Who is Gabby Williams? Meet France PF ahead of Olympics women's basketball gold medal showdown against USA
Gabby Williams is an American-French professional basketball player and is currently representing Team France as a power forward in the women's basketball event of the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 5-foot-11 power forward has been one of the key catalysts for the host team's Olympic campaign as it faces Team USA on Sunday for the gold medal showdown.
Gabby was born to Matthew and Therese Williams on Sept. 9, 1996, in Nevada. Though she was born and raised in the U.S., Gabby was eligible to represent France as her mother is French and she also has extended family living in France. She previously represented the French team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021 due to COVID-19), bagging the bronze medal.
Gabby Williams was a star basketball player, as well as an accomplished multi-event track and field athlete during her high school years representing Edward C. Reed High School in Sparks, Nevada. She is a two-time winner of the Nevada Gatorade Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year in 2011 and 2012, winning the honor for the first time while still a freshman in high school.
Williams played college basketball at the University of Connecticut and helped the UConn Huskies achieve a 148-3 record over her four-year career. Her run with the school included four Final Four appearances and back-to-back national championships in 2015 and 2016.
The UConn star was drafted fourth overall by the Chicago Sky in the 2018 WNBA draft. She played three and a half seasons with the Sky before being traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in 2022.
Before trading her, the Sky had reportedly suspended Williams after she decided to commit to the French national team for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, which interfered with her ability to show up at their training camp during the Olympic break.
Since then, Williams played two seasons with the Sparks before being acquired by the Seattle Storm in February 2022. She will suit up for the Storm as the second half of the 2024 WNBA starts after the conclusion of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Apart from her WNBA career, Gabby Willaims has also played in various international tournaments.
Before her Olympic debut with France at the Tokyo Olympics, Williams helped the French team win silver in the 2021 Eurobasket tournament. She won the 2021-22 EuroLeague championship with Sopron Basket and was named the Final Four MVP. She also won the Eurocup and the French championship in 2023 with LDLC ASVEL.
How is Gabby Williams faring at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Gabby Williams has put up terrific performances and has led the French team's effort for the majority of the games as it will face Team USA for the finals of the 2024 Paris Olympics on Sunday.
Ahead of the upcoming matchup, Williams has averaged 14.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.8 steals in France's five Olympic games while shooting 49.2% from the field. While she already has an Olympic bronze and is also etched for a higher color medal in the Paris games, Gabby Williams will look to clinch the gold with her home crowd cheering the French team on.