Courtney Vandersloot Notes How Angel Reese, Kamilla Cardoso Influenced Sky Decision
On January 29, it was announced that WNBA veteran and two-time WNBA champion Courtney Vandersloot signed with the Chicago Sky in free agency.
Vandersloot spent the first 12 seasons of her WNBA career with the Sky, and was a key part of the franchise winning its first ever WNBA championship in 2021.
This news of her rejoining Chicago came one day after Chicago Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile wrote an article that said, "Sky general manager Jeff Pagliocca and new coach Tyler Marsh met with unrestricted free agent Courtney Vandersloot... last week in Miami."
It later added, "The Sky’s only hope of landing a player such as Vandersloot is if Pagliocca can move the team’s lottery pick to get an experienced shooting guard or two-way wing."
This ended up not being the case, as Vandersloot signed with Chicago without the Sky trading away their No. 3 pick (at least not yet).
And during a January 31 interview with ESPN, Vandersloot conveyed what (and who) influenced her to return to the Sky.
"Having two post players like that, young stars, is a point guard's dream," Vandersloot said when asked how excited she is to play with Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso next season, per an X post from @AngelAndKamilla.
"It played a big role in why I wanted to go there. I think that adding them to the roster last year was huge, and I'm looking to help them expand their games.
"But they're going to make me great too," she added.
Courtney Vandersloot on playing with Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso this upcoming season in the WNBA:
— Angel And Kamilla👯♀️ (@AngelAndKamilla) January 31, 2025
"Having two players like that, young stars, is a point guard's dream. It played a big role in why I wanted to go there. I think that adding them to the roster last year was… pic.twitter.com/fbwk1Z0UlY
It will be cool to see how Reese and Cardoso continue to develop with a bona fide elite ball facilitator like Vandersloot as their primary point guard.
Recommended Reading:
- Chicago Sky Having Discussions About Trading No. 3 WNBA Draft Pick, Per Insider
- Kelsey Plum Gives Heartfelt Goodbye to Las Vegas Aces After Trade to Sparks
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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