France Olympics star Gabby Williams insisted “America is not the whole world” as she criticized the WNBA ’s prioritization rule after returning to the Seattle Storm .
With France hosting this year's Olympics , Williams - a two-time national champion at UConn - opted to sit out the opening portion of the WNBA schedule to prepare with the national team. She led France with 15.5 points and 5.8 assists per game, securing All-Star Five honors and Best Defensive Player.
Williams also tallied 19 points and seven rebounds in the final. However, her epic three at the buzzer came with one foot on the 3-point line as Team USA clinched gold with a 67-66 win.
Under the WNBA's new prioritization rules, which are part of its 2020 CBA, Williams - a restricted free agent at the time - needed to complete any offseason play before the WNBA's opening day, or else she would be considered ineligible. Many WNBA players compete overseas during the league's offseason to supplement their income and maintain high-level performance.
Originally acquired by the Storm in a 2022 trade with the Los Angeles Sparks , Williams started all 36 games that season, averaging 7.5 points and 5.0 rebounds as she earned All-Defensive second-team honors. In 10 games during 2023, including eight starts, Williams upped her scoring to 8.4 points per game and handed out a career-high 3.8 assists per game.
Thanks to a series of seven-day contracts for guard Kiana Williams, Seattle was able to keep a roster spot open and create enough cap space to sign Williams for the rest of the season on Tuesday. After re-signing with the Storm, the Olympic silver medalist once again took aim at the WNBA prioritization rule which she has previously labeled “ridiculous” .
“Well, we know it’s a select amount of owners,” Williams told reporters of the rule. “We can guess who those owners are. I could say their names, but I’ll be classy. I’ve said this before: it shouldn’t be a blanket rule. I don’t understand.
Follow us on X for the best and latest in sports news
“I understand the want to have players here, and I think prioritization has to go hand-in-hand with the money that we’re making as well. But yeah, I don’t think it should be a blanket rule. I think if a team can handle it, they can handle it. If not, don’t sign European players or players who play in Europe.
“America is not the entire world. I know there’s some people in a certain place that need to hear that, but yes, America is not the whole world.”
Remarkably, Williams would not have been able to appear in the WNBA this season had it not been for a concussion she suffered during the French league semifinals, which led her to suspend her ASVEL contract before the WNBA's May 19 deadline. Regardless, she is pleased to return to Seattle.
“It's been a conversation [for] a whole year now,” Williams said after re-signing. “The deciding factor was as long as I felt healthy mentally and physically, I would finish the season with Seattle. Physically, I feel healthy. I feel good. I took about a week mentally after the Olympics.”
She added: “This feels like home. It's a system I'm familiar with, a staff I'm familiar with, players I'm familiar with. But it does feel very different. Today was fun. I had fun at practice today just playing with such intelligent players and good people. I love the culture we have here.”
Local News
Comments / 0