Chicago Sky select both Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese in 1st round of WNBA Draft
Just weeks ago, Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese were battling each other on the floor in a tense contest for the Southeastern Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament championship.
If they battle each other on the floor now, it’ll have to be in practice.
It’s opponents who must deal with both Cardoso and Reese in games, because they’ll be teaming up for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky.
The Sky grabbed their new dynamic post duo in the first round of Monday’s WNBA Draft, selecting Cardoso, a center from the University of South Carolina by way of Brazil, with the No. 3 overall pick, then taking Reese, a forward from Louisiana State University, with the No. 7 overall pick.
The Sky moved up one spot for the right to select Reese at No. 7 and also acquired forward Nikolina Milic in a trade with the Minnesota Lynx a day before the draft. In exchange, the Lynx received the No. 8 pick, the right to swap first-round picks next year, a 2025 second-round pick and forward Sika Kone.
By selecting both Cardoso and Reese on Monday, the Sky have two of the biggest names coming out of college this side of Iowa guard Caitlin Clark, who went No. 1 overall to the Indiana Fever. Cameron Brink, a forward from Stanford, went No. 2 overall to the Los Angeles Sparks.
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Chicago is now staking its future around key players from each of the last two national championship teams, Cardoso with South Carolina this season and Reese with LSU the year before.
“It think it’s going to be great,” Cardoso told reporters in a post-draft press conference. “She’s a great player, I’m a great player. So two great players together.
“Nobody’s going to get any rebounds on us.”
Reese noted that her history with Cardoso goes back to their high school days.
“My first time playing Kamilla was on one of the biggest stages in my life, when she played for Hamilton Heights (Tennessee) and I played for St. Frances (Maryland) in high school, and we battled,” Reese said. “Now, being able to be teammates is going to be amazing.
“I actually talked to her earlier, was congratulating her. She just came off an amazing run, an amazing college career. So I’m looking forward to playing with her.”
Additionally, the Sky drafted guard Brynna Maxwell from Gonzaga with the first pick of the second round and the No. 13 pick overall.
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Cardoso averaged 14.4 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game this season in helping lead South Carolina to an undefeated national championship. She was especially dominant in the national title game against Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes, racking up 15 points, 17 boards and three blocks in an 87-75 victory.
Cardoso spent her first college season at Syracuse before transferring to South Carolina, where she played in three consecutive Final Fours and won national titles in 2022 and 2024.
Reese, meanwhile, averaged 18.6 points, 13.4 rebounds and a block per game for LSU this season. In 2022-23, she averaged 23 points and 15.4 rebounds per game in leading the Tigers to a national championship.
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Maxwell averaged 14.2 points per game and shot 44% from 3-point range for Gonzaga this season.
The Sky begin their two-game preseason schedule on Saturday, May 4, at 7 p.m. against the Lynx at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
The regular-season opener is Wednesday, May 15, at 7 p.m. against the Dallas Wings at College Park Center in Arlington, Texas
Chicago hosts the New York Liberty at Wintrust Arena for a preseason game on Tuesday, May 7, at 7 p.m. The regular-season home opener is Saturday, May 25, at 7 p.m. against the Connecticut Sun at Wintrust Arena.
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