Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot tears ACL, will miss rest of 2025 season
Chicago Sky guard Courtney Vandersloot will miss the remainder of the 2025 WNBA season after suffering a torn ACL in her right knee during Chicago's eventual 27-point loss to the Indiana Fever, the team announced Sunday.
Vandersloot sustained the injury at the 5:29 mark of the first quarter of Saturday night's loss to Indiana while driving to the basket. Teammates gathered around her on the court as she lay on the floor in pain, and Vandersloot was eventually carried to the locker room before quickly being ruled out for the remainder of the contest.
Advertisement
'It's heartbreaking,' Sky rookie guard Hailey Van Lith said after Chicago's loss.
'She's our engine,' coach Tyler Marsh added. 'She's our captain and our leader out there, so obviously, it's a huge blow.'
Angel Reese, the second-year forward from LSU, posted her reaction on X.
Vandersloot, 36, was the No. 3 pick of the Sky in 2011 and spent the first 12 years of her career with the franchise, leading Chicago to its first championship in 2021. She played the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the New York Liberty, where she won the 2024 title, before returning to the Sky on a one-year deal this past offseason.
Advertisement
'We're thinking of her,' Liberty coach Sandy Brondello told reporters on Sunday. 'She's playing great. She's the leader out there.'
Heading into this season, Vandersloot had already been Chicago's all-time assists leader, and she became the franchise's all-time leading scorer in late May, passing her wife, and fellow former Sky guard, Allie Quigley on the Sky's scoring list.
Vandersloot started the first seven games of Chicago's season, averaging 10.6 points and 5.3 assists. Her injury will likely thrust Van Lith, the No. 11 pick in April's draft, into the Sky's starting lineup. Van Lith replaced Vandersloot after the injury occurred and played a career-high 26 minutes in Saturday's loss, which was the first WNBA game at the United Center.
The Sky will also likely lean more on guards Ariel Atkins and Rachel Banham as they look to proceed and draw the most out of their developing frontcourt of Kamilla Cardoso and Angel Reese.
Advertisement
Their first test without Vandersloot comes Tuesday, against her former team, as the Sky travel to Brooklyn to play the Liberty.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Chicago Sky, WNBA
2025 The Athletic Media Company
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How long can Aari McDonald stay on Indiana Fever? Explaining WNBA hardship contracts
INDIANAPOLIS – Injuries to Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham left the Indiana Fever shorthanded and desperately in need of a ball-handling guard. Clark, the Fever's starting point guard, has been out since May 26 with a quad strain. Cunningham, one of the players who shared the load at point, has been out with an ankle injury since May 30. Advertisement So, the Fever brought in Aari McDonald on a hardship contract on June 1, and she has impressed in her two games with Indiana so far. McDonald has been key for the Fever in this stretch, coming off the bench to help Sydney Colson share the point guard duties. She's able to push the pace in transition and is tough defensively, despite her size (5-6). She had two days to learn the Fever offense before playing against Washington on June 3 and didn't miss a beat. McDonald played 27 minutes against the Mystics, making an impact on both ends — including drawing three offensive fouls in an eight-minute stretch. She scored seven points with a team-leading five assists and three steals. Advertisement Her June 7 outing against Chicago was even better, scoring 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting in 25 minutes and adding two rebounds, two assists and three steals. 'She's taken full advantage of her opportunity,' Fever assistant coach Austin Kelly said following Indiana's win over Chicago on Saturday. 'We see it every year: players go down, there are hardship contracts, and she definitely stayed ready. We always talk about staying ready so you don't have to get ready, and she epitomizes that… We couldn't be more proud of her and how she's transitioned, and how she's taken us to another level and allowed us to continue to play the same way we want to play on both ends.' She has been imperative for the Fever lately. But with Clark and Cunningham nearing their returns, McDonald's time with the Fever is becoming limited. Story continues below gallery How long will Aari McDonald play for Indiana Fever? McDonald will be able to play for the Fever until either Clark or Cunningham return, which would bring the Fever's roster of available players back up to 10. Advertisement Once there are 10 players available from Indiana's standard roster, McDonald's contract will be automatically terminated. Caitlin Clark injury update: When will Fever star return? 'We're gonna play the long game' Sophie Cunningham injury update: Fever cautious hoping to avoid another re-aggravation Will Aari McDonald be able to stay on Indiana Fever after Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham return? No. her contract will be terminated by default once either Clark or Cunningham become game-ready, according to Article VII, Section 4, point b(i) of the WNBA collective bargaining agreement (pg. 82). Advertisement 'If a Team during the Regular Season, as a result of injuries, illnesses, other conditions or other extenuating circumstances that have affected its players, has fewer than ten (10) players on its roster who are able to play, it may apply to the WNBA to obtain an Exception to sign one or more Replacement Player(s) to Replacement Contract(s) to replace one or more of the Team's unavailable Players,' the collective bargaining agreement reads. 