Courtney Vandersloot Returns to Liberty in Triumphant Fashion
BROOKLYN — Even in an ailing state, the Sky is anything but the limit for former New York Liberty star Courtney Vandersloot.
"Sloot" is in the city with her wife and former teammate Allie Quigley and their Chicago Sky, who face the Liberty at Barclays Center on Thursday night (7 p.m. ET, My9). Though Chicago (8-26) was eliminated from playoff contention the day before, a championship atmosphere is in the forecast, as Vandersloot will be presented with the championship ring she earned as a New Yorker last fall.
"It's nice to be back," Vandersloot said as Chicago engaged in its shoot around. "We just had all these memories pour back in when we were here. We had a really good time living here. We loved it, and now we're starting this new chapter. It's, exciting to be able to share with her."
Thursday's ceremony will also, alas, carry a bittersweet aura: it was slated to be staged when the Sky made its first visit to Brooklyn back in June but Vandersloot was dealing with the immediate aftershocks of a torn ACL injury that ended her return trip to Chicago early.
Just over two months later, a cautious Vandersloot said her walk over to the reporter pool was the "extent" of her activity, as the injury list is unchartered territory: over her first 14 WNBA tours between New York and Chicago, Vandersloot never played fewer than 18 games in a single season. A 16th year, however, continues to sound like a fair assumption for Vandersloot, who ranks second in assists on the WNBA's all-time leaderboard behind Sue Bird.
"I'm going to take my time and make sure that my knee and everything is really good, so we're not rushing it and making sure everything's in a really good spot," Vandersloot said. 'So I wouldn't say I'm taking it slow, because I just that's not in my nature. But , you know, we are being really careful."
Vandersloot Has Endured An Emotional, Yet Joyful, Year
Having dished out 2,886 helpers in her WNBA career, Vandersloot will finally get a nice feed, this one coming from Liberty management: stepping back on Brooklyn hardwood is the de facto culmination of what has been an emotional, yet ultimately joyful, year-plus span.
A year and less than a week ago, Vandersloot began what became her final stretch in a Liberty uniform, one that came shortly after her return from a bereavement leave following the passing of her mother, Jan.
It proved to be an eventful coda: Vandersloot lived up to the goal Liberty management publicly professed upon adding her and fellow historic talents Jonquel Jones and Breanna Stewart during the 2023 offseason, one that involved the team lifting the WNBA Finals' hardware for the first time in the franchise's lengthy history.
Vandersloot admitted that the title trek was "difficult" and it doesn't take much sleuthing to see why: she was a part of the Liberty's star-studded starting lineup for most of the last two seasons but stepped out for rising rookie Leonie Fiebich by the time the playoffs rolled around.
Relative reflection, as well as public seafoam admission that the trophy would not have been won without her coming off the bench, has allowed her to make peace with the development, a process no doubt helped by essentially serving as one of the 12 grand marshals for a championship parade down the Canyon of Heroes.
"I knew that it was my time to kind of put my money where my mouth was. It was my time to sacrifice and that's the direction they went," Vandersloot said. "As hard as that was for me, because I didn't necessarily agree with it, I still felt like I was bought in, and that was what we preached from the moment I got here, with sacrifice and all of that. So it was just my time to do that."
"I'm grateful for the {New York] experience. I still get a ring. Of course, I wish things ended a little bit different, or I wish my role was different. But, you know, that's just, that's basketball, and that's part of it."
Vandersloot went on to partake in Stewart's Unrivaled three-on-three league, playing with the co-founder on Mist BC. But with the Liberty destined to keep rolling with Fiebich, Vandersloot returned the Sky to assist an ongoing rebuild headlined by Angel Reese.
Many expected a trying year in the Windy City, but Vandersloot provided some early levity by becoming the franchise's all-time leading scoer during its first win over Dallas on May 29. Ironically enough, she succeeded Quigley herself, as the two's relationship made headlines when the Sky embarked on its own original title run in 2021. A new addition was on hand to enjoy the accomplishment: the couple welcomed its first daughter, Jana Christine, eighteen days prior.
Vandersloot's season ended less than two weeks later: the future Hall-of-Famer tore her ACL during an anticipated clash with the Indiana Fever on June 7 — eight days before the one-month anniversary of Jan's passing.
Like many happenings over these near-400 days, Vandersloot was offered time to reflect and time to be grateful. She thus remains grateful for what the past year has offered, fulfilling the definition of resilient champion both on and off the court.
"It was almost a year to date, when I tore my ACL, to when I lost my mom, and that's a lot to handle. But then I welcome this baby. It's just like, ups and downs and obviously I have such a great support system," Vandersloot said. "This isn't the year that I was expecting. Being having to sit out has been really hard for me rehabbing an injury I've never got. This is my first surgery after 15 seasons in the professional level. This has been a whole new thing for me."
"But I think I take it all with stride, and I just feel still very fortunate to know what I have, to be here, and being able to receive a ring, it's special. There's highs and lows, but it is special, and I will never take that for granted."
Vandersloot's Latest Lesson Comes in a New Realm
Vandersloot hasn't found any new hobbies in absentia, but she has been able to offer the blessing of tending to the needs of Jana, who was on hand to watch the Sky's practice on Thursday.
Well-known for their collaboration with Kahleah Copper and Candace Parker during the 2021 championship chase, Vandersloot and Quigley (whose No, 14 was retired by the Sky in July) have formed a new kind of superteam, down to the perfectly contrasting styles that somehow manage to play off each other well.
"I think that we figured out how to work well together. This is a whole new beast that we're working with now, but it's been fun just trying to figure it out as we go," Vandersloot said. "We have very different parenting styles, I would say, so that has been interesting. I think playing together, being able to just work in stressful situations together, and knowing each other and how one responds has helped us [be] better parents."
Leave it to Vandersloot, however, to keep up the identity of a point guard, even with the balls racked.
"I was having the impression I was gonna be a really chill mom. That is just not the case! I worry about her all the time, and Ali is way more laid back, like, she's fine, she'll figure it out," I just worry about her clothes size and everything. But I think we're fortunate to have two, really hands-on parents, and so we figure it out as we go. She's a healthy baby, happy baby, so we're really lucky."
Geoff Magliocchetti is a veteran sportswriter who contributes to a variety of sites on the "On SI" network. In addition to the Yankees/Mets, Geoff also covers the New York Knicks, New York Liberty, and New York Giants and has previously written about the New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, Staten Island Yankees, and NASCAR.