The Chicago Sky haven’t had the smoothest beginning to the 2025 season, opening 0-4 while struggling to find their rhythm.
Yet, through the setbacks, forward Angel Reese has remained confident in her team’s future. “Somebody said we wasn’t the best young core in the league… I think we’re the best young core in the league for sure, hands down,” she told ESPN earlier this year.
But recent developments have put her loyalty to the locker room under scrutiny. Following comments made in an interview with Julia Poe, the fallout included a heated team meeting, a half-game suspension, and speculation after she quietly removed “Chi-Town Barbie” from her Instagram bio.
The incident even sparked trade rumors, with some suggesting Los Angeles as a possible landing spot. Despite the noise, insiders agree Reese remains the cornerstone of the Sky’s rebuild.
Still, if she wants to fully repair relationships with her teammates, former WNBA All-Star Angel McCoughtry has laid out a surprising blueprint.
Sharing endorsements to rebuild trust
“I am all about saying what you feel. We don’t hold stuff in, but it’s just how we say it,” McCoughtry explained on the Good Follow podcast.
“They [teammates] are already looking at you like you have everything. They don’t have million-dollar endorsements. But they are having a losing season, too. You know what I would do, Angel? I would go to one of my endorsements and say, ‘give me a $100,000, so I can give all my teammates $10,000, just to show them I care.’ That puts you in the spotlight of like, ‘wow, let’s set this girl up.'”
For Reese, the suggestion isn’t out of reach. At just 23 years old, she has become one of the most marketable young athletes in the league.
From her Reebok signature shoes and McDonald’s partnership to endorsements with Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Raising Cane’s, her brand stretches far beyond basketball. She also has business stakes in DC Power FC and the new women’s league Unrivaled.
Examples of athletes leveraging deals to support teammates aren’t unheard of. Azzi Fudd once shared an endorsement with fellow players, while Reese herself has gifted Beats headphones and Powerbeats Pro earbuds to teammates in the past.
But McCoughtry believes doing something similar for her Sky teammates could go a long way toward smoothing over current tensions.
Channeling frustration into leadership
Reese‘s frustrations are understandable. Over the past two seasons, she has shouldered a heavy load, leading the Sky in scoring, rebounding, and assists, while veterans spent stretches on the sideline.
But McCoughtry, a 13-year league veteran, argues that part of leadership is learning how to redirect that disappointment.
“As a leader, what you do, you go to the front office at the end, you go see your GMs. Hey, what can we do? Who can we bring in? What vets can we bring in? Courtney’s coming back. That’s how you do it, Angel, for the future,” she said.
McCoughtry has witnessed players like A’ja Wilson and Sabrina Ionescu endure losing seasons before blossoming into champions. Her advice reflects the long-term perspective needed to build a winning culture.
With an estimated net worth around $1 million and endorsements that give her unmatched visibility, Reese has the resources and the platform to change the Sky’s locker room energy.
Whether she follows McCoughtry’s advice remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: her influence stretches well beyond the court, and how she uses it could determine the Sky’s future chemistry.
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