Allie Quigley became a WNBA mainstay after entering the league as a second rounder in the 2008 draft, playing two seasons with the Phoenix Mercury and brief stints with the Indiana Fever, San Antonio Silver Stars and Seattle Storm before becoming a franchise cornerstone with the Chicago Sky. The former DePaul guard and Illinois native played for her hometown team from 2013 to '22, winning back-to-back Sixth Woman of the Year Awards (2014, '15), making three consecutive All-Star Games from 2017 to '19 and taking home a WNBA title in '21.
In a new story for The Players' Tribune, Quigley admits that she nearly retired after winning the championship, but opted to return for a celebratory follow-up season in '22. She wasn't totally sure that it would be her last, but now that she is three years removed from her last WNBA game, she is comfortable letting everyone know that she is officially retired, joking that she "pulled an Irish Goodbye on the W":
By 2021, I knew I was close to retirement. Then, of all years, that year we finally won the championship — and I thought for a second, Wow. What a way to go out. But after thinking about it a little more, I realized I actually wanted to savor the end of my career. I wanted the experience of walking into each arena and knowing it might be the last time I’d ever play there. And I wanted the experience of trying to defend our championship that we worked so hard for, for so long. So that’s what I did. I didn’t tell a lot of people, but I played in 2022 thinking it would probably be my last season. I really, truly soaked it all in.
I never retired, though.
Quigley says that her decision to step away came as she and partner Courtney Vandersloot, who is now in her second stint with the Sky after being with the team from 2011 to '22, prepared to have a child. The couple gave birth to a daughter, Jana Christine, in April, and with her arrival, Quigley is now ready to officially call it a career.
"And I know I speak for both myself and Courtney when I tell you that as special as the Sky winning a championship felt, and as proud of a moment as that was, bringing a baby into the world is our accomplishment we’re most proud of," Quigley wrote. "It was the greatest day of our lives. There’s nothing like it.
"But also, now that Jana is here……. I feel ready to finally and officially say goodbye to my basketball career."
Quigley remained an impactful player through her final season. She averaging 13.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in '21, and was deady from three-point range, knocking down over 45% of her attempts from beyond the arc for the champion Sky. The following year, her final in the W, she started a career-high 34 games, and saw more minutes than the year before at 26.3 per game, scoring 11.4 points per game.
During the WNBA offseason, Quigley played for a number of teams in Turkey and Italy, up through her final season in 2022.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Three-Time WNBA All-Star Allie Quigley Makes Surprise Retirement Announcement.
