Sky Select Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese in the WNBA Draft
Chicago completes their (potentially franchise altering) 2024 draft class by pairing Cardoso and Reese with Brynna Maxwell from Gonzaga.
It’s no secret that, given the events of the offseason so far, whatever players the Sky selected in Monday night’s draft would be seen as the foundational pieces of the team’s new era under Teresa Weatherspoon. By adding Kamilla Cardoso, the Sky addressed their long-term need at the five and gave Elizabeth Williams a valuable understudy for the 2024 season. With the other two top-fifteen picks that Weatherspoon and general manager Jeff Pagliocca had at their disposal, they added a pair of players who, in the long run, could have just as much impact on the Sky’s next playoff team in Angel Reese and Brynna Maxwell. Let’s dive into what each of the three brings, how they fit with the other players on the Sky’s current roster and what areas of development they’ll need to focus on most during their debut WNBA campaign.
Pick 3: Kamilla Cardoso, C, South Carolina
What does Cardoso bring?
Cardoso brings plenty of skills across the board, but her defense has to be what sold Teresa Weatherspoon on drafting her. Given her size (6’7”), it’s probably not shocking that she’s a great shot-blocker, but her improvements stepping away from the rim are what transformed her from an exciting prospect into a lottery lock over the course of the college season. She’s capable of using her strengths to counter her weaknesses with her footwork and body control key to her growth defending in space and on the perimeter. Realistically, there’s just no way a player of Cardoso’s size can expect to regularly contend with guards in a foot race to the basket. But, what she did well for the Gamecocks last season was step out to ball-handlers and stay with them long enough to allow herself a chance to turn her hips and block or alter shots from the side or behind.
Her improvements defending in space will be especially key at the next level where there’s a lot more guards that can consistently hit shots from the mid-range. Cardoso is nice to have as a back-line rim protector, but she’s a far more useful defender now that she’s shown she can step out and disrupt shots or stay with ball-handlers on drives to the basket. With those added skills, the Sky have a lot more options to defend the pick-and-roll beyond sitting in drop coverage and hoping the opponent runs into Cardoso at the rim. She also does all of this without regularly getting into foul trouble—which is easier said than done at the college level. She had nearly as many games with no fouls (4) as with four or more fouls (5) in her final season with South Carolina. In the long run, the Sky will likely lean on Cardoso to play heavy minutes, and her track record suggests she’ll have no issues staying on the floor.
How does she fit with the current roster?
Even with Cardoso going third overall, I’d expect that Elizabeth Williams is the Sky’s day one starter at the five. And truthfully, that’s probably not a bad spot for Cardoso to be during her rookie season. Though she started 22 times in ‘20-21 for Syracuse, last season was the Brazilian’s first time starting for a team in the mix for a national title. Jumping from 19 minutes a game to a highly-depended on starter is a tough transition but jumping to the W will be even more difficult. At least one season with veteran support should serve her well—especially given Williams is a similarly defensive-minded player. At one point, it looked like the Sky would use Brianna Turner as the back-up 5, but her role now seems cloudy.
What are Cardoso’s key areas for development in 2024?
For the most part, the Sky should try to deconstruct and then replicate what Dawn Staley has been doing with Cardoso. In the last two years at South Carolina, we’ve seen Cardoso evolve as a player in real time, and the Sky’s future will be in great shape if the Brazilian continues to improve at that rate in the years ahead. While Cardoso’s growth became evident in a starting role this season, the foundation for all of that to happen was laid while she was coming off the bench. In other words, she’s capable of improving as a player—even if her playing time is not as substantial as it could be elsewhere. If Williams does wind up as the team’s opening day starter, the Sky will be hoping to tap into the same mindset that allowed Cardoso to grow behind the scenes at Carolina and flourish once a bigger role came her way.
