The Chicago Sky lost 82-75 to the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday night, a defeat that carried extra weight. The visiting Dream roster now includes Angel Reese, who was traded away from Chicago this past spring after a turbulent final season with the franchise.
The loss extended what has become a familiar pattern of struggle for the Sky. Chicago started the 2026 season 3-1 before leading scorer Rickea Jackson tore her ACL on May 17 against the Minnesota Lynx. The team has gone 1-7 since that injury, and guard Skylar Diggins spoke bluntly after a 20-point loss to the Toronto Tempo last Sunday, according to CBS Sports.
"We gotta have more maturity and more leadership on and off the floor," Diggins said. "... If it was just versus one team, I'd understand that, but now it's been struggles. That's a trend of ours. It's disappointing. Really is. It's frustrating."
She continued: "The games ain't gonna slow down, and teams are gonna keep getting better and better around us, so we gotta figure out how we're gonna turn this corner here. It's been an extremely frustrating experience."
Diggins declined to address the Sky's half-court offense directly, deferring that question to head coach Tyler Marsh.
The situation echoes what Reese experienced last season. The Sky went 10-34 in 2025, tying the Dallas Wings for the worst record in the league. Before she was traded, Reese spoke publicly about her frustration in a September interview with Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune.
"I'm not settling for the same shit we did this year," Reese said. "We have to get good players. We have to get great players. That's a non-negotiable for me."
She added: "I'm willing and wanting to play with the best. And however I can help to get the best here, that's what I'm going to do this offseason. 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."
Those comments were not well-received by the organization. Reese was benched for half a game against the Las Vegas Aces for what the team called statements detrimental to the franchise. That was Marsh's first year as head coach. The situation does not appear to have improved in his second.
Reese, now with Atlanta, is part of a Dream team that had a franchise-record 30-win season in 2025 and carried that momentum into 2026 with an 8-3 start.
When asked about Diggins' frustration, Marsh accepted responsibility. "I think the accountability starts there. Starts with me and ends with me, honestly," he said.
