Gabby Williams just hoisted the WNBA Championship trophy for the Golden State Valkyries, earning herself Finals MVP honors after a thrilling Game 7 victory. But the instant-icon photo of Williams, arm raised in triumph on the front page of Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle, holds a secret: the freelance photographer who snapped that legendary shot, Clara Mokri, actually played against Williams when they were kids.
A Full-Circle Moment On The Biggest Stage
Talk about a full-circle moment! Before Williams was the WNBA champion and Finals MVP, she was a kid from Nevada, hooping it up in Bay Area club basketball and attending legendary college coach Tara VanDerveer’s girls camp at Stanford University. And Mokri? Before she was working Game 7 of the WNBA Finals for the Chronicle, snagging that joyful, front-page image, she was a basketball-loving kid from Los Angeles, competing against a young Williams at that very same Stanford camp.
Mokri remembered Williams being “so quick, so crafty with the ball.” The photographer herself played AAU basketball for the California Storm and two years of college ball at Yale University. Watching and working the WNBA Finals, seeing Williams and even the Atlanta Dream’s Jordin Canada, who Mokri often competed against growing up, play in front of 18,000 screaming fans, was a poignant reminder of just how much women’s basketball has grown. “You feel so proud to see how far it’s come,” Mokri said, adding, “People like Gabby, people like Jordin, they’re my age and they stuck with it and they believed in themselves.”
From Parks & Rec to WNBA Finals
Mokri’s own journey started playing Los Angeles Parks & Rec. She played everything from co-ed to girls basketball. Her group of girls, who’d been playing at Cheviot Hills Park since they were 5 or 6 years old, were good enough to win the Los Angeles City Championships before even forming a club team. A club team eventually formed in middle school from all the best girls at the park. Mokri and two close friends, who were huge fans of Tara VanDerveer and the Stanford women’s basketball team, went up to Stanford for a couple of years. That’s where she first met Williams.
“We all really bonded because we were just kids in a dorm room, and we had a good little group of friends,” Mokri recalled. “Since then I was always rooting for her to succeed.” Mokri is now a freelance photographer, splitting her time between Santa Cruz and Indonesia, where she’s filming a documentary. The Chronicle recently caught up with her over the phone to hear about balling with the MVP and the incredible growth of women’s basketball, ultimately leading to that indelible front-page photo.
This photo isn’t just a trophy shot; it’s a testament to sticking with your passion, whether you’re the Finals MVP or the one capturing history through a lens. If you want to grab a piece of history, you can shop Clara Mokri’s iconic cover and other Valkyries merch in the Chronicle store, or even preorder the collector’s book “Purple Reign: The Golden State Valkyries’ 2026 Championship Season” and save 20%.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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