Gabby Williams, now holding the WNBA Finals MVP trophy, has absolutely exploded past her previous career heights. It’s a rise so improbable, so irreplicable, that it makes you wonder if anyone ever saw this coming, especially after her move from the Storm to the Golden State Valkyries in April of this year. We watched her don the green and blue, and seeing her reach the pinnacle elsewhere, it definitely makes you pause and reflect on her journey.
From Chicago Drama to Seattle Spark
Her WNBA story, man, it was never simple. Drafted fourth overall by the Chicago Sky in 2018, Gabby was supposed to be a nine-year veteran by now. She suited up for Chicago from 2018 to 2020, but then came the drama. In 2021, her commitment to the French Olympic team meant missing training camp. Chicago suspended her, and that sparked a well-documented rift that ended her time there. She ended up missing the entire 2021 WNBA season while playing for France in the Olympics.
But then, she found a new home with us, the Seattle Storm, the very next year. She started the entire 2022 season for the Storm and immediately made her first WNBA All-Defense team. It felt like she was really settling into her role. She looked ready to reprise that role in 2023, but injuries hit hard: a concussion and a left foot injury sidelined her for all but 10 games. Just brutal luck.
Injuries, Olympic Fire, and the Rise of a Scoring Threat
Then 2024 rolled around, and once again, Olympic commitments kept her from the WNBA. But this time, her international stint was a game-changer. France nearly took down Team USA in the gold medal game, and the world got its first real look at “first-option Gabby.” After the Olympic break, she re-signed with Seattle, playing out the remainder of the 2024 season and then the entirety of the 2025 season with the Storm. And get this: she finally averaged double-digit points in a WNBA season for the first time in 2025. This was a huge step!
Remember, before she became a Finals MVP and a “30-piece scoring phenom,” Gabby was known as a defensive menace and an ancillary slasher. Shooting wasn’t her game. She had only one make on 12 career 3-point attempts at UConn, mostly playing as an undersized power forward. Very few could have projected her as a future WNBA guard. Even as her shooting volume crept up in her first couple of WNBA seasons, she only shot 24 percent from deep between 2018 and 2023. Even dominating for France in two Olympic berths, she never shot above 30 percent in a group stage.
It’s a wild ride that Gabby Williams has been on, from those early days at UConn to Olympic silver, through injury and international commitments, and now, finally, to the top of the WNBA mountain. For us in the Emerald City, watching a former Storm player grab that Finals MVP trophy with another team, it’s a stark reminder of the talent that passed through, and the dreams that almost came true right here in Seattle.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Swish Appeal.
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