In Super Squads, The Athletic follows the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces in their quests to win a WNBA championship. Our reporters will tell the stories of the players on two of the most star-studded teams in league history and examine how their paths shape the future of the WNBA.
NEW YORK — Courtney Vandersloot recognizes that sooner than later her playing days will come to an end. “I’ve had a lot of miles,” she says. And she’s played a lot of minutes — more than 12,000 in her WNBA career, plus thousands more overseas and in college.
Bumps and bruises have become expected for the 34-year-old New York Liberty guard. It’s why on a normal morning, Vandersloot tries to step foot in New York’s training room by 8:30 or 9 to do “maintenance,” she says, “basically just to keep this thing going.”
Call it maintenance or prehab, rehab or treatment; having access to the Liberty’s performance team was among the biggest selling points that Vandersloot was pitched as a free agent last offseason. As New York prepares to begin its semifinal series against the Connecticut Sun on Sunday afternoon, that access is one reason why Vandersloot joined the franchise in first place, and why the Liberty have had sustained success once gameplay began.
In recent years,…
