The Seattle Storm threw everything the team had at veteran forward Gabby Williams during the offseason, and so far, Williams is more than meeting that energy. There's still plenty of weeks left in the season, but so far Williams is having her more historic run yet and averaging 15.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.8 blocks — which is extremely close to Tamika Catchings' 2007 average of 15 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block, and Catchings is the only player in league history to do it.
Williams is shining the brightest offensively, where she is shooting 51.5% on field goals, 48.9% on 3-pointers, and 81.8% on free throws. She's doing all this while also guarding some of the top scorers in the league, running both ends of the floor.
Gabby Williams' history in the WNBA
Williams as drafted as the No. 4 overall pick by the Sky in the 2018 WNBA Draft. She was traded to the Sparks in 2021 but ultimately took the year off to focus on the Olympics, and she joined the Storm the following year. Williams is also a French champion, and played on the country's silver medal-winning team in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
In addition to her WNBA accolades, Williams earned the EuroLeague Final Four MVP award in 2022, the EuroLeague Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021, and All-EuroLeague honors in both 2021 and 2022.
Gabby Williams has been critical of the WNBA
Though Williams has been an important part of the Storm since she joined the team, it wasn't always clear she would return in 2025 — or even that she would join the team in 2024 after the Games. After France's silver medal finish, Williams contemplated staying in the country to rest. She ultimately opted to return to the WNBA, but in September of last year made waves again when she called out the league's salaries.
"The W thinks that they don’t have to pay us more in order to be here, and I think I didn’t express that when I first talked about prioritization," she told reporters at the time. "Our commissioner talked about us being able to make $700,000. That’s actually not true at all. There’s not one player who makes that."
Williams added that the true salary of the WNBA (she was paid $23,491 for her month with the Storm after the Olympics) wasn't compeititive when compared to what she and others could earn in Europe. "The WNBA, you know, if you want us to be here, you have to pay us more. It’s business, it’s how it works," she added.
She's also been an outspoken critic of the league's prioritization rule, which requires athletes to put the WNBA ahead of any other commitments. Williams also noted that while she understands why the rule exists, she doesn't believe it's fair. "I don’t think it should be a blanket rule. If a team can handle it, they can handle it. If not, don’t sign European players, or players who play in Europe," she explained. "America is not the entire world."