Minnesota Lynx star Courtney Williams nearly had very different career

Minnesota Lynx WNBA star Courtney Williams almost had a very different career after having only one offer out of high school, which forced her to consider joining the military .

The guard, 30, is competing in the WNBA Finals as a key part of the Lynx roster taking on the New York Liberty , who they defeated 95-93 in overtime in Game 1 on Thursday. Williams is a WNBA veteran, having played for five other franchises, and three overseas.

Williams' career has come with its fair share of trials and tribulations, and as her high school career was nearing an end, she only had one offer. According to ESPN's Andscape , Williams was deciding what branch of the military she was going to enter until USF (University of South Florida) gave her a scholarship.

Williams has played a key part in the Lynx 's 2024 WNBA campaign. She helped them top the Western Conference and then reach the WNBA Finals. In Game 1 against the Liberty, Williams scored a team-high 23 points, as well as an incredibly clutch four-point play.

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"She wouldn't believe it," Williams told Andscape when asked about her journey from weighing up a career in the military to the WNBA Finals. Williams was a reliable three-point shooter on the night, and her team kept feeding her the ball.

“We have so many great 3-point shooters, and the fact that these girls are out here trying to get me the ball, I mean, I could cry,” Williams said. “This is amazing. I love it.”

Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve also hailed Williams, who has had a massive impact on the Minnesota roster since joining in the last offseason. “If you’re around Courtney, she lights up a room when she walks in,” Reeve said. “She’s easygoing. She is who she is, and it’s direct and authentic and all those things. And so she literally can fit anywhere.”

Reeve added: "Courtney recognized that she had to get more aggressive. Her team needed her to be aggressive, to go score the basketball. We needed some help.”

The Lynx will remain in New York with Game 2 at the Barclays Center scheduled for Sunday afternoon. It's not Williams' first time in the WNBA Finals, having got there with the Connecticut Sun in 2019. Williams says she was just a kid back then, and five years on she knows what to expect.

"I was a kid, I didn’t even know what to expect. I’m going crazy like we ain’t got a whole nother round. It’s crazy now because now when I look back on it, I’m like, girl, you should have locked in, y’all had a whole nother series," Williams said. She added: "I feel so different. I’m 30 now, so I’m definitely ready for the moment. I’m excited for it. I understand what it takes. So it definitely feels different. I think I’m a lot more prepared.”