Courtney Vandersloot

Courtney Vandersloot (born February 8, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a five-time WNBA All-Star and two-time WNBA champion. She has also played for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Premier League, Mist BC in Unrivaled, and teams in several other professional leagues. She is regarded as one of the greatest WNBA point guards of all time.

Vandersloot played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, holding numerous records and becoming the first player to have her number retired by the program. She was the only West Coast Conference women's player to be named Player of the Year and tournament MVP three times. In her final season, she led the Bulldogs to their first-ever Elite Eight appearance, and won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award and Nancy Lieberman Award. She is the first Division I player to record 2,000 points and 1,000 assists in a career.

She was drafted by the Sky with the third pick in the 2011 WNBA draft. She was named an All-Star and to the All-Rookie Team in her rookie year, and was named an All-Star again in 2019, 2021, 2022, and 2023. She led the Sky to their first WNBA championship in 2021. In 2023, she signed with the New York Liberty and helped the team win their first championship in 2024. In 2025, she returned to the Sky.

Playing the point guard position, Vandersloot ranks second in WNBA regular-season total assists (behind Sue Bird) and second in total playoff assists (behind Alyssa Thomas). She led the WNBA in assists in 2014, 2017–2021, and 2023. She holds the all-time WNBA records for assists-per-game in a season (10.0) and a career (6.6). She also holds several Sky franchise records, including the most games played, most points scored, most assists, and most steals.

Early life Born in the Seattle suburb of Kent, Washington to parents who both worked for Boeing, Vandersloot grew up in a neighborhood with many children her age, and said in a 2011 interview that "all we did was play sports, all sports." Her father built a sports court with a basketball goal behind the family house, but she almost never played there, choosing instead to play at a hoop in front of a neighbor's house where she could easily be seen by other children in the neighborhood. She regularly played against boys. Vandersloot was rated as the No. 64 national prospect, and No. 35 among guards, by Scout.com.

College career By her own admission, Vandersloot came to Gonzaga as a shy freshman. During that first season, Graves suggested that she call the school's greatest point guard in history for advice—Hall of Famer John Stockton. Vandersloot would recall that it "took me a couple of weeks to build up" the nerve, Vandersloot eventually worked with Stockton throughout her Gonzaga career. However, the Bulldogs lost in the WCC final to San Diego and ultimately missed out on the NCAA Tournament, playing instead in the WNIT. They defeated UC Davis in the first round before falling to Colorado in the second round.

In her 2008–09 sophomore season, she set a school record in assists with 239; Vandersloot won the first of what would be three WCC Player of the Year awards. In the NCAA tournament, the Zags defeated Xavier for the program's first NCAA Tournament win before narrowly losing in the second round to Pitt.

As a junior in 2009–10, Vandersloot led Division I in assists, averaging 9.4 per game, while leading the Zags to an unbeaten record in conference play. During that season, she broke her own school record for assists in a season with 321, while leading the Bulldogs to a second consecutive WCC Tournament title. In the NCAA tournament, Vandersloot led the Zags one round farther than in 2009, upsetting No. 2 seed (and 2011 champion) Texas A&M before losing in the Sweet Sixteen to the Xavier team they had knocked out the year before. Vandersloot was named WCC Player of the Year for an unprecedented also becoming the first women's player in WCC history to win that honor three times. In their second-round game against No. 3 seed UCLA, Vandersloot finished with 29 points and 17 assists, one assist shy of the record for a Division I tournament game, as the Zags took down the Bruins 89–75. During that game, she became the first player in Division I history to amass 2,000 career points and 1,000 career assists. Their tournament run, and Vandersloot's college career, would end one game later as Stanford would defeat the Zags 83–60. While she finished with 25 points, only four came in the second half. In addition to her other milestones during the season, she also broke the Gonzaga single-season scoring record.

Vandersloot became one of the most decorated players of the 2010–11 season. She won the women's Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the top Division I player no taller than , and the Nancy Lieberman Award as the top point guard in Division I women's basketball. She also was named to the five-woman Wooden All-America Team, another honor never before achieved by a WCC player. Finally, she was named to the 10-player USBWA All-America team, becoming the first Gonzaga player so honored, and the 10-member State Farm Coaches All-America team, another first for a WCC player.

Her impact on the Gonzaga program can be measured by another statistic—home attendance. The year before she arrived in Spokane, the Bulldogs averaged 1,492 with a team that would make its first NCAA tournament appearance. By her junior year, attendance had risen to 2,935, and rose again to 3,824 in her senior season, with the Zags selling out the McCarthey Athletic Center twice before the NCAA tournament.

