Former Kentwood High School star Courtney Vandersloot has signed a one-year contract to play for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky in 2025, according to a report by The Athletic, a part of nytimes.com.
Vandersloot, 35, has played the last two years with the New York Liberty, which won the league title in 2024. The point guard spent her first 12 years in the league with Chicago, which won the title in 2021. She was the No. 3 overall pick by the Sky in the 2011 WNBA Draft.
The Seattle Storm and Golden State Valkyries also showed interest in signing the free agent, according to The Athletic.
She averaged 8.7 points and 6.6 assists per game in her two seasons in New York. She started much of the 2024 regular season and played a key role off the bench in the playoffs.
Vandersloot missed several games last season after her mother, Janet Vandersloot, 67, of Gig Harbor, died June 15, 2024 of multiple myeloma.
At Chicago, Vandersloot will play with Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso as the Sky tries to turn their season around after going 13-27 in 2024.
A five-time all-star, Vandersloot, known as “Sloot,” ranks second in WNBA career assists behind former Seattle Storm star Sue Bird. Bird has 3,234 assists and Vandersloot has 2,849.
The 5-foot-8 Vandersloot is currently playing in the new Unrivaled 3-on-3 league in Miami, where she met with representatives of several WNBA teams, according to the Associated Press. She even said the team that brought her a pack of IPA might persuade her to sign with them.
“I’m an IPA drinker, so I guess that is not a requirement,” Vandersloot said laughing, according to the report. “But listen, if you’re showing up with a pack of IPA, you might have a head start.”
At Kentwood, Vandersloot led the Conquerors to a 28-1 mark her senior season in 2007 and a third-place finish at state, with the only loss in the Class 4A state semifinals. She led the state in scoring with an average of 26 points per game. She also averaged 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 5 steals per game.
Vandersloot then excelled at Gonzaga University in Spokane where she was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Year three times. She twice led the NCAA in assists per game and was an Associated Press All-America second-team pick in 2010-2011.
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