2024 WNBA playoffs: Liberty's Courtney Vandersloot passes Sue Bird for most assists in postseason history

New York Liberty point guard Courtney Vandersloot passed her way into the record books on Sunday when she broke Sue Bird's all-time record for postseason assists during her team's 83-69 win over the Atlanta Dream in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Vandersloot now has 365 assists in her postseason career. 

Vandersloot needed just three assists to surpass Bird on Sunday, which seemed like a lock until head coach Sandy Brondello decided to remove her from the starting lineup for Leonie Fiebich. That turned out to be a great decision, as Fiebich went off for a career-high 21 points in the blowout win. 

As a result, Vandersloot played just 16 minutes, but she still got to the record. In the middle of the fourth quarter, she hustled back on defense to pick off a pass, then quickly turned the other way and got her head up the floor. She spotted Breanna Stewart sprinting the other way and fired a perfect outlet pass for another easy bucket for the Liberty. 

Vandersloot finished the game with four points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals off the bench. 

Vandersloot, who needed just 33 games to reach this mark (Bird did so in 47), figures to have this record to herself for a while. No other active player even has 300 playoff assists. 

WNBA's playoff assist leaders

Vandersloot is one of the best point guards in league history, and has routinely raised her game come playoff time. She also has the league's single-game playoff assist record with 18, and the highest career playoff assist average at 7.3 per game. In 2021, she averaged 10.2 assists per game, which is the most ever during a single playoff run, as she helped the Chicago Sky win the only title in franchise history.

Though she is now at a different stage of her career, she'll help to play a part in bringing the Liberty their first title this season.