The Chicago Sky fired head coach Teresa Weatherspoon after one season with the team. Chicago Sun-Times It was reported Thursday night, citing multiple league sources.
Sky rookie star Angel Rees took to social media to confirm the news, saying she was “heartbroken”.
Wetherspoon was hired last October 12th and led the Sky to a 13-27 record. Despite struggling to a 3-13 record after the Olympic break, Chicago remained in playoff contention for the second half of the season. Ultimately, losing Reese to a wrist injury on September 7 was too much to handle.
Reese had a strong season, setting a WNBA record with 15 consecutive double-doubles. Reese, the No. 7 draft pick out of LSU, averaged 13.6 points and 13.1 rebounds in 34 games. She thanked Weatherspoon in an emotional post on X Thursday night.
“I am literally at a loss for words knowing what this woman meant to me at such a pivotal point in my life,” Reese wrote. “She was the only person who believed in me. She believed in me. A lot of people don’t even know what it’s like to be a black woman in sports when no one believes in you. You had a tough job. All the crazy situations we went through this year & when your back was against the wall, you always believed. .
“You’re the reason I came to Chicago. You were an unsung hero in my life. In a short time we formed a relationship that will last forever.”
Weatherspoon played seven seasons in the WNBA in New York and one in Los Angeles from 1997 to 2004, the league’s inaugural year. He has also coached at the collegiate level, his alma mater, Louisiana Tech, and the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA.
