The armory base Courtney Vandersloot agreed to a one-year deal to return to the defending WNBA champion Chicago Sky, sources told ESPN on Friday.
Vandersloot turned 33 on February 8. She led the WNBA in assists the past four seasons and owns the league record for assists in a single game of 18, set in 2020. She matched that total in the 2021 playoffs.
This past season, Vandersloot averaged 10.5 points, 8.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals for the Sky, which went 16-16 in the regular season but went on a hot streak in the playoffs and won the franchise’s first championship.
Vandersloot raised his game even higher in the 2021 postseason, averaging 13.0 points, 10.2 assists and 5.4 rebounds. She recorded 12 points, 18 assists and 10 rebounds in the Sky’s semifinal series-opening win against the top-seeded Connecticut Sun, just the second triple-double in WNBA playoff history, matching the feat of Sheryl Swoopes. in the 2005 postseason.
Vandersloot, an unrestricted free agent, has spent her 11-year WNBA career with the Sky, who selected her third in the 2011 draft out of Gonzaga. Vandersloot is a fan favorite in Chicago, who got the top signing in free agency last year when Candace Parker he moved from the Los Angeles Sparks to the Sky. Parker became a major part of the team’s path to the championship.
However, Vandersloot’s return was not certain. Holly Rowe from ESPN reported at the start of the WNBA’s free agency period last week that Vandersloot had not been satisfied with the Sky’s offer at the time.
Chicago has lost two other key players from its championship team: center Stephanie Dolsonwho signed with the New York Liberty, and Diamond DeShields, who was sent in a trade to Phoenix. The Sky welcomed point guard Julie Allemand in that trade.
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Sources: Vandersloot, Sky agree 1-year deal