Angel Reese has had a lot of individual success in her first two WNBA seasons. Last year she finished second to longtime rival Caitlin Clark in the Rookie of the Year race, and she’s twice been named to the All-Star team. She’s the best rebounder in the league by a wide margin, and earlier this year, her offensive game began to blossom.
Reese’s individual triumphs haven’t yet led to her Chicago Sky doing well in the win column, and what’s worse yet is that she’s mostly been absent since the All-Star Break, missing five straight games and seven of her last nine with a back injury.
Jason Whitlock has been a longtime critic of Reese. On the latest episode of his Fearless podcast, he called out the former LSU Tiger for faking her injury and quitting on her team.
“I think she’s quit on the Chicago Sky,” Whitlock said. “She’s been claiming a back injury since the All-Star Break, and there’s no details. Every day we hear that Angel Reese is day-to-day, and every week there’s no update on what she’s struggling with, what she’s doing. There’s nothing. There’s no information about Angel Reese.”
That may sound inflammatory, but Whitlock was just getting started. “I think she’s quit on this season,” he said. “I think this is a worse version of Kawhi Leonard. I think she’s using her back as an excuse to sit out because she doesn’t really care about basketball.”
Whitlock has said before that Reese is jealous of Caitlin Clark: “Angel Reese doesn’t like Caitlin Clark. She’s made that crystal clear. She used to pretend in college like she liked Caitlin Clark, but she doesn’t. She’s jealous, she’s envious, she can’t stand her, and there’s a fight for power.”
Reese envies Clark’s fame and success. Whitlock went on to accuse Reese of sitting out just because Clark, the face of the league and its most popular player, is currently out with an injury of her own. He then took her to task for not being with her team as she rehabs her injury.
“[Reese] identified once they lost [Courtney] Vandersloot … once they started getting their brains beat in, ‘Hey, we’re not gonna win anything this year. I’m not putting these Ls on my resume. I’m going to have an excuse for the Chicago Sky potentially coming in with the worst or second-worst record in the WNBA,'” Whitlock said.
Even though there are still 13 games left in the season, the Sky have already clinched a losing record for the third straight year. Even if Reese comes back soon, the playoffs are already out of reach. Last night she posted a cryptic three-word message to X that didn’t do much to clear up when she’ll be back.
in due time.
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) August 12, 2025
There are many questions that need answering in this situation. When did Reese hurt her back? How severe is it? Will she be able to return this season?
Chicago has little to play for, but even if the Sky decide to shut Reese down for the year, that would only fuel the accusation that she quit on her team. Even if it’s just for a few games, it would be good for her, the Sky and the league to see her back in action again.
