Courtney Vandersloot agrees to 1-year deal with Chicago Sky, returning to franchise that drafted her

Two-time WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot agreed to return to the Chicago Sky , her agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas told The Athletic. Vandersloot, Chicago’s all-time assists leader and No. 3 pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft, spent the first 12 seasons of her career with Chicago, making four All-Star teams and helping lead the franchise to its first-ever title in 2021.

She is headed back to the Sky on a one-year deal, where she will presumably play a starting role and serve as a key veteran presence on a franchise with postseason aspirations. Advertisement All agreements cannot be made official until Feb. 1.



Vandersloot received free-agent interest from several teams, and ultimately met with the Golden State Valkyries and Seattle Storm in addition to the Sky, league sources told The Athletic. Seeking to play a key role on a championship contender, Vandersloot signed with the New York Liberty after the 2022 campaign. She was attracted to the idea of being a key piece in the franchise’s title aspirations.

In her two seasons with New York, Vandersloot averaged 8.7 points and 6.6 assists in 26.

8 minutes per game. The Liberty won their first title in franchise history last October, with Vandersloot playing a key role off their bench during their postseason run. Though Vandersloot, 35, is rejoining the Sky, she is also returning to a franchise whose roster looks drastically different from the last time she was with the team.

Dana Evans was the only player on last year’s Chicago roster who overlapped with Vandersloot in Chicago, though Evans is a restricted free agent meaning it is possible she goes elsewhere. Chicago went 13-27 in 2024 and relieved first-year coach Teresa Weatherspoon after only a single season. It subsequently hired former Las Vegas Aces assistant Tyler Marsh as its coach.

Marsh has been open about wanting to play at a fast pace, as the franchise looks to bring the best out of young centerpieces Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese . The Sky also hold the No. 3 pick in April’s draft, an asset that could lead to another building block around Vandersloot.

“I want to have the ball in my hands and create the way I think that I can,” Vandersloot told reporters at Unrivaled. While Vandersloot returns to Chicago, where she and her wife, former Sky guard Allie Quigley, still have family, New York will now be tasked to officially backfill the void she leaves. (Photo: David Berding / Getty Images).