July 31, 2020 

Courtney Vandersloot passes Becky Hammon to become WNBA’s fifth all-time leader in assists

The Sky's floor general notched her 1,709th assist against the Minnesota Lynx

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Sky point guard Courtney Vandersloot moved to fifth on the WNBA’s all-time assists leaderboard on Thursday night. Photo courtesy of the WNBA’s Public Relations team.

Courtney Vandersloot’s passing throughout her career has earned her accolades, praise, and even the nickname The General.

The 10-year veteran has become the nervous system of the Sky, powering Chicago to become one of the most assist happy teams in the league. As Vandersloot goes, so goes Chicago — and Vandersloot is moving quickly.

Vandersloot passed Becky Hammon on Thursday night to become the WNBA’s fifth all-time leader in assists. The two-time WNBA All-Star dished out her 1,709th assist in the third quarter against the Minnesota Lynx.

An All-WNBA pick last season, Vandersloot is passing players at an unprecedented rate.

Every other player in the top 10 for all-time assists has played 350 or more games, while Vandersloot has only played 275. The Sky point guard is the current all-time leader in career assist average and set the record for most assists in a season in 2018 and 2019.

Diana Taurasi sits next on the list at fourth with 1,872 assists and climbing. Vandersloot, who averaged 9.1 assists last season, will only have 19 more games to catch Taurasi in a shortened season.

Written by Nick Niendorf

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