After shining at Paris Olympics, how UConn's Gabby Williams could return to the WNBA in 2024

HARTFORD, Conn. — Former UConn women’s basketball star Gabby Williams was a single step away from one of the most clutch plays in Olympic history in the gold-medal game at the Paris Games on Sunday.

Williams, who grew up in Nevada, is a French dual citizen and has long represented her mother’s home country in international basketball — including at the Tokyo Olympics where she helped France to a bronze medal. She was the home team’s superstar throughout the 2024 Games, averaging 15.5 points, 4.8 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 steals, leading Les Bleues to their first appearance in an Olympic final since 2012.

The French mounted a remarkable effort as massive underdogs against Team USA in the gold-medal game. The Americans hadn’t lost in Olympic play since 1992 and dominated nearly every team they saw en route to the 2024 final. But with a single second left in Sunday’s game, France trailed just 67-64 and Williams launched what could have been the game-tying shot as the clock hit zero.

The ball dropped through the net, but as former UConn teammate Breanna Stewart pointed two fingers towards the floor, the arena realized what Williams had known as soon as she released the shot: Her foot was on the 3-point line, making the buzzer beater worth two points. Team USA escaped with its eighth consecutive gold medal, 67-66.

“I knew it was a two-pointer straight away,” Williams said postgame. “I don’t think we should hold our heads down. There’s a little bit of disappointment, but once that pill has been swallowed we can celebrate the silver. What we’ve done is inspirational.”

Despite the heartbreaking final moment, Williams finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists, earning a place on the Olympic All-Star Five in addition to her silver medal. She also left women’s basketball fans stateside clamoring to see her back in the WNBA, where she hasn’t played a complete season since 2022.

After two national championships and two All-American selections at UConn from 2014-2018, Williams was selected No. 4 overall in the 2018 WNBA draft by the Chicago Sky. She played three full seasons with Chicago but had a falling out with the organization’s previous leadership after she prioritized playing for France at the Tokyo Olympics over the WNBA season in 2021. The Sky suspended Williams for that season, then traded her to the Los Angeles Sparks, where she never appeared before L.A. traded her to the Seattle Storm.

Williams had a career season with the Storm in 2022, averaging 7.5 points, 5 rebounds and 3.1 assists. She started all 36 games and was an All-Defensive Team selection, helping the Storm to the WNBA semifinals. She also briefly played with Seattle in 2023 after she suffered a concussion and was released by her former French professional team ASVEL. She averaged 8.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.8 assists but appeared in just 10 games before her season was ended by a stress fracture in her left foot.

Williams said after last season that she didn’t expect to return to the WNBA in 2024 in part because her national team commitments wouldn’t allow her to join the league until after the Olympics. Excluding national team play, the WNBA collective bargaining agreement requires that all players with more than two years of experience prioritize their WNBA commitments over any international leagues they play in, which is why the former UConn standout originally planned to remain overseas before her concussion in 2023.

However, Williams is not subject to prioritization rules for the remainder of this year because she finished her season with Fenerbahce in the EuroLeague before the WNBA’s reporting deadline of May 1, so a team with a strong offer could potentially entice the free agent back into the league.

Rookie superstar Angel Reese tried to recruit Williams back to Chicago with a post on X after her performance against Team USA, though Williams was clear that she has no interest in returning to the franchise. The Storm could certainly be a contender to bring back their former starter on a rest-of-season contract with their limited cap space, especially as the team looks to make a postseason push behind its brand-new superstar trio of Jewell Loyd, Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith.

The New York Liberty are another ‘super team’ with something to prove in the second half of the season after losing to the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA Finals last year. New York technically has a full 12-player roster, but rookie Jaylyn Sherrod is only on a seven-day contract and has been a limited contributor since rejoining the team July 6. If Sherrod’s contract is not renewed, it would create space for Williams to provide the Liberty a critical X-factor off the bench.

The Phoenix Mercury would also need to open up a roster spot for Williams, but the versatile wing makes perfect sense for their system alongside Team USA’s breakout star Kahleah Copper. Despite finishing the first half of the 2024 season barely above .500, Phoenix has three U.S. Olympians on its roster, including UConn legend Diana Taurasi, and could easily put the pieces together to make an underdog playoff run. The Mercury thrive on 3-point shooting and high-speed transition play, both areas where Williams can contribute immediately with limited time to learn an offensive system.