Chicago Sky's Hailey Van Lith Gets Honest About Angel Reese Trade

Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese spent one season together at LSU and one season together on the Chicago Sky.

Reese took Van Lith under her wing when the Sky drafted Van Lith 11th overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft, saying that she understood the “pressure” on Van Lith and wanted to be a “big sister” to her during her rookie season last year.

“Angel has maintained contact with me this whole past year since she’s been in the league, and I transferred [from LSU to TCU],” Van Lith told reporters on her draft night. “I really appreciate her. We have a really mature relationship, a mutual-respect relationship, where we both have respect for each other’s game and also the character and the person we are off the court.”

Van Lith and Reese’s first season as teammates did not go as planned, as the Sky finished tied with the Dallas Wings for the league’s worst record at 10-34. And, just like in college, they were only teammates for one season. The Sky traded Reese to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for two first-round picks earlier this month.

But there’s still mutual respect between Van Lith and Reese.

“It was something that you saw, and you’re surprised by, but also like it’s the nature of the business,” Van Lith said of the Reese trade when meeting with reporters on Wednesday. “Everyone’s allowed to pursue their own personal endeavors, and our team is allowed to pursue their endeavors, and players are allowed to pursue their endeavors. So it’s a trade-off.”

Van Lith added, “I hope the best for her, and she deserves a place that she wants to be at and feels like that’s a good environment for her. So, I’m really happy for her that she took that jump, and looking forward to competing and playing against her today.”

The Sky drafted Reese seventh overall in 2024. She earned All-Rookie honors and has led the WNBA in rebounds in each of her first two seasons. She’s also a two-time All-Star.

To Van Lith’s point, Reese said during her Dream introductory press conference that joining the Dream “lowkey makes me emotional because I haven’t had this, and I’m really grateful.”

The Dream and Sky will play a preseason game in Chicago on Wednesday night. Chicago will open the 2026 regular season against the expansion Portland Fire on May 9, and Atlanta’s season opener will take place in Minnesota against the Lynx on May 10.

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This story was originally published April 29, 2026 at 3:11 PM.