Top WNBA free agent Courtney Vandersloot will not re-sign with the Chicago Sky, she announced Tuesday night.
The 33-year-old point guard spent her first 12 seasons with the Sky, but her Instagram post confirmed her expected departure.
“Although I never planned for this day to come, I have decided that it is time for me to pursue a new beginning,” Vandersloot wrote.
The free agency signing period began Wednesday. While Vandersloot did not say where she intends to sign, her announcement signaled the first tremor ahead of potentially seismic roster shifts across the league.
Vandersloot recently signed with Turkish club Fenerbahçe for the European season. When she heads to Turkey later this month, she will join forces with another top free agent in Breanna Stewart. Their partnership could provide a glimpse into the future, as reports have indicated the pair’s interest in playing together in the WNBA.
In contrast to those reports, Vandersloot was linked to the Storm on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after Stewart signed with the Liberty. But her agent debunked that rumor, saying the point guard had not yet made her decision.
Since the Sky made Vandersloot the No. 3 overall pick in the 2011 draft out of Gonzaga, she has been one of the best point guards in the league. She has led the league in assists six times in 12 seasons, and she has averaged 6.6 assists per game in her career.
The four-time All-Star helped lead the Sky to the 2021 WNBA championship alongside teammate and wife Allie Quigley, who is also a free agent.
“To the Sky organization who drafted the little guard from a mid-major and believed in me from the jump, I couldn’t have asked for anything better,” she wrote. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have realized my dreams because of you.”