Angel Reese and Kamilla Cordosa Echo Eerily Similar Draft Strategy

The Chicago Sky are taking a page out of a prior Chicago Bulls front office’s one-time draft strategy this year. Last night, the 2021 WNBA champs had the Nos. 3 and 7 picks in a loaded draft packed with potentially generational new talent.

Chicago opted to use both its pick on bigs. The Sky drafted the two most recent NCAA Tournament Final Four’s Most Outstanding Players. Chicago had traded to acquire both selections, flipping the eighth pick into the seventh pick in a deal with the Minnesota Lynx, and offloading ’21 Finals MVP small forward Kahleah Copper to the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for the third selection this year.

Center Kamilla Cardoso, the best player on the undefeated (38-0) 2023-24 South Carolina Gamecocks, was selected with the third overall pick in the draft, behind now-Indiana Fever point guard Caitlin Clark (the top selection) and now-Los Angeles Sparks forward Cameron Brink. LSU Tigers power forward Angel Reese, who behind Clark was perhaps the most visible player in all of women’s college basketball over the last few years, went seventh.

They’ll be led by new Chicago head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, as the team looks to rebound quickly from its near-total teardown of what had been a starry, veteran-laden team following the 2022 season.

“I think it’s going to be great,” Cardoso reflected of the pairing in her post-draft presser, according to Meghan Hall of For The Win. “She’s a great player, I’m a great player, so two great players together. Nobody’s going to get no rebounds on us.”

In her own remarks to the media after being drafted, Reese raved about her new Windy City comrade, per Carita Parks of Double Take Sports.

“I’ve known her since high school, and we battle,” Reese said. “And now being teammates is going to be amazing. I actually talked to her earlier, was congratulating her. I know she just came off an amazing run, an amazing college career, so I’m looking forward to playing with her in practice. And then in games, just bouncing off each other. So I’m excited.”

Last year, her first as a permanent starter, Cardoso logged averages of 14.4 points on 59.4% shooting from the field (the most on the Gamecocks, who again were the best team in the country by far), along with 9.7 boards, 2.7 blocks, two assists, and 0.6 steals. The two-time NCAA champion was also named the 2023-24 SEC Defensive Player of the Year and an Associated Press All-American.

Reese, a three-time Associated Press All-American and two-time SEC All-Defense honoree, was named their conference’s Player of the Year this past season as a senior. She posted averages of 18.6 points on 47.1% shooting from the floor and 13.4 rebounds (second-most in the nation) across her 33 games with the program.

The Sky’s decision to draft Cardoso and Reese is not dissimilar from the Jerry Krause-era Bulls front office’s picks in the 2001 draft. That season, Chicago flipped former Rookie of the Year and eventual multi-time All-Star power forward Elton Brand to the LA Clippers in exchange for the No. 2 draft pick, which the team used on 7-foot-1 center Tyson Chandler, a prep-to-pros prospect straight out of Dominguez High School in Compton, California.

Krause used the Bulls’ own selection in that year’s draft lottery, the No. 4 pick, on a local high schooler, seven-footer Eddy Curry out of Thornwood High School in South Holland, Illinois. Picked in between these two? Eventual six-time All-Star, two-time champion, and first-ballot Hall of Fame power forward/center Pau Gasol.

The addition of this dynamic duo ushered in what the press dubbed the “Baby Bulls” era for Chicago. The team didn’t win much at first but did accrue a lot of intriguing talent during this era, including Jamal Crawford and Jay Williams. It would take Krause’s departure in 2003 for the team to truly take the next leap, under new team president John Paxson. Per Jonathan Abrams in a great piece for Grantland, Krause was convinced in 2001 that, thanks to the additions of Chandler and Curry, Chicago “might have cornered the best big people for a long time.”

He was wrong. Both players, though talented, were extremely raw, and then-head coach Tim Floyd prioritized playing more proven veterans in his frontcourt. Charles Oakley, Brad Miller, and Ron Mercer all received more run than Chandler and Curry during the start of their first season together. Floyd quit after just 25 games during that 2001-02 season. A legendary Bulls big, Bill Cartwright, stepped in to replace him. He strived to teach the big man tandem fundamentals, though it was a process.

Chandler and Curry never felt like the easiest fit alongside one another, although Chandler preferred the low block and Curry could operate from the high post a bit. Both were really centers, making them less-than-complimentary pieces. They wound up blossoming (somewhat) separately.

Curry was offloaded to the New York Knicks in 2005, and before health issues and coaching clashes took their toll, he enjoyed his most productive season ever during his second season in New York. He averaged 19.5 points on 57.6% shooting from the floor and seven rebounds across 81 contests for the 33-49 Knicks in 2006-07. Health and chemistry issues eventually waylaid his career in New York, and by 2008-09 he was no longer a rotation player.

Chandler, a terrific rim-rolling big, became a beloved recipient of Chris Paul lobs on several frisky playoff clubs with the then-New Orleans Hornets after he was shipped out by the Bulls in 2006. He became an elite defender and the fulcrum on that end of the floor for a title-winning Dallas Mavericks squad during the 2010-11 season.

He was eventually named a Defensive Player of the Year, an All-Star and All-NBA Third-Teamer, and a three-time All-Defensive Team honoree during a decorated 19-season career. Per Spotrac, he earned $187.6 million over the course of his career, on the court. It did take him departing Chicago to truly unlock his greatness, but he indeed got there.

But never fear, Chicago fans. There are a few big differences between the Chandler-Curry pairing and the Cardoso-Reese tandem. For one thing, Chandler and Curry played the same position, even if they dealt with it in different ways (Curry was a dynamic, driving scorer who liked to play with the ball in his hands, while Chandler got most of his offense off lobs and putbacks and prioritized defending the rim). Both players were also extremely raw when they entered the league straight out of high school.

“They made such an advance where you go from high school to now you’re living on your own and you’re making money,” Cartwright said, per Abrams. “They had just never been away on their own, let alone being able to write a check or being able to go to the grocery store. Those guys never did any of that.”

Reese and Cardoso, however, are going pro after four years of college seasoning. They also do play different positions, while both have been highly lauded for their defensive and rebounding acumen and should prove a menacing pair in the frontcourt next to each other. Cardoso is a solid fast break player, too. The Sky already has a terrific shot blocker in Elizabeth Williams, who should serve as a great tutor for Cardoso especially.

Chicago finished second-to-last in defensive percentage and rebounding rate last season, per Charlie Creme of ESPN. Reese and Cardoso should fix that. The big question is shooting, which Chicago will need to address elsewhere.

To that end, the Sky selected six-foot Gonzaga shooting guard Brynna Maxwell with the No. 13 at the top of the second round last night. Maxwell made 96 triples in 2023-24 with the Bulldogs, the sixth-best tally in the nation. She will still need to compete through a chippy training camp to actually make the roster, however. Chicago has a few veteran sharpshooters on the team already, highlighted by guard Marina Mabrey, who was a 39% shooter from deep last season on a volume of 5.8 attempts.