College awards and records

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (2011) Nancy Lieberman Award (2011) 3× WCC Player of the Year (2009–2011) 3× WCC women's tournament MVP (2009–2011) 4× All-WCC (2008–2011) WCC Newcomer of the Year (2008) 2009 NCAA Women's Basketball All-Americans (honorable mention, AP) 2010 NCAA Women's Basketball All-Americans: Honorable mention, AP Honorable mention, State Farm Coaches' 2011 NCAA Women's Basketball All-Americans: Wooden All-America State Farm Coaches' USBWA Second team, AP No. 21 retired by Gonzaga Bulldogs

NCAA records: First NCAA Division I player of either gender with 2,000 points and 1,000 assists Most assists in a season, Division I (367)

Professional career

WNBA Vandersloot was widely considered to be one of the top prospects in the 2011 WNBA draft. Her relatively small size had been a subject of concern, as was her defense—despite averaging 4.5 steals per game in the 2011 NCAA tournament and ending her Gonzaga career with 366. However, she was seen as likely to be one of the top seven picks, and was ultimately picked third overall by the Chicago Sky. Her average of 3.7 assists per game (apg) was 11th in the league She was also named as an Eastern Conference reserve for the 2011 WNBA All-Star Game, However, despite these efforts, the Sky finished 12–22, missing out on the playoffs for the first time in four years. In the 2018 season, Vandersloot broke the single-season record for assists and finished off the season with 258 assists and her own assists per game record with 8.6 apg. On July 20, 2018, Vandersloot became the seventh player in league history to post a triple-double, she scored 13 points along with 10 rebounds and a career-high 15 assists in a 114–99 victory over the Dallas Wings. She also averaged a career-high in scoring. Despite these performances, the Sky missed out on the playoffs yet again, they finished 13–21.

In the 2019 season, Vandersloot continued to exceed assists records. She broke her own league record with 9.1 assists per game. She was selected to the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her second All-Star appearance. Her season performance would help the Sky return to the playoffs with a 20–14 record, earning the number 5 seed. In the first-round elimination game, the Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury 105–76 to advance. In the second-round elimination game, the Sky were defeated by the Las Vegas Aces 93–92 after a late game desperation half-court shot by Dearica Hamby.

In the 2020 season, the season was shortened to 22 games in a bubble at IMG Academy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vandersloot would average a career-high in scoring and once again set a new record for assists per game with 10, while playing and starting all 22 games. The Sky finished as the number 6 seed with a 12–10 record, but were eliminated by the Connecticut Sun in the first round elimination game. alt=Courtney Vandersloot holds the New York Liberty's 2024 WNBA Championship Trophy during a at a post-win celebration at the Barclay's Center. Courtney Vandersloot holds the New York Liberty's 2024 WNBA Championship Trophy during a at a post-win celebration at the Barclay's Center. In the 2021 season, Vandersloot started all 32 games for the Sky and once again led the league with 8.6 assists per game. The Sky finished the season as the sixth seed with a 16–16 record, but went on to a successful run in the playoffs, winning two single-elimination games and a semifinals series against the first-seeded Connecticut Sun to reach the Finals for the first time since 2014. In the 2021 WNBA Finals, Vandersloot recorded 12.5 assists and 11.5 points per game, as the Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury in four games to win their first championship. Across the 10 games in the 2021 postseason, she recorded 10.2 assists and 13 points per game.

After the 2022 season, Vandersloot became a free agent and signed with the New York Liberty in February 2023.

The New York Liberty placed second in the WNBA to the Las Vegas Aces in 2023. In 2024, the Liberty won the WNBA Championship over the Minnesota Lynx. Courtney dedicated the season to her mother, Jan Vandersloot, who died in mid-summer 2024.

In 2025, Vandersloot returned to the Sky. On June 8, 2025, it was announced that Vandersloot had sustained a right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear during the June 7 game against the Indiana Fever, would undergo surgery, and would miss the rest of the 2025 season.

European leagues In 2011, she signed with the Turkish club Beşiktaş. Because the WNBA season is held in the northern hemisphere summer, the traditional offseason for basketball throughout the world, many of the league's players participate in overseas leagues during the traditional season and return to their WNBA teams in the summer.

In February 2022, after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, she left UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Women's Basketball Premier League. In April 2022, she joined Hungarian club Sopron Basket for the 2022–23 European season.

In January 2023, she signed with Fenerbahçe and left at end of the season.

Unrivaled On September 16, 2024, it was announced that Vandersloot would appear and play in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, a new women's 3-on-3 basketball league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart.

National team career Vandersloot played internationally for the Hungary women's national basketball team as a naturalized citizen. She first appeared for Hungary in the 2016 EuroBasket Women qualifiers and later in the EuroBasket Women 2017 tournament. Vandersloot averaged 9.3 points and 3.8 assists per game in EuroBasket 2017, where Hungary lost to Italy in the qualification round before the quarterfinals.

Personal life On December 27, 2018, Vandersloot married Chicago Sky teammate, Allie Quigley, in Seattle, near Vandersloot's hometown of Kent, Washington. In May 2025, the couple announced the birth of their first child.

Career statistics + Legend GP Games played GS Games started MPG Minutes per game FG% Field goal percentage 3P% 3-point field goal percentage FT% Free throw percentage RPG Rebounds per game APG Assists per game SPG Steals per game BPG Blocks per game TO Turnovers per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high * Led Division I ° Led the league ‡ WNBA record

WNBA †Denotes seasons in which Vandersloot won a WNBA championship

Regular season Stats current through end of 2025 season

Playoffs

College