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One of the biggest news stories of the 2025 WNBA draft is the Chicago Sky drafting Hailey Van Lith and reuniting her with Angel Reese. However, conservative sports columnist Jason Whitlock cautioned Van Lith about playing with a "narcissist" like Reese again.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Whitlock shared his sentiment on the Sky's decision to draft HVL with the 11th pick. They needed a scorer and playmaker, so getting a player of Van Lith's caliber was a win. She previously played with Reese at LSU during the 2023-24 NCAA season.
Whitlock explained that Van Lith didn't look thrilled to be playing with Reese again. He also brought up that "nobody" liked playing with the Rookie of the Year runner-up because the Sky prioritized getting her double-doubles over winning.
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"Hailey Van Lith was drafted by the Chicago Sky, and she didn’t seem too pleased to be reunited with Angel Reese," Whitlock tweeted. "I think she’d be reluctant to re-engage with a narcissist. It’s to my understanding that nobody liked playing with Angel Reese."
Angel Reese and Hailey Van Lith have the next month to rekindle their chemistry ahead of the 2025 WNBA season. The Chicago Sky revamped their roster and built it around Reese. They barely missed the playoffs after Reese suffered a season-ending wrist injury.
The Sky's biggest needs ahead of the draft were scoring, shooting and playmaking. Reese could have used a proper point guard to get her in position to score or at least have a better shot at making easy baskets. Chelsea Gray proved that at Unrivaled, playing alongside the LSU product.
With Van Lith available, the Sky swooped in since she brings all three needs mentioned above, averaging 17.9 points per game in her lone season at TCU, while shooting a career-high 45.2% from the field and dishing a career-best 5.4 assists.
Hailey Van Lith excited to play with Angel Reese again
Despite Jason Whitlock's opinions about Angel Reese, Hailey Van Lith's comments after the draft tell a different story. Van Lith is excited to play with her former LSU teammate and is looking forward to joining the Chicago Sky.
"Mostly I'm just excited to get to be around her again," Van Lith said. "I think we have a lot of similarities about how we carry ourselves and our mindset on what's important to us. She's a dog, man. She turns up the intensity of everybody around her. I'm excited to be in that environment with her again, where she can pull more out of me than I think I have."
Training camp officially begins on April 27, but most players return to their teams much earlier and start working out to regain their conditioning.
