Rebekah Gardner has played 38 games for Sky in the past two seasons averaging 8.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Last year, she suffered a season-ending injury in the first month of play.
Gary Dineen
This year was supposed to mark Sky guard Rebekah Gardner’s triumphant return to the court.
Gardner broke her left foot three games into the season last year, sidelining her for its remainder. Last night playing for Spanish club Spar CityLift Girona, Gardner tore her right Achilles, multiple sources told the Sun-Times.
The details regarding surgery and her rehab have not been released.
Gardner was signed by former coach/general manager James Wade ahead of the 2022 season to help replace key contributors from the 2021 title team, like Stefanie Dolson and Diamond DeShields. After signing Emma Meeseman to insert in the starting lineup, Wade needed a solid backup to come off the bench for Kahleah Copper.
He found that in Gardner, whom he had scouted overseas.
Gardner took the WNBA by storm as a 30-year-old rookie in 2022. Although she was technically a rookie, her 10 years overseas had made her a revered player by some of the WNBA’s biggest stars.
“Every experience [overseas] prepared me for this moment,” Gardner said after her WNBA debut. “So I was ready.”
She finished with 14 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist in the Sky’s win over the Liberty on May 11, 2022.
Gardner’s journey to the WNBA was anything but traditional. After going undrafted out of UCLA in 2012, she contemplated retirement. She considered hanging it up again nearly 10 years later after accomplishing her dream of playing in Euroleague.
Interest from Wade and a few other WNBA teams in 2022 helped change her mind.
Gardner has significantly impacted the Sky over the last two years. Her 8.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals in 2022 helped the Sky finish the year with the best record in the WNBA and set a new franchise record for total wins in a season.
The Sky extended Gardner a qualifying offer in January, making her a reserved player. That offer includes a one-year unprotected contract for the applicable minimum salary. Gardner was still in negotiations with the Sky as of this week.
General manager Jeff Pagliocca said that the team was entertaining all possibilities to Gardner’s future in Chicago.
“She’s a player we have a lot of respect for,” Pagliocca said. “A player that was very good here that fits in with our philosophy and identity. But we’re still having conversations with her. Time will tell.”
It’s unclear how Gardner’s injury will impact her potentially re-signing with Chicago or the Sky’s ability to move her in a sign-and-trade.