CHICAGO -- Five-time All-Star Courtney Vandersloot is expected to make her 2026 debut with the Chicago Sky on Friday against the Portland Fire, a source told ESPN.
Vandersloot, who has been out since tearing her right ACL last June, was listed as questionable Thursday but is slated to play barring a setback, according to the source.
Vandersloot, 37, re-signed with the Sky before the 2025 season after playing two seasons with the New York Liberty and winning her second career championship in 2024. A 5-foot-8 point guard, she was picked at No. 3 by the Sky in 2011 and played her first 12 seasons in Chicago, winning her first title with the team in 2021.
"Words can't express how excited and thankful I am to return to the floor," Vandersloot told ESPN. "It's been a long and challenging journey back, but I have full trust in our medical staff and the work we've put in to make this possible. I'm thrilled to be able to play alongside my amazing and supportive teammates."
Vandersloot's 2,886 career assists rank second in WNBA history behind Sue Bird and are nearly 1,000 more than the next active player, Chelsea Gray. The Sky have struggled to a 5-12 record after opening the 3-1 before Rickea Jackson was lost to a torn ACL. They broke a six-game losing streak Wednesday with a 101-78 win against the Fire.
The Sky are No. 11 in the league with 19.4 assists per game, and the return of Vandersloot adds another ball handler alongside Skylar Diggins and Natasha Cloud. The hope is that Vandersloot will also help the second-worst 3-point shooting team in the league; she is a career 33.5% 3-point shooter.
Vandersloot was a key signing before the 2025 season and played just seven games. Despite knowing there was a long recovery ahead for her, the Sky re-signed her this past offseason to remain with a retooled roster that included Jackson, Diggins, Azura Stevens, DiJonai Carrington, Jacy Sheldon and Gabriela Jaquez.
