Sky re-sign Copper, Quigley and Vandersloot originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The 2021 WNBA champion Chicago Sky re-signed three of its core players who helped the team win its first title in franchise history.
All-Stars Allie Quigley, Courtney Vandersloot and Finals MVP Kahleah Copper will rejoin the Sky for the upcoming 2022 season, the team announced Thursday.
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"This is a big day for our franchise to bring back two of the biggest cornerstones in our team's history and they make every single player around them better," head coach and general manager James Wade said in a statement.
Quigley will be joining her hometown team for the 10th season and 14th in the league. She is the Sky's all-time leading scorer and holds the all-time franchise record for three-point field goals made. Quigley has scored 3,337 points while playing for Chicago.
“I love this team and I love playing at home," Quigley said. "Wintrust Arena was unbelievable last October and I can’t wait to get back to that feeling with our fans.”
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Vandersloot — Quigley's teammate and wife — led the WNBA in assists for the last five consecutive seasons (2017-2021) and rewrote the WNBA's record book last season, including most assists in a single postseason (87), most assists in a playoff game (102) and most assists in a Finals series (50).
“We have built something special here in Chicago, and it didn’t happen overnight,” Vandersloot said. “I am proud to be a part of this franchise and beyond excited for the opportunity to join my teammates and the Sky family to try and go back-to-back!”
Kahleah Copper was named MVP after her stellar play in the WNBA Finals. She scored a game-high 22 points in Game 3 to help get her team to Game 4, where the Sky defeated the Phoenix Mercury 80-74 at Wintrust Arena. Copper averaged 18.6 points on 54.5 % shooting, 7.7 rebounds and 2 assists during the 2021 postseason.
“I can’t wait to be back, especially with our core returning,” Copper said. “We want to run it back and we know it won’t be easy, but with all of us 100% committing and making sacrifices for each other, I really like our chances. Chi-town let’s get it!”
The details of each player's contract were not released by the Sky.
