ANGEL REESE REUNION WITH FORMER LSU STAR IS WHAT WNBA FANS WANT

With the Chicago Sky owning the No. 10 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, fans are pushing heavily for the team to reunite Angel Reese and a former LSU Tigers teammate.

Hailey Van Lith, who played alongside Reese at LSU during the 2023-24 college basketball season, had a phenomenal year after transferring to the TCU Horned Frogs for the 2024-25 campaign. In fact, she even led the program to its first-ever Elite Eight appearance before falling to the Texas Longhorns on Monday.

Amid Van Lith's incredible run in the NCAA Tournament, there had been plenty of discussions about her WNBA future. Her draft stock has certainly increased with her big year at TCU, with mock drafts even projecting her to get selected in the first round.

That being said, an LSU reunion with Reese with the Sky isn't a far-fetched idea, and several fans expressed their desire to make it happen.

On Reddit, a user shared a post on the WNBA franchise's subreddit envisioning Chicago selecting Van Lith, writing, "Hailey Van Lith to the Sky?!"

Sure enough, the comment drew a number of reactions supporting the idea.

TCU Horned Frogs guard Hailey Van Lith reacts during a game. Amy Kontras-Imagn Images Amy Kontras-Imagn Images

"That would be fire her and angel Reese," a commenter wrote. Another one said, "Hopefully. Either her or Lucy Olsen."

A fan added, "It would be a good pick up for them."

"Yes she bff with Angel," a supporter shared.

While some expressed doubt that the Sky would actually take Van Lith or would have the chance to do so, they still welcome the thought of her and Reese reuniting in Chicago.

"It doesn't fit the Sky's presumptive draft goals at all, so it feels really unlikely. But sure, I'd love to see it," another Reddit user stated.

A sixth poster wrote, "To me it really depends who's on the boards if you talking about 10 and if you talking 16 if she's there for sure, I feel if we still had Tpoon I would say No because she wouldn't have fit that offense but I if Tyler offense do have a little Becky in then she wouldn't fit his offense but I'll feel you can't go wrong with either Amoore, HVL, or Sundell no matter the pick spot, I think they got to get 1 of them."

For what it's worth, Bleacher Report previously predicted that the Sky would be able to land Hailey Van Lith with the No. 10 pick. However, a recent mock draft by ESPN saw HVL moving up the draft board and going No. 9.

With projected No. 2 pick Olivia Miles' decision to return for another year of college as well, there are movements expected to happen in the 2025 WNBA Draft. Obviously, it could end up beneficial for Van Lith.

It remains to be seen which team will take Van Lith in the draft, but there's no denying that plenty of eyes will be on the star guard as she takes the next step in her career.

- Angelo Guinhawa Athlon Sports

ANGEL REESE GOT HONEST ABOUT COMPETING WITH CAITLIN CLARK THROUGHOUT THE YEARS

 

Perhaps no rookie competition has been more covered by the media this year than that between Chicago Sky's Angel Reese and Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark.

Their regular season matchups in the WNBA sometimes got ugly for reasons out of the players' control, but for the most part, Reese and Clark's arrival to the league has led to a positive ripple effect causing record numbers of viewers to tune into women's basketball games week after week.

Reese spoke about her and Clark's inaugural season in the W in a recent feature article for the Wall Street Journal and had a candid take on their competitive battles throughout the years. Their on-court "rivalry" dates all the way back to their collegiate playing days, when Reese suited up for LSU and Clark was breaking records with Iowa.

"It's just a full-circle moment of how women are viewed when it comes to trash-talking," Reese said. "It's okay in men's sports. We're going to normalize that in women's sports as well. So it's just super-competitive. I think we're two great competitors."

Reese was referring to a notorious moment during the 2023 NCAA championship game when she appeared to taunt Clark by mimicking the Hawkeyes guard's "You Can't See Me" gesture. LSU went on to beat Iowa, 102-85.

"We brought a lot of fans to this league," Reese said of her and Clark's rookie campaigns. "And I think we're going to continue to do that. And one day, hopefully, we'll be teammates."

