Courtney Vandersloot has put together a Hall of Fame resume during her 15-year tenure in the WNBA. With numerous Chicago Sky franchise records, (most games played, points leader, assists leader, and steals leader) the Gonzaga alumna has another historical benchmark within arm's reach.
The all-time assist leader in WNBA history in Sue Bird with a total of 3,234. Vandersloot is currently second with 2,887 assists. Although, Vandersloot is the all-time leader in league history for assists per game (6.6), she is 347 assist short from being the league's overall assist champion — a testament to Bird's longevity.
After suffering a season-ending ACL tear against the Fever, is the possibility of obtaining the record for Vandersloot in jeopardy?
Vandersloot will need to play a lot more games to become the all-time assist leader
At her current assist averages, Vandersloot would need roughly 52 games to break Bird's record. That's a little more than a full season but would also assume she is able to maintain the same level of productivity.
At 36 years old, the road to recovery from an ACL tear will indeed be long and winding — not only for Vandersloot, but for the active Chicago Sky team that continues to struggle. Leading the league in turnovers, the Sky have yet to find the continuity needed to establish a constant of quality possessions on the offensive side of the basketball. The Chicago Sky will fill the point guard position by committee, with the likes of Rachel Banham and first round pick Hailey Van Lith taking minutes.
In the best case-scenario, Vandersloot would probably miss most or all of next season, returning when she's 38.
Taking into account the possibility of retirement after this injury, the record could be safe with Bird. After such an illustrious career is it worth coming back and attempting to secure the record? Or have, we seen the last of an all-time great in Courtney Vandersloot?