thursday's WNBA slate.
Tied with the No. 3 Atlanta Dream at 22-13 on the year, the Liberty could benefit from the lopsided Thursday matchup, potentially adding space above Atlanta in the WNBA standings considering the Dream face an uphill battle against a motivated Lynx side.
"We're focused on the next nine games," New York head coach Sandy Brondello said following Tuesday's victory. "It's all about focusing on us and getting as high a position as we can in the standings."
The reigning champs still have work to do, however, with recent weeks seeing the Liberty post the second-worst 10-game record for any team above the playoff line — complete with three losses to their 2024 WNBA Finals rival Minnesota.
As for Chicago, the Sky are now focused on the future, bolstered by star forward Angel Reese's return from injury as they continue to build under first-year coach Tyler Marsh's system.
"I want to hoop," Reese said earlier this week. "I'm just happy to be out here to play the game I love."
How to watch Chicago Sky vs. New York Liberty in Thursday's WNBA slate
The No. 2 Liberty will host the No. 12 Sky at 7 PM ET on Thursday, tipping off live on Prime.
The No. 12 Chicago Sky are facing another failure to launch, as the 2021 WNBA champions struggle to navigate the second half of 2025 without injured star forward Angel Reese.
Reese has missed eight of the last nine Sky games due to a lingering back injury — and the WNBA sophomore will be out for the foreseeable future, with the Chicago Tribune reporting Wednesday that doctors have yet to clear her for basketball activities.
"For Angel, if she's healthy, she wants to play," said Chicago head coach Tyler Marsh. "We just don't want to put her in harm's way to further any existing injury."
Prior to injury, Reese was a bright spot on the Chicago lineup, averaging 14.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game while notching her first career triple-double in June.
With veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot out with a season-ending ACL tear and Reese unavailable in the home stretch for the second season in a row, Chicago suffered their ninth loss in 10 games on Wednesday, falling 71-62 to the last-place Connecticut Sun in a heated matchup that saw three players ejected.
Now riding an 8-24 record into the last month of regular-season play, the Sky are shifting to focus on the future with their 2025 campaign all but over.
The Sky swapped 2026 first-round draft picks with the Sun back in July 2024, giving them likely lottery positioning entering next season's WNBA draft.
However, Chicago then traded away their natural 2026 first-round pick to the No. 1 Minnesota Lynx in order to secure TCU alum Hailey Van Lith in the 2025 WNBA Draft, creating a non-zero chance that the league's top team will tip off next season with that year's No. 1 draft pick.
The 2025 WNBA preseason continued on Tuesday, as teams size up their rosters with less than 10 days to go until the regular season tips off.
After missing the playoffs last year, the Chicago Sky is showing out under new head coach Tyler Marsh, complementing their weekend win over Brazil with a 74-69 victory against 2024 championship contenders Minnesota on Tuesday.
The Sky successfully leaned into their young core, pairing second-year bigs Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso with new backcourt talent like rookie Hailey Van Lith. Also lifting Chicago this season are veteran leaders Ariel Atkins and Courtney Vandersloot.
"Hailey is great, she's like a sponge," Vandersloot said after Tuesday's game. "She's listened to everything I say. I think the best part of it is that we can compete in practice — we're going to make each other better."
With Tuesday's win, the Sky join the Indiana Fever and Las Vegas Aces in winning both of their 2025 WNBA preseason matchups so far, with Chicago forecasting quite the turnaround from last year's losing record.
"We understand that nothing that's happened in the past, good or bad, impacts what we're doing moving forward — and that's with any team," Marsh told reporters this week.
After a quietly active offseason and several key draft picks, the 2025 WNBA season could see the Sky right the ship — as long as Chicago keeps striking a balance between their young firepower and seasoned leaders.
New Las Vegas Aces teammates Kelsey Plum and Candace Parker didn’t exactly see eye-to-eye during their WNBA season opener against the Seattle Storm.
As the Aces rolled into halftime with a commanding 43-28 lead, Plum chided Parker in an interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe.
“Candace Parker, she’s wearing all black shoes with white socks. Which is, like, criminal, but she can pull it off,” Plum deadpanned.
“She’s the GOAT so we’re gonna let her do it today, but then we’ll talk to her about it after the game, right?” Rowe replied. (Video of the interview is embedded below.)
"Candace Parker, she's wearing all-black shoes with white socks. Which is like, criminal."
— espnW (@espnW) May 20, 2023
— @Kelseyplum10, everyone 😂 pic.twitter.com/sNCQyquq1j
Fans took to social media to debate the fashion choice. Even “Art But Make It Sports” – a Twitter account dedicated to juxtaposing iconic sports moment and works of art — weighed in, comparing Parker’s shoe-sock combo to The Matador Saluting, a painting by Édouard Manet.
The Matador Saluting, by Édouard Manet, 1866-67, 📸 by Scott Eklund https://t.co/UhmI9iDDkm pic.twitter.com/ZMAJmhT5eQ
— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) May 20, 2023
“Call me Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson Vibes),” Parker replied on Instagram.
The Aces won the game 105-64. The 41-point margin broke the WNBA record for largest margin of victory by any WNBA team in a season opener, per ESPN Stats & Info. Plum and Jackie Young recorded 23 points each, while four other Aces players also scored in the double digits: Chelsea Gray (14), A’ja Wilson (13), Candace Parker (12) and Alysha Clark (10).
Still, the Aces’ rout was overshadowed by the absence of head coach Becky Hammon, who served the first of a two-game suspension after a WNBA investigation found she made comments to Dearica Hamby about her pregnancy, violating the league’s Respect in the Workplace policies. Hammon has denied the claims. Assistant Tyler Marsh served as acting head coach during Saturday’s contest.