If you’re a Chicago Sky or Angel Reese fan, you might be feeling like the basketball gods have a personal vendetta against you. One minute, Reese is out there doing her thing, racking up rebounds like a human vacuum cleaner. The next? Her time on the court gets cut short because of that “season-ending injury,” leaving us staring at our screens, screaming, “Not again!”

If you’ve been following Reese’s journey, you’ll remember that last year, she cracked a bone in her wrist during a game against the Los Angeles Sparks. In classic Angel Reese fashion, she played through the pain, dropped 24 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and then casually mentioned the injury after the game. “I fell on my hand when I got the and-1, when I fell back [and] fell on my hand, and it is a small crack in my bone,” Reese explained at the time.

Small crack? No big deal, right? Except, you know, it was. She ended up needing surgery to insert a screw into the bone to prevent long-term damage. The whole situation ended her impressive rookie season early, but did that stop her from making a comeback? Absolutely not.

After months of recovery and rest, she was back in Unrivaled- healthy, dominating, looking like it was finally HER year. But guess what? The ghosts of past injuries might be creeping in again. So, let us break down why Reese left the recent Rose vs. Vinyl matchup, looking like someone who just realized they left their phone on 1% battery.

Everything seemed fine until the third quarter when Angel Reese suddenly exited the game, clutching her left wrist—yes, the same one that gave her trouble during her rookie WNBA season. No obvious fall, no dramatic collision, just Reese walking off the court with a towel over her head. After that, Rose BC’s official account put out a post saying, “Angel Reese left the game in the 3rd quarter with a wrist injury. Waiting updates.” Safe to say that it didn’t help matters; it was just even more stress-inducing. 

Not exactly the news fans wanted to hear.

Then, to make things even weirder, Reese herself reposted the update, calling it “false information” before promptly deleting her post. Now, if that doesn’t scream that something fishy is going on, I don’t know what does.

Well, for now, what we know is Rose head coach Nola Henry didn’t give much away either, just saying, “No update on Angel, but hopefully, we’ll have one soon. Sending her our best wishes.” That’s basically sports-speak for we’re waiting, too- hope it’s nothing serious.

Before leaving the court, Reese had already put up 10 points and 13 rebounds in just 13 minutes—classic overachiever behavior. But, you know, despite her early exit, Rose still handled business, winning 74-46 and punching their ticket to the semis. Yet, fans aren’t exactly celebrating. Time has probably stopped for them until they get an Angel Reese update; one that clears everything out. The immediate reaction was sheer panic. One particularly relatable post read, “All Sky and Rose fans waiting for the Angel update“. Same, random internet person, same.

Well, if anyone can bounce back, it is Angel Reese. And nothing can negate the fact that she is having an incredible Unrivaled season, continuously improving her game. Her peak moment? Dropping an insane 22 points and 21 rebounds on February 22, making her the first player in Unrivaled history to record a 20-20 game.

Angel Reese is leveling up, but she must stay healthy

We all know Angel Reese can dominate the boards like it’s second nature, but finishing at the rim has been a work in progress. Her rookie season wasn’t pretty when it came to offense. She had the worst layup conversion rate in the entire WNBA. Shooting 39.1 percent from the field when the league average was 43.8 percent is definitely not a great look.

Lisa Leslie stepped in at the perfect time, and she didn’t sugarcoat a thing. On Reese’s “Unapologetically Angel” podcast, the three-time WNBA MVP got straight to the point: They were going to fix her layup struggles. “The biggest advice I have for you is going to be how you shoot your layups. We’re going to fix that. That’s fixable for you,” Leslie stated.

And she wasn’t just talking. Leslie has been hands-on with Reese, working on her footwork, body control, and shot selection. You can see the difference. The Rose forward is now making smarter reads and finishing stronger.

So, credit where credit is due: Reese realised what needed fixing, and she put in the work. Through 14 games, she’s putting up 13.1 points per game, with a season-high of 23. More importantly, her efficiency has jumped. In her first 10 games alone, she bumped her field goal percentage to a solid 47.3 percent. That’s progress. And obviously, she’s still doing what she does best—leading the league with 12.1 rebounds per game.

But here’s the thing. Just as she’s silencing critics and proving her growth, she can’t afford setbacks. She’s got to be consistent. And more than that, she needs to stay healthy. This brings us right back to her latest injury scare. Again, I hope it’s nothing major. Fingers crossed till we get the next update!