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Former UConn women's basketball star Gabby Williams says she … – CT Insider
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Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams (5) looks on against the Washington Mystics during the second half of Game 1 of a WNBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022, in Seattle. The Storm beat the Mystics 86-83. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Canada’s Kia Nurse, right, lays the ball up as Australia’s Steph Talbot follows during their bronze medal game at the women’s Basketball World Cup in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022.
Kia Nurse (left) and Gabby Williams (right) of the Uconn Huskies, address the media during a press conference at Webster Bank Arena on March 24, 2017 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
It was a rollercoaster of a WNBA season for former UConn women’s basketball star Gabby Williams.
And with the league’s prioritization rules becoming even tighter next season on top of it being an Olympic year, Williams, who plays for Team France, said she likely won’t play in the WNBA again until 2025.
“I think now I would say no. The France season goes long. I have obligations that I’ve had in place for two years now, so I’m going to see those through,” the former Husky told media during the Seattle Storm’s exit interviews this week. “We’re hosting the Olympics in Paris. … 2024 it looks like it’s not possible more so because of prioritization and, of course, even if I were to come, it would be in August with the Olympics. But 2025, I plan on coming back.”
The WNBA’s new prioritization rules went into effect this spring in an attempt to make players prioritize playing in the league over their international commitments. In the past, players would often miss the opening weeks of training camp due to wrapping up their postseason play with their overseas teams. Playing internationally during the winter is a crucial part to many players’ careers as it provides greater salaries and more on-court experience for younger players to develop.
This year, because of the new rule, any player with more than two years of experience in the league had to report to their WNBA team by May 1, or else they would be fined. If a player missed the start of the regular season on May 19, they would face being suspended for the entire season.
Williams, who was an unsigned free agent during the winter, was made an exception to the new rule after suffering a concussion with ASVEL in the French League toward the end of its season. Because she was injured and unable to play in the team’s postseason run this spring, the club released her from her contract. The former Husky was then able to re-sign as a restricted free agent with the Seattle Storm in early July (Williams also played the 2022 season with Seattle).
Next year, however, the WNBA’s prioritization rule becomes stricter. Players who do not join their WNBA teams by May 1 (or the start of training camp) will be suspended for the whole season. With the 2024 Olympics also next summer, this will likely make it hard for players to balance playing in the WNBA and playing for their home countries in the Summer Games.
Williams, who plans to play for France during the Olympics, has been vocal about how the rule negatively impacts players with international commitments, such as herself. The former Husky was born and raised in Nevada but holds both American and French citizenship. She said her family lives in Paris and is excited to see her represent the country next summer.
“I don’t understand why it needs to be a blanket rule under all 12 teams,” she said. “That’s my thing. I completely understand the part of teams wanting players here, but some coaches might be able to accept it, some organizations might be able to accept a player coming late. So, I never understood why it had to be an end-all-be-all just because you’re 24 hours late.”
Williams credits her time with Seattle this summer in helping her recover mentally from her concussion and again later when she suffered a season-ending stress fracture in her foot in early August.
“I was sad for sure. I felt like I was just kind of getting back into rhythm, getting back into shape after being out (with her concussion),” she said. “… Just the fact that I was in this environment and just around my teammates and this staff and this organization, it helped a lot just mentally. So, mentally I’m doing a lot better than I thought I would, and I would say it’s thanks to me being here in Seattle.”
The forward played 10 games this season averaging 8.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 28.5 minutes per game for the Storm.
The summer in Seattle also marked the first time Williams got to reunite on the court with her former Husky teammate Kia Nurse.
“I love playing with Gabby,” Nurse said Monday. “We talked about going through a tough time (and) no better time to go through a tough time than when your best friend is there. So I very much appreciated having her this season.
“Gabby has been a huge part of my life. We grew up together in some of the most pivotal times in our years going through UConn. And so, I was so, so, so grateful. She is the truest form of a friend during the good and the bad.”
The 2023 season was Nurse’s first full season back playing in the WNBA after sitting out all of 2022 recovering from an ACL injury she suffered during the 2021 WNBA Playoffs.
She played in all 40 games for the Storm, starting 20 this season while averaging 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 19.7 minutes per game. Nurse said Monday, she’s excited to go into her first fully healthy offseason this winter and help Team Canada qualify for the Olympics.
“Everybody always says it takes two years for you to come back from an ACL to kind of feel normal and have your knee feel like yourself again,” Nurse said. “So October 6, I better feel like the best person in the entire world.”
Also, in Nurse’s offseason plans this winter is attending UConn’s homecoming game for current senior Aaliyah Edwards in Canada. The Huskies will be facing Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto on Dec. 20.
When Nurse was a senior in 2017-2018, UConn also made a homecoming trip up North for the Ontario native when it played Duquesne in Toronto on Dec. 22, 2017 (UConn won 104-52).
“That was something that was really exciting for me, and we sold it out,” Nurse said. “It was great. For the first time, you know, people were able to kind of see NCAA basketball really, on Canadian, I call it home soil, but on Canadian soil. … I’m glad UConn was able to do this for her, and I’m really just pumped for Aaliyah because she’s put a lot into her career at UConn and into her career with Canada basketball.”