The United States women’s basketball team defeated France in Sunday’s 2024 Paris Olympics gold medal game. It was not an easy game for Team USA who narrowly escaped with a 67-66 victory.
France was led by former WNBA forward Gabby Williams who finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and three steals in the close loss. Williams last played in the WNBA for the Seattle Storm, appearing in 10 games for them last season.
Williams began her WNBA career with the Chicago Sky who selected her fourth-overall in the 2018 WNBA draft. Wanting her back in Chicago, rookie forward Angel Reese recruited Williams after the gold medal game:
Following Williams’ performance in the gold medal game, several fans and media members expressed that she should be in the WNBA.
“The Olympics is making it plenty clear there needs to be a solution that makes it easier for players like Gabby Williams and Emma Meesseman to play in the WNBA,” ESPN’s Alexa Philippou wrote.
There were many posts like this following the gold medal game, with basketball fans wondering why a player of Williams’ caliber is not in the WNBA.
Amid these posts, reporter Rob Knox shared his 2023 interview with Williams for The Next.
“I would love to be in the WNBA because it’s the best league in the world for women’s basketball, the most competitive, the highest skill level, and it’s not even close,” Williams told The Next in 2023. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t pay the most. So I am happy to have other options to provide for me and my family.”
If Williams does decide to resume her WNBA career, it sounds like she has a spot in Chicago where it all started.
