Angel Reese Injury Update Crashes Chicago Sky WNBA Championship Odds

The Chicago Sky are no longer favored to make the playoffs after falling in the WNBA championship odds with Angel Reese out for the season.

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese. / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

A terrific rookie season from Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese is coming to a close a little early, as she announced on Saturday that an injury will keep her out the rest of the 2024 season.

Angel Reese announces she will miss the rest of her rookie season due to an injury 🙏 pic.twitter.com/tEDSuo8zzM

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) September 8, 2024

This is a massive blow to the Sky, who currently hold the No. 8 seed in the WNBA – the final playoff spot. Chicago has the tiebreaker over the Atlanta Dream heading into Sunday’s WNBA action. 

Reese, a first-round pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft, broke the single-season record for rebounds and finishes her rookie campaign averaging 13.6 points, 13.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 18.8 percent from 3. 

The Sky had looked like playoff contenders for most of the season, but they’ve struggled since the Olympic break, winning just two of their last 10 games to let the Dream, and the Washington Mystics, back into the chase for the No. 8 seed. 

Following news of Reese’s season-ending injury, the Sky tanked in the latest odds to win the WNBA championship, falling to +2500 at DraftKings Sportsbook. 

WNBA Championship Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

• New York Liberty: +135
• Las Vegas Aces: +330
• Minnesota Lynx: +500
• Connecticut Sun: +650
• Seattle Storm: +1300
• Indiana Fever: +1700
• Phoenix Mercury: +7000
• Atlanta Dream: +20000
• Chicago Sky: +25000
• Washington Mystics: +50000
• Dallas Wings: +80000

The top seven teams in the odds have all clinched a playoff spot already this season, so, interestingly, Atlanta has better odds than Chicago to win the title. 

This signals that oddsmakers expect the Dream – not the Sky – to earn the No. 8 seed in the standings. 

Chicago closes out the season with games against Dallas, Washington, Minnesota, Phoenix, Atlanta and Connecticut. According to Tankathon, it actually has an easier strength of schedule than the Dream to close out the season.

Despite that, the loss of Reese is a huge blow to Chicago’s rebounding and interior offense.

On the bright side, it should open up more opportunities for first-round pick Kamilla Cardoso, who has been more efficient than Reese this season as a scorer (52.9 percent from the field). Since the Olympic break, Cardoso is averaging 12.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 64.1 percent from the field.

Still, the Sky are certainly a worse team today now that Reese is done for the season. Hopefully, the team can rally to make the playoffs, but it’s looking unlikely that they’ll make any noise even if they do this season.  

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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