It was planes, trains, and automobiles for Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky on Sunday night.
After suffering an 86-67 loss to the Mercury in Phoenix in what was the team’s third game since the month-long Olympic break, the Sky headed to the airport to catch a flight back home to prepare for their Friday showdown against the Sun in Connecticut.
However, several hurdles came their way, so much so that Reese posted on X in the early hours of Monday morning to alert fans about the travel nightmare.
“Why is it 3:47am and we still not home???,” she wrote.
Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (5) on Aug. 18, 2024 at Footprint Center in Phoenix.Owen Ziliak/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK
One fan wrote back to her, saying “real question is why are you awake lol.”
Reese pointed fans toward teammate Diamond DeShields’ Instagram story for the scoop.
According to DeShields, the Sky had a delayed deplaning once in Chicago because their scheduled bus had not yet arrived at the airport.
“We got off the plane — well, we didn’t get off the plane. We were sitting on, like, the landing area and they told us our bus was an hour away,” DeShields said. “They said we had to walk through the airport, get our luggage off of a conveyor belt and now we’re outside waiting for Ubers to take us home at whatever time it is.”
Diamond DeShields’ Instagram story of the Chicago Sky walking through the airport at 3:11 a.m. during a nightmare travel experience back from Phoenix, Arizona on Aug. 18, 2024.Instagram @diamonddoesit1
Diamond DeShields details the Chicago Sky’s hectic travel experience on her Instagram story on Aug. 18, 2024.Instagram @diamonddoesit1
She also posted a video of her teammates walking through the airport at 3:11 a.m. and later followed up with a story of a mirror selfie of her at the gym only five hours later at 8:35 a.m. on Monday morning.
“Nonetheless….be a pro,” DeShields wrote.
The official time the hectic travel day ended remains unclear, but to the Sky’s advantage, they have four days before traveling to Connecticut.
Since returning from break, the Sky have gone 1-2, losing twice to the Mercury.
Diamond DeShields posts a gym mirror selfie only mere hours after the Chicago Sky’s nightmare travel from Phoenix on Aug. 18, 2024.Instagram @diamonddoesit1
Diamond DeShields #0 of the Chicago Sky drives to the basket during the game against the Los Angeles Sparks on August 17, 2024 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.NBAE via Getty Images
On Sunday, the Sky fell behind by as many as 20 points in the first half.
Reese came away with 19 points and grabbed a career-high 20 rebounds, giving her a 20th career double-double in 27 games, which is fastest rate for a rookie in the league’s history.
Reese, who is contending for the Rookie of the Year award alongside Caitlin Clark, will try to help the Sky hold on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the standings, one and a half games ahead of the No. 9 Atlanta Dream.
They have two tough games ahead against the Sun followed by a Sunday matchup against the two-time defending WNBA champion Aces.
