logo
Courtney Vandersloot talks 'challenging' end to Liberty tenure

Courtney Vandersloot talks 'challenging' end to Liberty tenure

New York Post23-05-2025

CHICAGO — Courtney Vandersloot already expected Thursday's Sky home opener was going to be an emotional night regardless of the opponent.
It marks her first game in the home locker room at Wintrust Arena in two years, and her newborn daughter will be watching her from the crowd.
But it will also be the first time she'll see many of her former Liberty teammates — aside from those who participated in Unrivaled — and the coaching staff since they celebrated the title together in October.
Vandersloot has fond memories of her two seasons in New York, where she earned her fifth All-Star selection in 2023 and helped the Liberty to back-to-back WNBA Finals berths.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

2025 NBA Finals: The incredible Paul George trades that turned the Pacers and Thunder into title contenders
2025 NBA Finals: The incredible Paul George trades that turned the Pacers and Thunder into title contenders

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

2025 NBA Finals: The incredible Paul George trades that turned the Pacers and Thunder into title contenders

As it turns out, all you needed to do to reach the 2025 NBA Finals was trade Paul George. Remarkably, this year's Eastern Conference champion Indiana Pacers and Western Conference champion Oklahoma City Thunder were both built from assets each team received in exchange for dealing George. How the Pacers built from trading Paul George Indiana selected George with the 10th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. He made four All-Star teams for the Pacers, leading them to a pair of conference finals appearances, before informing the franchise in 2017 that he was planning to sign elsewhere — preferably with the Los Angeles Lakers — in free agency. Advertisement Not wanting to lose George for nothing, Indiana dealt him to the Thunder on July 6, 2017, in exchange for a 25-year-old Victor Oladipo and a 21-year-old Domantas Sabonis. Both Oladipo and Sabonis developed into All-Stars under Indiana's watch, though as a tandem they peaked in a pair of first-round playoff exits. (Taylor Wilhelm/Yahoo Sports Illustration) By 2020, Oladipo had begun to experience the right knee problems that would ultimately end his career, so the Pacers flipped him to the Houston Rockets as part of the four-team trade that sent James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets. In return, Indiana received Caris LeVert and a pair of second-round draft picks. One of those second-rounders became the 32nd overall pick in the 2023 draft, which the Pacers packaged, along with the No. 29 overall pick in the same draft, for a 2024 first-round draft pick from ... the Thunder. That selection was one of two first-round draft picks that Indiana dealt to the Toronto Raptors in January 2024 in exchange for Pascal Siakam, this year's Eastern Conference finals MVP. Advertisement Meanwhile, the Pacers flipped LeVert to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a 2022 second-round draft pick, a 2023 first-round draft pick and a 2027 second-round draft pick. The first two of those picks became Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard, a pair of rotation players for this year's conference champions. Sabonis played for the Pacers until February 2022, when at the deadline they dealt him and some ancillary assets to the Sacramento Kings for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson. Haliburton, of course, has developed into an All-NBA point guard for the Pacers and their best player. Finally, Indiana flipped Hield to the Philadelphia 76ers at the 2024 trade deadline for a pair of second-round draft picks — the first of which they traded again, turning that selection into Johnny Furphy. Advertisement In one way or another, the Pacers turned George into Haliburton, Siakam, Nembhard, Sheppard and Furphy. That is roughly a third of Indiana's entire roster, half of its rotation and both of its leaders. How the Thunder built from trading Paul George George played two seasons for the Thunder — both first-round playoff exits. In July 2019, though, the Los Angeles Clippers came calling with an offer Oklahoma City could not refuse. The Clippers were trying to sign Kawhi Leonard in free agency, but the two-time Finals MVP wanted a star partner in L.A., so the organization went about the business of trying to pry George from the Thunder. Advertisement OKC executive Sam Presti squeezed the Clippers for everything he could, acquiring Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari and the rights to a handful of first-round draft picks in exchange for George. As if recouping Gilgeous-Alexander, this year's MVP, were not enough, one of those picks — the No. 12 selection in 2022 — became Jalen Williams, who has developed into an All-Star for Oklahoma City. Much of the rest of the package from the Clippers is tied up in this year's draft, as the Thunder own pick Nos. 15, 24 and 44 in June, all from assets they received in the George deal. Oklahoma City can use those selections to replenish whomever they lose from their rising salary costs over the next couple of years. Between Gilgeous-Alexander, Williams and whoever is still to come, the Thunder have built from George a budding dynasty. First, though, they must get through what they traded to acquire George from Indiana.

Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for June 3 #253
Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for June 3 #253

CNET

time2 hours ago

  • CNET

Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints, Answers for June 3 #253

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles. Connections: Sports Edition might be tough today. The yellow and green aren't too difficult, but then you're faced with eight names, and you've got to determine their connections. Read on for hints and the answers. Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That's a sign that the game has earned enough loyal players that The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by the Times, will continue to publish it. It doesn't show up in the NYT Games app but now appears in The Athletic's own app. Or you can continue to play it free online. Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta Hints for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups Here are four hints for the groupings in today's Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group. Yellow group hint: Smart, skilled. Green group hint: Let's make a ... Blue group hint: Name similar to Mark. Purple group hint: First-year-hoopsters. Answers for today's Connections: Sports Edition groups Yellow group: Shrewd. Green group: Transaction. Blue group: Famous athletes named Marcus. Purple group: WNBA rookies. Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words What are today's Connections: Sports Edition answers? The completed NYT Connections Sports Edition puzzle for June 3, 2025, #253. NYT/Screenshot by CNET The yellow words in today's Connections The theme is shrewd. The four answers are canny, clever, crafty and savvy. The green words in today's Connections The theme is transaction. The four answers are deal, swap, trade and transfer. The blue words in today's Connections The theme is famous athletes named Marcus. The four answers are Allen, Rashford, Smart and Stroman. The purple words in today's Connections The theme is WNBA rookies. The four answers are Bueckers, Citron, Iriafen and Rivers.

Angels slugger Mike Trout mashes first home run since returning from injury
Angels slugger Mike Trout mashes first home run since returning from injury

Fox Sports

time3 hours ago

  • Fox Sports

Angels slugger Mike Trout mashes first home run since returning from injury

Mike Trout is back in the lineup for the Los Angeles Angels and seeing him do what he does best — hitting home runs — is a welcome sight for the team's fans. Trout hit his first homer since returning to the lineup after a 10-day injury list stint due to his left knee. The three-time MVP launched a three-run shot against the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the Angels' series at Fenway Park, his first since April 25. It's Trout's ninth dinger on the season, and it comes with the Angels after having dropped two of three over the weekend against the Cleveland Guardians. But the positive development was seeing Trout back in the lineup for both the Friday and Saturday games in Cleveland before sitting out the Sunday finale. Prior to going on the IL on April 30, Trout had been hitting a career-low .179. Since his return, he's had six hits in the four games he's played — including Monday's 454-ft homer. The Angels are bringing their star hitter back slowly. Trout has yet to play in right field since coming back from the IL and is expected to be the designated hitter for the time being. Once the team returns to Anaheim, manager Ron Washington will assess when the 11-time All-Star go back to playing defense. The Angels were able to keep pace with Trout sidelined, which included an eight-game winning streak composed of series sweeps of the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Athletics. But they've stumbled since then by dropping seven of eight. Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily! recommended Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store