NEW YORK — The WNBA offseason continues to get better for New York.
Star guard Courtney Vandersloot will sign with the Liberty, she announced Thursday on Twitter. The signing strengthens a roster that recently added two former MVPs and will be heading into the 2023 season after suffering back-to-back first-round playoff exits.
The move comes a day after 2018 MVP Breanna Stewart announced she will sign with the team on social media and weeks after the team finalized a three-team deal to acquire 2021 MVP Jonquel Jones from the Connecticut Sun. The blockbuster moves are an attempt to bring the franchise its first-ever WNBA title and build on the foundation that already features 2020 No. 1 overall pick Sabrina Ionescu and All-Star Betnijah Laney.
The details of Vandersloot’s contract are still being negotiated as the team is determining how to fit the newcomers’ salaries under the hard cap, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. Stewart — Vandersloot’s teammate on Turkish team Fenerbahçe — is expected to take less money so the Liberty could add the longtime Sky guard on the roster, according to ESPN.
Vandersloot has spent her 12-year career with the Chicago Sky after being selected third overall in the 2011 WNBA draft. Last season, she averaged 11.8 points, 6.5 assists and 3.9 rebounds per game. She also helped the Sky win their franchise-first championship after defeating the Phoenix Mercury, 3-1, in the 2021 WNBA Finals alongside Candace Parker and Kahleah Cooper. That year, the guard led the league in assists, dishing out 8.6 dimes per game.
The Barclays Center will now host a backcourt of two guards who were on the All-WNBA second team the past two seasons — with Ionescu being selected last season and Vandersloot getting the nod in 2021.
Both stars are listed as point guards, but Ionescu showed success playing in an off-ball role with Crystal Dangerfield being the primary ballhandler last season. Dangerfield was sent to the Dallas Wings in the blockbuster Jones deal and signed a multi-year deal shortly after.
