Chicago Sky guard Rebekah Gardner had a stellar rookie season, earning her a nod on the WNBA All-Rookie team in 2022. 

“It was so unexpected, surreal, exciting. There’s so many words. I feel like I can’t even pick one word to describe it. It was definitely a dream come true, and it was amazing. It was anything more than what I hoped for,” Gardner said.

Gardner brought 10 years of international experience to the WNBA and the Sky last season, and it showed up in the stat sheet defensively. However, it was a big adjustment for her entering into the WNBA for the first time and then heading back overseas after her rookie season.

“The WNBA is much faster,” Gardner said. “I would say overseas is moreso an IQ game. WNBA is IQ but because some of the players [overseas] aren’t as athletic, it’s more IQ and team basketball. Coming from here to there was a big difference.”

Watch the full interview above.

Check out Rebekah Gardner’s blog here.