'Any such Replacement Contract shall be terminated immediately once ten (10) other players on the Team's roster are again able to play.' McDonald is on an emergency hardship contract, which allows teams to go over the roster limit and the cap to sign players if they have fewer than 10 available players. Clark and Cunningham's injuries give Indiana nine available players, thus allowing the Fever to sign one player to a hardship contract to get them back up to 10. She is considered a 'Replacement Player' through her contract with the Fever and the league. She is not on a standard player contract. The Fever are not able to waive another player on an unprotected contract once they get up to 10 and keep McDonald instead. As McDonald is on a replacement player contract, hers will need to be the one that is terminated. Advertisement More: Stephanie White returns to Fever after taking time away for personal matter Can Indiana Fever cut other players, bring Aari McDonald back? The Fever could bring McDonald back, in theory, but it would require a lot of rearranging. First off, Indiana would need to wait 10 days after terminating her contract to bring her back, according to Article 5, section 14(f) of the CBA. The only exception to that rule is if there was a hardship need, but the Fever will not be in that situation. Immediately after her contract with the Fever is terminated, too, McDonald is an unrestricted free agent able to sign with any team in the league — whether on a standard player contract or hardship contract. Advertisement Indiana also does not have enough cap space in its current structure to pay McDonald. Indiana was able to go over the cap to sign her to a hardship, but the money they paid her for the time she was on the Fever will still count toward the cap. McDonald is also considered a veteran player, as she has 4+ years of experience, so her minimum pay structure is higher than the base minimum in the league. The full-season player minimum for players 0-3 years is $66,079, while the veteran minimum for players with 4+ years is $78,831. Those amounts are prorated with each passing game, but it still makes McDonald more expensive to sign. When the Fever would be able to sign her as a 12th player depends on when her replacement contract is terminated, but it likely would not be until at least July. The Fever also have the option of waiving a player on an unprotected contract if they want to get McDonald back earlier than that. Colson, forward Brianna Turner and rookie forward Makayla Timpson are all on unprotected contracts, but it's unlikely that the Fever would waive them. Advertisement Colson is Clark's direct backup, starting in her place while she's out with injury, and Turner, while she plays minimal minutes currently, will provide crucial depth when Fever backup center Damiris Dantas will miss four games because of a Brazilian national team obligation. The Fever also like Timpson as a development player, and she gets some minutes here and there. This could also all be null, as well, if McDonald signs with another team in that 10-day period. And based on how she's played for the Fever so far, it wouldn't be surprising if another team picked her up. Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at capeterson@ or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar's Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How long can Indiana Fever keep Aari McDonald with a hardship contract?
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
All-Star forward reportedly expects to be traded to the San Antonio Spurs this summer
The San Antonio Spurs entered the offseason focused on finding high-end talent to start building a playoff-caliber team around Victor Wembanyama. While the second pick in the 2025 NBA Draft might be the primary avenue to upgrade the roster, at least one All-Star thinks he'll be playing in San Antonio next season. According to John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports' Burns & Gambo, Durant told someone close to him that he believes he'll wind up playing for the Spurs next season. Advertisement Related: Insider reveals what San Antonio Spurs expected to do with No. 2 pick Kevin Durant stats (ESPN): 26.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 4.2 APG, 52.7% FG, 43% 3PT The Phoenix Suns are actively shopping Durant this summer, reportedly hoping to move him very soon. While the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Toronto Raptors have also been linked as potential landing spots, the All-Star forward seems to believe San Antonio is his likeliest destination. Related: Promising Spurs news on Victor Wembanyama recovery Kevin Durant contract (Spotrac): $54.708 million cap hit in 2025-'26 The incentive for the Spurs is obvious. While Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is the superior talent, he still hasn't requested a trade and some teams now doubt he will. Even if he did, the cost of acquiring him would essentially drain out the Spurs' collection of draft picks and young assets. Advertisement Instead, San Antonio can keep the second overall pick to draft guard Dylan Harper and instead offer Phoenix a deal involving future draft picks or the 14th overall pick. It's a far more cost-effective avenue to upgrade the roster and with Durant on an expiring deal, it also provides the club more long-term flexibility. Related: 2025 NBA Draft order, San Antonio Spurs draft picks 2025 Related Headlines
Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Masai Russell put a house, car and Olympic gold medal on her 2024 vision board — and then she got them all
