WNBA All-Star Angel Reese and USC standout JuJu Watkins, two of women\u2019s basketball\u2019s most high-profile athletes, provided updates on their professional futures and health statuses while participating in the USA Basketball Women’s National Team training camp, held Dec. 12-14 at Duke University. Both players used their media availability to address major topics surrounding their upcoming seasons.<\/p>\n
Reese, the Chicago Sky forward, addressed months of speculation regarding her future by confirming her commitment to the franchise for the 2026 WNBA season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m under contract, so yes, I plan on returning to the Sky,\u201d Reese told reporters at the camp.<\/p>\n
The confirmation comes after a tumultuous ending to the 2025 season and a previously controversial interview where Reese voiced frustrations with the team\u2019s organizational direction and roster construction. At the time, the two-time All-Star suggested she might “have to move in a different direction” if the team did not see improvements in its core talent. Her statement from the USA Basketball camp serves to quell rumors that she might request a trade. Reese is currently contracted with Chicago through 2027, which includes a team option.<\/p>\n
In discussing her continued tenure, Reese also provided an update on her relationship with team management. She noted that she is focused on developing a positive rapport with the leadership structure.<\/p>\n
“I’m continuing to talk to [Head Coach] Tyler [Marsh] and building that relationship with [General Manager] Jeff [Pagliocca],” Reese said. The forward is expected to be a central figure in the Sky\u2019s efforts to improve upon a 2025 season that saw the team finish tied for the league’s most losses.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, JuJu Watkins, one of two NCAA athletes invited to the senior national team camp, participated as a passive observer while continuing her recovery from a significant knee injury. Watkins sustained an ACL tear during the 2025 NCAA Tournament and previously announced she would sit out the entire 2025-26 collegiate season to focus on rehabilitation.<\/p>\n
Despite being unable to practice on the court, Watkins described the opportunity to be immersed in the atmosphere of the senior national team as a valuable experience. She is using the time on the sidelines to observe and learn from the professional veterans.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, it\u2019s enough just kind of being there and feeling the energy… hearing everybody\u2019s voices, the communication, the leadership,\u201d Watkins said. She indicated her goal was to absorb lessons on high-level standards and discipline, noting, \u201cI\u2019ll definitely be taking some of those lessons back to SC to kind of continue to grow as a leader and as a player.\u201d<\/p>\n
USA Basketball Managing Director Sue Bird and Head Coach Kara Lawson confirmed that Watkins’ inclusion was intentional, seeing her as a crucial part of the national team\u2019s future. Lawson stated that inviting Watkins was a priority to expose her to the high-level standards and culture required to succeed in the program.<\/p>\n
Both players’ updates provide clarity to their fanbases, with Reese confirming her immediate professional stability and Watkins using her recovery period to gain experience at the senior national team level.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WNBA All-Star Angel Reese and USC standout JuJu Watkins, two of women\u2019s basketball\u2019s most high-profile athletes, provided updates…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":347104,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-347103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=347103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/347103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/347104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=347103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=347103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=347103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}