That may be the ‘how’, but the ‘what’ of Cardoso’s development has to be her offensive game. She shot a solid percentage (59.4%) last season, but you still get the feeling she could (or even should) be more efficient given so many of her shots come right at the rim. Chicago can live with 59% if Cardoso is stepping out to hit the occasional shot from the mid-range, but they’ll want that percentage to trend towards the high 60’s if the shot profile remains so centered around the basket. If she becomes an elite defender at the next level and the Sky build successfully around her, Chicago won’t need Cardoso to do anything more than pour in the easy looks at the rim. However, with such a high draft pick invested in Cardoso and both of the Sky’s 2025 and 2026 first-rounders likely gone in pick swaps, they should be looking to extract everything possible from her game. Given how quickly she evolved as a player under Staley (and Weatherspoon and Pagliocca’s background in player development), there seems to be plenty of opportunity for the Sky to help Cardoso (1) improve her efficiency at the rim and (2) add variety to her shot profile.
On the second point, Staley mentioned on ESPN’s pre-draft coverage that she hopes Cardoso’s next coach ‘forces’ her to shoot fifteen-footers because ‘she can shoot’ and South Carolina ‘hadn’t even tapped into her mid-range game yet.’ Of course, a college coach will always want to hype up their players on draft night, but with Cardoso skilled in so many other areas, there’s no reason for Staley to specifically mention the mid-range unless there’s serious potential there. Again, this is why Cardoso is such an exciting prospect: most of the things you’d call ‘weaknesses’ in her game aren’t necessarily areas where she’s struggled per se. Instead, they look to be facets of the game Cardoso simply hasn’t gotten a chance to fully explore after just one season starting for the national champs.
Pick 7: Angel Reese, F, LSU
What does Reese bring?
Of all the prospects in this draft, I’m not sure any has one singular skill that’s as pro-ready as Reese’s ability to rebound the ball. Defensively, she can also be a strong asset to the Sky in year one. Inevitably, he transition as a defender will be more difficult because it’s a whole new league against new personnel with tons of nuance to learn, but the long-run potential for Reese to be an All-WNBA defender is there. Her physical profile is the primary selling point for most as she brings the unique blend of size, speed and strength that the W’s premier players (A’ja, AT, etc.) have. However, it’s Reese’s defensive IQ that’s a more striking asset for me. At LSU, she wasn’t just the team’s best defensive player, she was also the vocal leader of the team’s defense. If you’re intelligent enough to interpret the game and give instructions to the other four players on the court, you can definitely take care of your own portion of the defensive gameplan.
In 2024, Elizabeth Williams—an All-WNBA and EuroLeague defender herself—will captain the defense and Reese will be free to focus on learning the pro game at a more individual level. When Williams hits free agency next winter, the Sky will have a chance to measure how far Reese has come and decide if she’s ready to captain their defense in year two. Regardless, the long term projection is that Reese will be an important defender not only for her rebounding and 1-v-1 abilities, but for her leadership of the unit as a whole. On offense, Reese’s game may lack polish, but there’s plenty of raw ability to get excited for. Her explosive first-step is tough for any defender to corral and the result of that burst is a lot of trips to the stripe (266, 2nd in NCAA). In transition, she’s also a weapon as her exceptional ball-handling and outlet-passing allow her to push after rebounds without the intervention of a guard.
How does she fit with the current roster?
Trading Sika Koné in the deal that ultimately helped the Sky select Reese makes things a little bit clearer. Isabelle Harrison may still begin the season as the team’s starter but she’s in a contract year—meaning the Sky have the flexibility to pivot if Reese excels early on. In any case, the Sky’s entire front court will be free agents after the 2024 season; so, Reese will have plenty of opportunity to flourish in the long run. Because her defense and rebounding look so pro-ready, I expect Reese to play heavy minutes in year one.
What are Reese’s key areas for development in 2024?