Reese and Clark notably linked up for the first time during the WNBA All-Star Game in July. With both players' Olympic futures looming in the horizon, that likely won't be the last time fans see the marquee stars share a court together.

- BY KRISTEN WONG SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

CAITLIN CLARK WINS WNBA ROOKIE OF.THE YEAR

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark was a near-unanimous pick for WNBA Rookie of the Year, the league announced Thursday.

Clark, the No. 1 draft pick in April, got 66 of 67 votes from a national media panel. The other vote went to the Chicago Sky's Angel Reese, who was the No. 7 pick in the draft.

Fever players have won the award in back-to-back seasons; Indiana forward/center Aliyah Boston won the honor last year after she was also the No. 1 draft pick. Clark and Boston helped lead the Fever to their first playoff appearance since 2016 before they were swept in the first round by the Connecticut Sun.

"I am incredibly honored to be named Rookie of the Year, but more than that, I am grateful to everyone that supported me throughout this past season -- my family and friends, my teammates, the Fever organization and everyone that cheered us on all season. I am so proud of what we accomplished and so excited for what the future holds," Clark said in a statement.

Clark was joined on the WNBA All-Rookie Team by Reese, Sky center Kamilla Cardoso, the Los Angeles Sparks' Rickea Jackson and the New York Liberty's Leonie Fiebich.

Clark had a record-breaking first WNBA season that followed her history-making college career at Iowa, where she became the all-time leading scorer in Division I basketball, men's or women's.

She started all 40 regular-season games for the Fever, who went 20-20 and finished sixth in the league. She averaged 19.2 points, a WNBA-best 8.4 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 35.4 minutes per game. She led all rookies in each of those categories except rebounding, in which she was third. Reese led the WNBA in rebounding average at 13.1.

Along with leading the league in assists, Clark was first in 3-pointers (122) and second in minutes per game and free throw percentage (90.6). She was seventh overall in scoring.

Her 337 assists set a WNBA single-season record, and she had a single-game record of 19 assists against the Dallas Wings in July. She also set a rookie season mark with 769 points and became the first WNBA rookie to record a triple-double. (She had two.)

Speaking after the Fever's 87-81 loss in Game 2 against the Sun, Clark said she was thrilled about the potential she and the team have ahead of them.

"The fun part is I feel like I'm just scratching the surface," Clark said. "I know I want to help this franchise get even better, help my teammates get even better, be better for my teammates. I know there's a lot of room for me to continue to improve, so that's what excites me the most."

- Michael Voepel, ESPN Senior Writer

CLARK, REESE EXCITED TO TEAM UP AT WNBA ALL-STAR

Getty Images 

 PHOENIX -- For 40 minutes on Saturday, Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese will put aside their rivalry to join forces on Team WNBA in the league's All-Star Game against the United States women's national team.

In a weekend when the stars of women's basketball have congregated in the blistering heat of Arizona, the unification of Clark and Reese has become a storyline unto itself. And they know it.

"That's what everybody wants to see," Reese said Friday.

The two, who played against each other in the 2023 Women's NCAA tournament national championship game when Clark was at Iowa and Reese was at LSU, and then three times in the first half of the WNBA season, have momentarily embraced being teammates. They spent time working on a pick-and-roll together during Friday morning's practice.

"I'm looking forward to it," Reese said. "Everybody can wear their 'Get Along' shirts together for one day, at least. So, I know a lot of people are going to come and watch us, to see all of us, but there's a lot of talent within both rosters of the teams, so they're in for a good one."

Clark thinks sharing a court with Reese will be "fun" and said it'll be "really great" to share the All-Star experience with Reese as rookies.

Clark, who led all players in All-Star Game voting, believes the attention she and Reese, who finished fifth in voting, are bringing to women's basketball will continue and also will help grow the game.

Their impact was evident in the All-Star voting. Both exceeded 380,000 votes. Last season, Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson was the top vote-getter but received fewer than 100,000 votes.

