You look at this roster and it’s hard not to get excited. Angel Reese, fresh off bagging the 2024 WNBA Peak Performer Award for leading the league in rebounds, is just the tip of the iceberg. Kamilla Cardoso, the towering rookie, is poised to dominate the paint. Add in a smooth guard like Ariel Atkins and a promising new name like Hailey Van Lith, and suddenly, you can feel the energy shifting in Chicago. But there’s one name holding the team together, and quite possibly the future, too. 

Sure, the Sky might not be topping championship predictions yet, but make no mistake: they’re building something serious. With a full-scale staff led by Tyler Marsh, plus a new assistant addition, the blueprint is clear: fast-track the growth. But amid all these changes, the biggest move might just be one that feels like coming home.

“She is a proven winner, champion, leader and among the league’s all-time great point guards,” General Manager Jeff Pagliocca said when introducing, perhaps the most important addition: Courtney Vandersloot. A generational talent is back in the Windy City, and she is back better.

Drafted third overall by the Sky in 2011, she spent 12 seasons building a legacy that included leading Chicago to its first-ever WNBA championship in 2021. And when she returned after a brief departure, she returned as a 2x champion, this one with the Liberty. And Tyler Marsh? He is enjoying all the benefits of a player and a coach rolled into one. 

On the first day of training camp, when the new head coach was asked how Vandersloot supports the coaching staff, he couldn’t help but smile and joke, “I don’t know how much time you’ve got, that’s a long answer.” Julia Poe, the Sky beat writer, reports Marsh “described Vandersloot as an extension of the coaching staff on the court.” Well, did we just get a glimpse of the guard’s future role?

But then, Vandersloot has often spoken about being the veteran reliance for her teammates ever since the Sky signed her back, and she seems to be really good at it. 

“She doesn’t have the biggest voice, but when she talks, people listen,” the head coach admitted. “That itself is powerful.” 

And if history says anything, Vandersloot knows exactly how to lead the way. Apart from her decade-long experience and championship titles, the guard has set franchise records, too. Over her Sky career, she led the WNBA in assists five times, shattered Chicago’s single-game assist record, and climbed all the way to second all-time in career assists across the league. Now coming back to the place where it all started, she knew she had a lot to give and learn. 

“I can make people around me a lot better,” Sloot said while joining Sky back. For a franchise she admits she will root for, no matter the colors she will be wearing, the guard is back to leave an imprint on the future. 

That future? It’s already buzzing with energy. Especially when you look at the team’s new faces, like rookie Hailey Van Lith — drafted 11th overall this year. While Angel Reese has been busy adding a three-point shot to her arsenal (and putting on a shooting clinic at camp), Van Lith has had her eyes set on a different target: soaking up everything she can from Vandersloot.

When asked who she’s most excited to play alongside, Van Lith didn’t hesitate. “Courtney (Vandersloot)’s overall court vision and the tempo that she plays at; I cannot wait to watch film with her, to just observe her and pick her brain about how she controls the game. … I think that she’s one in particular that I’m really, really excited just getting to be around,” she said. 

For a team loaded with young talent, Vandersloot is the anchor and it is showing. 

Chicago Sky’s Vandersloot comeback story started in the offseason

After dominating overseas for more than a decade — winning three EuroLeague titles and sharpening her game every WNBA offseason — Vandersloot faced a hard truth. Europe no longer fit her life or her needs. The Russian invasion of Ukraine forced her to leave her longtime club, UMMC Ekaterinburg, in 2022. A few seasons bouncing around Turkey didn’t feel right either. In 2024, she tried resting for the first time instead of playing in the winter.

It didn’t work. “Offseasons were hard for me these last couple of years not playing overseas,” Vandersloot admitted. “I was really trying to keep my body in a really hard shape without playing games. It was really hard to grow. I felt like I was almost just beating myself up.”

That’s why Unrivaled was a lifeline. In Miami’s sunshine, Vandersloot found her rhythm again. It wasn’t easy though for a pass-first point guard. But she managed to flip the switch, nonetheless. “You’ve got to be attacking and looking to score, because if you’re looking to make the extra pass — it’s not there.” It may have just been what she needed. 

Because truthfully, she needed the fresh start. Last season in New York had been brutal, on and off the court. Vandersloot spent nearly a quarter of the year away from the Liberty to be with her mother, Jan, who passed away after a two-year battle with advanced multiple myeloma. When she returned, things weren’t the same.

Her numbers dipped. CV’s 3-point shot faltered. Her assists fell off. And when the playoffs rolled around, the Liberty benched her. That’s why her return to Chicago means more than just a homecoming. It’s a statement. She’s not here for a farewell tour. She’s evidently here to lead a new era.