Guard Rebekah Gardner was supposed to make her triumphant return to the court this year with the Sky. She broke her left foot three games into the 2023 season and was sidelined for the rest of the year.
But playing for Spanish club Spar Girona on Thursday, Gardner tore her right Achilles. The details regarding surgery and her rehab have not been released.
Gardner was signed by former coach/general manager James Wade before the 2022 season to help replace key contributors from the 2021 title team. After signing Emma Meesseman for 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.
At 30, Gardner took the WNBA by storm in ’22. Although technically a rookie, Gardner had played 10 years overseas and was revered by some of the league’s biggest stars.
“Every experience [overseas] prepared me for this moment,” Gardner said after scoring 14 points in her WNBA debut against the Liberty on May 11, 2022. “So I was ready.”
The Sky extended a qualifying offer to Gardner in January, making her a reserved player. That offer included 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 the team was entertaining all possibilities regarding 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.”
According to the league’s collective-bargaining agreement, Gardner’s injury will have an impact on her signing with the Sky this season.
As stated in Article XX, Section 1 of the CBA, players must submit to a full medical examination upon signing their contracts. Given the severity of Gardner’s injury, an exam would determine she is unable to play for an extended period, making her unfit to perform basketball-related services as laid out in the CBA.
The Sky will likely control Gardner’s rights, and she will go through the free-agency process as a reserved player again in 2025.
