The 2024 WNBA Playoffs are in full swing. But one of the four teams that missed the cut for the postsaeson is already making a significant change.
The Chicago Sky fired coach Teresa Weatherspoon after just one season Thursday night, severing ties with the Hall of Famer after a dismal finish to the year.
Weatherspoon became close to Sky rookie Angel Reese during their only season together, and the decision to search for a new head coach means Reese and fellow rookie Kamilla Cardoso will have to adjust to a new system in year two.
The Sky finished with a 13-27 record in the regular season, third from the bottom of the league but just two games out of the final playoff spot.
Here’s what you need to know about why the Sky fired Weatherspoon and how Reese is responding.
Why did the Chicago Sky fire Teresa Weatherspoon?
The Sky didn’t enter the 2024 season with especially high expectations after trading All-Star Kahleah Copper in the offseason. But there were troubling trends for Chicago as the year played out.
The Sky finished just 2-12 over their last 14 games, struggling with and without Reese. Chicago was dealt a tough blow when Reese went down with a season-ending wrist injury in a win over the Sparks in early September, but the team was already trending in the wrong direction with seven consecutive losses entering the contest.
Between the emergence of Reese and Chennedy Carter, plus the return of Cardoso after she missed the start of the season with a shoulder injury, the expectation was that the Sky would improve as the season went on. Instead, they regressed.
Chicago finished 11th out of 12 teams in field goal percentage, excelling on the boards thanks in part to league leader Reese but struggling to stand out in any other aspect of the game.
With Reese and Cardoso in hand and another highly-touted rookie set to enter the fray out of the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Sky will start fresh with a new coach, who they’ll ask to mold their young core into a contender.
Teresa Weatherspoon WNBA coaching record
Season
Team
Record
Pct.
2024
Sky
13-27
.325
The 2024 season was Weatherspoon’s first as a WNBA head coach, as she joined the Sky after three seasons as an assistant with the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.
Angel Reese responds to Teresa Weatherspoon firing on Twitter
Reese didn’t mince words after the news broke Thursday, posting a heartfelt message to Weatherspoon on X, formerly Twitter.
“I’m heartbroken. I’m literally lost for words knowing what this woman meant to me in such a pivotal point in my life,” Reese said, saying Weatherspoon “had a tough job.”
Reese was undoubtedly the biggest bright spot for the Sky in Weatherspoon’s lone season on the sideline. While she’s still working on her offensive game, the former LSU star led the league with 13.1 rebounds per game and set an WNBA record for consecutive games with a double-double.
“I came to Chicago because of YOU,” Reese continued. “You were an unsung hero in my life. We built a relationship in a short amount of time that will last forever.”
In case there was any doubt about where Reese stands on the decision, she added that Weatherspoon “didn’t deserve this.”
Weatherspoon has experience as an NBA assistant and college head coach in addition to the WNBA, so she could have plenty of options for her next gig — with one pretty significant endorsement.
