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.
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'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.
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'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.
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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.
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