For Reese, the disappointment of landing in ninth place was compounded by the fact she missed Chicago's final six games because of a wrist injury. The Sky went 1-5 during that stretch, and their 89-58 blowout at the hands of Washington was particularly costly.

Reese is driven to make the playoffs, a good, seemingly attainable goal for a team with a healthy Kamilla Cardoso, a new veteran leader in Courtney Vandersloot and a star whose skill set is expanding before our eyes.