Did Hailey Van Lith of the WNBA Chicago Sky just make the worst first impression in WNBA draft history?

After being selected 11th overall by the Chicago Sky, her reaction to rejoining former LSU teammate Angel Reese was about as enthusiastic as someone watching Reese make a layup. And if that wasn’t enough to raise eyebrows, she then decided to disrespect Caitlin Clark of the WNBA Indiana Fever on live TV.

Hailey Van Lith has already made big Chicago Sky choice after draft

Hailey Van Lith has reunited with Angel Reese after being drafted to the Chicago Sky, being selected with a first-round pick where she’ll hope to become their franchise point guard.

Hailey Van Lith will wear a number that she’s never worn before in the WNBA after being selected by the Chicago Sky.

The former National Championship winner spent five years in college basketball, three with Louisville before winning it all with LSU and spending her final year with TCU. Throughout her time, Van Lith had donned the numbers 10 and 11 – but both of these are taken with the Sky.

Courtney Vandersloot wears No.11, while non-other than Van Lith’s former LSU teammate Angel Reese rocks the No.10. This has seen Van Lith choose a new number, opting to go with No.2 for the first time in her career.

Van Lith’s impressive season had been enough to boost her to a first-round player, after coming into the year expected to be a second-rounder. She averaged 17.9 points, a career-high 5.4 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game, taking TCU to the Elite Eight after surprisingly leaving LSU.

The talented point-guard had been expected to be a big player for Kim Mulkey’s team in 2025 after Reese left for the WNBA, but Van Lith opted to play out her final year elsewhere.

That looked to be a wise decision, as she raised her draft stock exponentially in her final year, now joining the Sky where she could form an exciting partnership with Reese once again.

Hailey Van Lith and Angel Reese will reunite in the WNBA.
She admitted she was looking forward to reuniting with her in the league, telling reporters after being drafted: “Angel has maintained contact with me this whole past year since she’s been in the league and I transferred. I really appreciate her.

We have a very mature relationship, a very mutual respect relationship, where we both have respect for each other’s game and also the character and the person we are off the court. Mostly, I’m just excited to get to be around her again.”

She added: She added: “I think we have a lot of similarities about how we carry ourselves and our mindset on what’s important to us. And, you know, she’s a dog. 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.”