Chicago Sky Keeps Championship Core, Re-Sign Vandersloot, Quigley

CHICAGO — When the Chicago Sky begin defense of their WNBA crown later this year with hopes of bringing another title to the city, they will do with much of their championship core in place.

The Sky announced on Thursday that they have re-signed veteran guards Courtney Vandersloot and Allie Quigley. Quigley will begin her 10th season with the Sky and returns as the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.

The Joliet native is a three-time All-Star and has scored 3,337 points during her career with the Sky. Vandersloot has led the WNBA in assists in each of the past five seasons and is the only WNBA player to average 10 assists per game. Vandersloot set a WNBA record with 87 assists in the 2021 playoffs when the Sky started the playoffs as the No. 6 and eventually knocked off the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA Finals in a 3-1 series victory.

“This is a big day for our franchise to bring back two of the biggest cornerstones in our team’s history and they make every single player around them better,” Sky coach and general manager James Wade said in a news release on Thursday. “Both Allie and Sloot have done so much for our team and for the city to arrive at the level at this level, and it speaks so much about their character and talent.”

Terms of the deal for Quigley and Vandersloot were not released by the Sky. The Athletic reported that Quigley’s deal is for one-year and worth $135.000.

Vandersloot averaged 10.5 points, 8.6 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals while shooting 43.3 percent from the field last season. Quigley, who is entering her 14th WNBA season, averaged 13.2 points and shot 45.4 percent from 3-point range last season, which ranked third in the WNBA.

I’m so excited to be back with the Sky,” Quigley said in a news release. “I love this team and I love playing at home. Wintrust Arena was unbelievable last October (in the WNBA finals) and I can’t wait to get back to that feeling with our fans.”

The Sky will also have WNBA MVP Kahleah Copper back in the fold after she agreed to a two-year deal with the Sky. The Sky also return star and Naperville native Candace Parker back to help bolster the Sky's chances of repeating. The Sky lost center Stefanie Dolson to free agency and traded Diamond Deshields to Phoenix.

Copper averaging 14.8 points per game on 49.8 percent shooting — more than double her previous best scoring average of 7.1 points per game in 2018. She quickly became a fan favorite throughout the season culminating in the WNBA Finals when she earned Most Valuable Player honors. Now, Copper is energized to be part of the core that hopes to deliver another championship to Chicago.

“I can’t wait to be back, especially with our core returning,” Copper said in a statement released by the Sky on Thursday. “We want to run it back and we know it won’t be easy, but with all of us 100 percent committing and making sacrifices for each other, I really like our chances.”

The Sky signed Emma Meeseman to replace Dolson’s size in the post and should be considered a heavy favorite to repeat as WNBA champions. Wade said the goal is to “run it back to our fans and to the city of Chicago.”

Vandersloot said doing so was a major reason for her return.

“We have built something special here in Chicago, and it didn’t happen overnight,” Vandersloot said in a statement issued by the team. “I am proud to be a part of this franchise and beyond excited for the opportunity to join my teammates and the Sky family to try and go back-to-back.”