The obvious areas for development are in Reese’s offensive game. But the Sky have an interesting decision when it comes to how they want to develop that side of Reese’s game. She was far from an elite mid-range scorer in college, but I’d argue her ability to hit those shots at all puts her way ahead of many rookie bigs in the W. Likewise, her steady foul shooting (72.6%) also speaks to her solid shooting mechanics—meaning it’s not out of the question that Reese becomes a solid two-level scorer. Thus, one school of thought could be trying to help Reese develop a more robust offensive game that could make her a first or second option offensively for a team that regularly makes the playoffs (or even contends for titles). To the contrary, Chicago could choose to lean into Reese developing one or two ‘go-to’ offensive moves that make her a nice complementary piece on offense—while her defense and rebounding do most of the heavy lifting.
The good thing for the Sky is that both options have merit. If Chicago can build a championship roster long term, Reese’s defensive IQ, leadership and world-class rebounding will add plenty to the equation and others can carry the offensive burden. However, her time at LSU showed that she’s capable of developing well beyond expectations—meaning it’s not out of the question that she becomes an offensive centerpiece as well. Reese told ESPN’s pre-draft panel that she left LSU because she’s ‘ready to start over.’ That comment speaks to Reese’s willingness and ability to continually evolve and challenge herself—a mentality that will be key for her if she hopes to set herself apart from her competition in the W in the same way she did so effectively during her time in Baton Rouge.
Pick 13: Brynna Maxwell, G, Gonzaga
What does Maxwell bring?
Shooting, shooting and more shooting. Maxwell made 377 threes in five college seasons with Utah and Gonzaga at a 42.7% clip. While Marina Mabrey (39%) shot the three-ball at a decent rate last season, the Sky have few other players on the 2024 roster that have displayed the ability to take a high volume of threes and maintain good efficiency in the process. Thus, Maxwell—despite being a very unheralded draft prospect—could wind up as a very important player for Chicago this season. Because she’s an efficient shooter with a quick release, Maxwell will also have considerable off-ball gravity—with teams unable to leave her alone on the perimeter. If she keeps knocking down shots at a clip at or above 40%, the spacing she provides could be crucial for the overall flow of the Sky’s offense.
Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier has also spoken to Maxwell’s attitude being one of her biggest strengths—citing both her work ethic and team-first mindset as important parts of what she added for the Bulldogs. The evidence bears that out as she has been successful virtually everywhere she’s played—leading her high-school (Gig Harbor, Washington State) to their first ever state championship and finishing with a perfect record in the WCC during her senior season with Gonzaga. Unselfish players who can shoot the ball with so much volume (6.1 attempts per game in ‘23-24) and efficiency (44%) are few and far between—even in a league as talented as the WNBA.
How does she fit with the current roster?
Again, the Koné deal helps Maxwell too as there’s now one extra spot on the roster for the 2024 season. With 8 veterans and the two picks above, Maxwell will likely be left competing with Chennedy Carter, Kysre Gondrezick and Taya Reimer for the final two spots on the Sky’s opening day roster. Those players have serious talent, but the path for Maxwell to makes the team looks clear. From there, her three-point percentage and defensive impact will likely decide her future. If she can knock down shots, she’ll see the floor—especially with neither of the Sky’s front court rookies known for their ability to space the floor.
What are Maxwell’s key areas for development in 2024?
It sounds weird to say, but Maxwell probably has the least of the Sky’s three picks to worry about developing in 2024. There’s no indication she’s going to be an elite multi-level scorer, and most of her damage on offense will be done off ball via catch-and-shoot opportunities. Her defensive game, as cited by Maxwell herself, has also come on considerably after being an emphasis in the lead up to her final college season and her high levels of activity figure to make her a solid defender once she’s settled at the next level. In other words, the most important thing Maxwell can do to become a multi-year professional is maintain what made her so successful in her final college season. If she’s a premier catch-and-shoot threat and can defend at an even average level, someone in the W—the Sky or otherwise—will find a bench spot for her. One of the toughest challenges a second round pick faces in the WNBA is making the team in their first season. Luckily for Maxwell, the Sky’s current roster provides a clear path for her to do just that—meaning her shot will have its chance to carve out a role for her in the W long-term.