Masai Russell started 2024 doing something she had never done before: creating a vision board. On it, she put a few of her wildest dreams — things like getting a car, buying a house and winning an Olympic gold medal in the 100-meter hurdles event. As someone still in the first year of their professional career as a track and field athlete, accomplishing all these goals seemed perhaps a little overly ambitious. But lo and behold, they all came true. 'To look back at what I put in and what I got, it was just like, All right, I need to do this every year,' Russell, who won gold at the 2024 Summer Games, tells me during a conversation for Yahoo Life's OT Diaries. So what does someone who has achieved that much at 24 years old dream up for the following year? To journal more. To travel to an exotic place. And to — hey, why not? — break the world record in her event. 'I had the world record on my vision board from last year, but I didn't get it,' she says. (But she's close; she holds the second-fastest world record, along with the American record.) Here she talks about balancing those goals big and small while establishing a name for herself in her sport. I've always recorded everything that I did ever since I was a kid. And then, of course, the way that social media has kind of transformed is like, everyone is showing people what they're doing, how they're getting ready. And I'm not gonna lie, I just jumped on the train. People kept asking me to show what I'm doing on meet days or race days or even getting ready for practice. So it just started to naturally become a part of my routine. I'm just glad that people love to see my 'get ready with me' videos because I'm still trying to perfect them and make them look aesthetically pleasing. But it's just fun. The love for beauty and looking good while competing came from watching my mom. She wasn't an athlete, but my mom always dressed up and she always wore big earrings. I know for us as athletes, we can't present ourselves exactly the way we want to on the track because we're running and things can be in the way. I think it was really just my mom who always told me you gotta look good. And then when you look good, you run good and you feel good too. It has always just been a part of my routine. Like, I couldn't even imagine competing with a bare face — not to knock anyone who does. But for me, it allows me to step into that competition mode. The only time I really do my makeup, for the most part, is when I am competing. It's not a superstition thing; it's just what I do going into competition. I've definitely learned to prioritize [sleep] as I transition into the professional space. I always knew I needed more sleep, but I never tracked it. So once I transitioned to being a pro, I made it a point to get a ring to track my sleep, to track what I'm doing, to track how much REM sleep I'm getting. At the Olympics, I don't know how much sleep I got because my ring died. But it did feel like I didn't sleep at all. … You can have those bumps in the road where you get like four or five, six hours of sleep. But the way that I look at it is: As long as I'm getting seven to eight hours on average, I'm in the green. I give myself a break when I'm in the offseason. My offseason isn't that long — it's like a month and a half, two months — so I'm going to eat whatever I want to eat in those two months. Once I get into season, I'm not strict but I just like to stay away from fried foods, processed foods. I don't want to put too much pressure on it because I don't like to overthink it. … I'm just gonna eat clean and then that's just that. And if I want a sweet treat once or twice a month, or maybe once a week, I'm gonna have it. It's just like, I'm just not eating sweets and candy every night. Honestly, this last month or so, my favorite sweet treat is probably an ice cream sundae or a banana split. That banana with the whipped cream and the hot fudge, it just does something to me. Wednesdays are my recovery days. And for me, self-care is top tier. So I definitely get a good massage, sometimes get my toes and nails done. Sometimes I get my hair done … just giving back to myself and pouring back into my life. I also love to fish. That's become a new hobby of mine with my boyfriend. It's really peaceful, it's quiet. You can just hear the birds, hear the trees, hear the wind. It just allows me to get back into my zen and detach from the world. My dad definitely planted the seed. [He] was the one that just put that spark in my brain to really show the importance of recovery, to show the importance of taking care of your body. I'll do an ice bath, sauna, yoga and Pilates. Those are my four things I like to do. … Pilates because it just helps with active recovery, functional movements, opening up those tight areas, stretching. Doing things that aren't always so forceful on the body, but can help the body long term. I'm not really a fan of yoga, but I know that it's helpful for you. So I've tried to dabble a little more into yoga for even just my mind, just detaching once again and actively recovering the body. Probably my boyfriend, Robbie [Springfield]. Definitely Dance Moms. Probably a hot fudge sundae or a Pizookie from BJs. Just not living up to who I believe that I am. A lot of things, honestly. People chewing gum and then putting it on a plate. Like, wrap that up, please. Something that I drink every day is definitely water, of course. And then something that I eat every day is definitely eggs. Eggs for breakfast. That's how you get that protein. Probably just being on TikTok and then going to someone's page and then going to the next person's page and going to the next person's page … Probably my wallet so that I can swipe this [credit] card. You know, the lip gloss is always going to be in there, but I can't do nothing with lip gloss if I don't have my phone with the Apple Pay or my wallet with the credit cards. Drake's newest album, I've been tapping in with that. Cold plunge and saunas. I think those are really important for the body. They just do a lot with sleep recovery, cardiovascular health, you know, the whole nine [yards]. I am probably best at telling people what to do. I mean, I wouldn't say that I'm bossy, but I'm very much a girl that knows what she wants. Fishing. … I'm good. Like, I could catch a fish, but I want to get to a point where I'm just catching multiple [fish]. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