While Clark and Reese will play in the All-Star Game, both declined invitations to participate in Friday night's skills competition -- Clark in the 3-point contest and Reese in the skills challenge.

Reese said she turned down the invitation so she could "enjoy" her first All-Star Game and just watch -- at least for her first year, she said. She plans to spend part of her month-long Olympic break in Paris, even though she's not on the national team, for a vacation. She's planning on fitting in some workouts and vintage shopping.

Clark cited rest as her reason for not participating in the 3-point contest.

"I've been playing basketball for a year straight," Clark said. "It's not an easy thing to just show up to and shoot off of a rack. It's not something I've ever done before. It's not something I've had a lot of time to practice. I've been focusing on helping my team win games, so I think just enjoying this break, I think there's going to be plenty of opportunities for me to do that at some point, but at the same time, like the field of shooters that we have in the competition are really good. They're all like near 40% shooters, so I'm excited for them.

"I'll be there supporting them and it'll be fun. But, yeah, I mean, I think the thing that's best for me is just, like, I need a break and I need to take some time to myself to enjoy what I want to do. And, at times, that can be tough, being in the position that I'm in."

Even though Clark said her goal and dream was to play on the Olympic team, she admitted that getting a four-week break will be "very beneficial." She also plans on going on vacation and taking "some time to breathe."

It won't be easy, said Clark, who described herself as someone "that wants to continue to work and continue to play."

"I probably will feel a little bit uncomfortable, like not touching the basketball for a week or so," Clark said. "But I know that's going to be the healthiest thing for myself and I think just relax, like, turn my phone off, get away from everything and really enjoy it because, obviously, this past year has been super crazy.

"It's something I'm very fortunate for, as well. Like, I wouldn't change it for the world."

Although she's admittedly tired, Clark put some perspective on her exhaustion.

"I mean like, sure, I'm tired, but at the same time, there's so many people that would kill to be in my shoes and so many people that are going through so much worse in their lives," Clark said. "Like, I'm a professional basketball player, my life is pretty, pretty good, so I have no complaints. And if I'm going to be tired, I'll be tired. Like, I'll take that every single day of the week. So, this break will definitely be nice though."

Part of why she knows she has to put down the ball is to absorb and reflect on everything that has happened to her over the past year.

"It goes so fast and you don't want to miss any of the moments," Clark said. "It's crazy. It feels like yesterday I was just in college and now I'm at my first All-Star Game, so just reflect back on everything and enjoy it and get some time to reset and then come back and be ready to go for the second half."

- Josh Weinfuss, ESPN Staff Writer

THREE-TIMES WNBA CHAMPION CANDACE PARKER RETIRES

Reuters 

 Seven-times All-Star Candace Parker called time on her career on Sunday, stepping away from the game after becoming the first to win the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) Finals with three different teams.

The twice most valuable player Parker won the trophy with the Las Vegas Aces last year but was sidelined for much of the season after undergoing surgery on her foot.

"I promised I'd never cheat the game & that I'd leave it in a better place than I came into it. The competitor in me always wants 1 more, but it's time. My HEART & body knew, but I needed to give my mind time to accept it," Parker wrote on Instagram.

The first overall pick in the 2008 draft was the first to win Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same year when she averaged 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game in her opening season with the Los Angeles Sparks.

She led the Sparks to the playoffs 11 times, winning the championship in 2016, before a short stint with the Chicago Sky to win the title in 2021.

@candiceparker

"From teens with hoop dreams to legends!" eight-time NBA All-Star Dwight Howard wrote on X. "Congrats on a legendary career."

"Congratulations on a brilliant career, Candace," tennis great Billie Jean King wrote. "Looking forward to following the next steps in your journey."

The future Hall of Famer Parker won Olympic gold with the United States twice and re-signed with the Aces in February but said that her foot was not "cooperating" in the off-season.

"It's no fun knowing what you could do, if only," said Parker.

"I’m grateful that for 16 years I PLAYED A GAME for a living & DESPITE all the injuries, I hooped."

- Reuters 

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