SAN FRANCISCO — If only the Sky had had a clearer vision for Gabby Williams.
When they drafted her out of UConn with the No. 4 overall pick in 2018, they weren’t exactly sure how to use her. Sometimes she played the four, sometimes the three. Sometimes she was a backup point guard, despite never having played the position before.
She told retired WNBA star Sue Bird on her podcast last year that, in those years, she felt like “the duct tape that closes the leaks.”
Now that she’s the engine of the Valkyries, her services are more than just leak closure. The offense relies desperately on her ability to scamper around and make jump shots. The defense feeds off her athleticism.
That led to a big problem Monday night during Game 2 of the WNBA Finals: Shots weren’t falling for Williams, who had four steals but finished with 14 points on 3-for-15 shooting. The Valkyries didn’t quite know where else to turn, eventually falling 79-65 to the Dream to even the best-of-seven series at one game apiece.
It was quite the opposite story for former Sky forward Angel Reese, who poured in 30 points and pulled down 16 rebounds for the Dream after struggling down the stretch in the series opener Saturday.
“For me, I think I let my team down last game, not really contributing as much as I could in the second half,” said Reese, who became the third player in WNBA history with at least 30 points and 15 rebounds in a Finals game, joining Jonquel Jones for the Sun in 2019 and Breanna Stewart for the Storm in 2020. “I just wanted to make sure I came out tonight and left my mark and did whatever I could to get the win, and I think I did that.”
Rhyne Howard set a Finals record with six steals, and fellow guard Allisha Gray added 18 points as the Dream won a Finals game for the first time after going 0-10 in their previous three trips.
The Valkyries will try to get the advantage back Wednesday in Atlanta, hoping for a stronger night from Williams, whose path to stardom has been unique because her confidence blossomed outside the WNBA. Playing overseas helped her find a role as a wing scorer and showed she could be a centerpiece, not just a complement.
She also was paid much better. Maximum contracts in the WNBA used to be capped at $250,000; elite players could earn far more internationally. As negotiations on a collective-bargaining agreement dragged on in 2025, most of the game’s biggest stars claimed the WNBA wasn’t paying them what they were worth. Williams had argued that for years.
Having been raised in part by her grandmother, who is French, Williams also prioritized her commitment to the French national team, helping to turn it into a powerhouse that almost beat Team USA in the 2026 FIBA World Cup championships and the 2024 Olympic gold-medal game. After the latter, Reese, then a Sky rookie, jokingly tweeted that Williams should come play for the Sky. But by that time, she’d had enough of Chicago. Not only was she discouraged by her limited role during her Sky days, but management hadn’t exactly given her a positive impression about its willingness to invest in the player experience.
There also had been miscommunication with the Sky’s front office surrounding Williams’ commitment to the French national team in 2021. Williams thought she’d reached an agreement with the Sky that she didn’t have to show up to training camp. Then, when she didn’t, the Sky suspended her contract and traded her to the Sparks.
“I think I was always like, ‘[The team] is my family,’ ” she said on Bird’s podcast. “Like, I eat lunch with them. You know, [former Sky general manager and coach James Wade’s] wife was French. We were hanging out all the time. [But] I was like, ‘These people are not your friends, Gabby. They’re not your family.’
“It forced me to change the way I think about these things and make better decisions for myself versus sacrificing my well-being, which I was doing before, to just be anything for the team. I was like, ‘You know what? I’m going to be selfish. Like, I’m going to make decisions for me now.’ ”
Her latest decision proved to be a good one. She signed a maximum contract worth $1.19 million with the Valkyries, a team that looks set up for success for years to come.
Contributing: AP