The Sky Didn’t Sub Out—They Checked Out. Angel Reese Felt It First.

What looked like a routine substitution quickly revealed something deeper: surrender.

In the third quarter of a blowout loss to the Phoenix Mercury, the Chicago Sky’s starters—Angel Reese, Camila Cardoso, and Dana Evans—were benched silently. No clipboard, no huddle, no strategy. Just a quiet wave from Coach Tyler Marsh, and then… disappearance.

“They weren’t subbed out. They were shut down,” said one scout.

Reese, who finished with just 9 points and 2 rebounds, didn’t protest. Cardoso, efficient with 17 points, folded her arms and sat—wordless. A camera caught her mouthing something not so kind. Chemistry? Gone. Connection? Broken.

Coach Marsh offered “player protection” as his excuse. No one bought it. Insiders suggest a team emotionally fractured beyond repair.

“You can’t coach a team that’s stopped being a team,” one scout noted.

Fans noticed first—viral clips of body language, ignored screens, missed switches. Reddit dubbed it “Skywalking Off.” Twitter trended “Triple single.”

No fight. No fire. Just silence.

Now the questions swirl:
Is this a rebuild… or the beginning of a breakdown?