Courtney Vandersloot Addresses Angel Reese Incident After Chicago Sky Trade
Two-time WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot has been with the Chicago Sky long before Angel Reese joined the team as a rookie in 2024. Reese has now moved on after her trade to the Atlanta Dream, but Vandersloot is still standing with Chicago.
Vandersloot suffered a season-ending knee injury in 2025 after tearing her ACL in their seventh game of the campaign. She has since been working hard in her rehab with the objective of coming back at some point in the upcoming season.
Vandersloot recently spoke with Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune. She discussed her road to recovery and her commitment to the Sky. The conversation inevitably led to Vandersloot's thoughts on Reese.
The Sky suspended Reese for half a game at the tail end of the 2025 season. This is after she made comments deemed detrimental to the team. During that same interview, Reese said that the Sky could not "rely on Courtney to come back at the age that she's at."
Vandersloot responded by saying in a subsequent interview that, "contrary to what people say or think, my age is actually not a factor."
Vandersloot, who is now entering her 14th season with the Sky, had a lot more to say about the incident in her sit-down with the Chicago Tribune.
"I'll say it didn't feel good," Vandersloot said of Reese's comments. "I think at first it was an emotional thing, you know? There was an emotional response to it. And the more I think about it, I understand what she was trying to say.
"Do I think that it was necessary she said that? No. I think that was the biggest thing for me. But it was more big picture for me because I didn't even really know the comments that she said about me until way later in the day. I just thought that it could have been handled differently."
Vandersloot said that she has never reached out to Reese since the incident. The 36-year-old also claims that Reese's fame has made this whole issue much bigger than it actually is.
"Listen, this kind of stuff happens - I wouldn't say frequently - but it happens in sports," Vandersloot said. "It's not unheard of. We were just under a microscope because of Angel and her following. It just is what it is."
Vandersloot and the Sky are now intent on moving on. Reese was a big loss, but the five-time All-Star is confident that the team will manage without her. Vandersloot emphasized how much she values loyalty among her teammates.
"The biggest thing in our conversations was we wanted people that were 100% bought in on the Chicago Sky," Vandersloot said. "That's how we addressed free agency. Whether it was a free agent or making a trade, we wanted to make sure that this was a place they wanted to be long-term.
"It wasn't ‘if this, if that,' one foot in, one foot out. That's how the conversation shifted, understanding that we're trying to build something and to do that we need complete buy-in from everyone."
Related: Atlanta Dream Players Share Honest Opinion of Angel Reese
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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 7:35 PM.