French star Gabby Williams shone on a global platform after almost forcing overtime in the gold medal game against the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. This has led to speculation regarding her possible comeback to the WNBA.
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Williams is back in the W, right?
The native of Nevada, Williams competed for her mother Thérèse’s native France in her second Olympics, which was an international competition. Throughout six games, Gabby averaged 15.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 4.7 rebounds to win silver.
After putting on an incredible show for the entire world to see, there has been conjecture about whether she will choose to sign with a WNBA team or remain in Europe. Williams was moved to the Sparks and then acquired by the Seattle Storm in 2022 after being originally chosen by the Chicago Sky with the fourth overall choice in the 2018 WNBA Draft.
After two seasons (2022-23) with the Storm, the UConn product left in 2023 to go overseas to play in France for ASVEL. As recently as last month, she just recently signed with the Turkish team Fenerbahçe.
Despite all of this, Winsidr analyst Rachel Galligan reported that there is a legitimate chance she could end up back in the WNBA and the Phoenix Mercury is one of the teams to watch.
“Gabby Williams is weighing her WNBA options but is also considering remaining in France for the rest of the summer to rest and capitalize around her momentum, sources tell Winsidr,” Galligan said on X/Twitter. “Her decision will likely come down to whether she will be cored or not. A central issue will be the team’s commitment to NOT core her. Teams in play are the Seattle Storm, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury.”
Galligan continued by saying that Williams would become an unrestricted free agent if she stayed in France for the remainder of the 2024 campaign.
Is there a way to go Mercury?
Looking back in the past at what she did in the WNBA, there are reasons why signing Williams would make sense for a team like the Mercury who is trying to add more talent before the playoffs.
A potential contract for her would be prorated due to the regular season being more than halfway over. She is fresh off of winning the EuroCup with ASVEL, an in-season tournament against the best teams in Europe. When she was in the WNBA, Williams averaged 8.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 135 games (80 starts).
