Sky land Courtney Vandersloot in huge WNBA free agency move

The 2025 WNBA offseason already has had a few major shockers during the free agency period with the Phoenix Mercury landing Alyssa Thomas, the Los Angeles Sparks set to acquire Kelsey Plum and Brittney Griner deciding to join the Atlanta Dream. Thomas, Plum and Griner were all among the top free agents this offseason, and on Wednesday, another WNBA free agency domino fell with the Chicago Sky agreeing to terms with veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot, as per Annie Costabile of The Chicago Sun-Times.

Free agent deals cannot become official until Feb. 1, but for a team looking to cement themselves in the right direction, the Sky landing Courtney Vandersloot in WNBA free agency is the type of move that could help solidify the team’s reputation.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for Vandersloot, who was a major part of the Sky’s 2021 championship run. Originally selected by the Sky with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2011 WNBA Draft, Vandersloot had played her entire career in Chicago before joining the New York Liberty ahead of the 2023 season.

She was selected to the All-Star team as a rookie and she left the Sky as the franchise’s all-time leader in assists. For a young team in need of veteran leadership, Vandersloot fills a major need for the team. The Sky have two potential franchise cornerstones in Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso.

Last season, Vandersloot shifted to a bench role with the Liberty amid the team’s championship run. She appeared in 31 games at a little over 22 minutes per game. She averaged a career-low 6.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists with splits of 44.5 percent shooting from the field, 26.9 percent shooting from the three-point line and 54.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

There would appear to be an opening for Vandersloot to step in and be the Sky’s starting point guard. Last season the team struggled to find consistent point guard play.

David Yapkowitz is a basketball journalist for ClutchPoints, writing news on the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA Basketball for both men and women. The Los Angeles native has bylines with Basketball Insiders, SB Nation, and The Next Hoops.