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USA Today
8 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
How the Seattle Storm's Gabby Williams became an All-Star in her 7th season, what's next
INDIANAPOLIS — Staying put has helped Gabby Williams' game take off. The Seattle Storm forward is enjoying a breakout season, highlighted by her first All-Star appearance Saturday night. And she attributes it, in part, to being able to spend the entire season in Seattle. 'Me being here from day one of training camp has allowed me to just kind of get my rhythm a lot quicker, kind of establish my role,' Williams said. Williams is the cornerstone of France's national team, leading Les Bleues in scoring (15.5 points), assists (4.8) and steals (2.8) at last year's Paris Olympics. She was also France's second-best rebounder, with 4.7 boards a game. Williams had 19 points in the gold-medal game against the United States, nearly forcing overtime with a shot from just inside the 3-point line in the final second. Playing for France has meant Williams has missed large chunks of time in the WNBA, however. Last year, for example, she didn't join the Storm until the end of August. The Chicago Sky suspended her for the entire 2021 season because she wanted to play for France at the Tokyo Olympics. Williams has also played overseas in the offseason, which has caused her to miss time. A concussion while playing for French team ASVEL, for example, limited her to 10 games in 2023. 'I don't think I realized how difficult it had been until I came on time,' Williams said. 'The main thing was just being able to actually be home and move into my apartment vs. the lingering thought of, 'I have to pack a suitcase in two weeks.' I had just gotten used to it, so I didn't realize how hard it was.' That back and forth had already had Williams considering whether to play for France at this summer's EuroBasket tournament, a pre-qualifier for the Los Angeles Olympics that begins Aug. 27. But when Katie Lou Samuelson tore her ACL during the preseason, after the Storm had already lost Jordan Horston to an ACL tear in the offseason, Williams knew she couldn't leave. 'I definitely can't leave the team with nine active players,'' Williams said. 'France understood. I had been in communication with them … so when I did call to tell the coach that wasn't coming, he was like, 'OK, I kind of figured.'' Besides being in Seattle full-time, Williams said familiarity with coach Noelle Quinn's offense has also contributed to her stellar season. Rather than trying to find her groove in the system or play catchup, she could simply focus on what Quinn wanted her to do. 'Just being more aggressive on offense, just kind of establishing myself as a facilitator or a scorer,' Williams said. Williams has done that. And more. Her 13.2 points per game are third-best for the Storm, behind Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins, and are almost three points better than her previous best. She's also on track to have career highs in assists (4.4), steals (2.4) and blocks (0.5). Williams leads the Storm in minutes played, too, another sign she is indispensable. Despite her numbers, and her performance for France last summer, Williams said she'd never really considered herself as an All-Star. It wasn't until her teammates told her she was having an All-Star-caliber season that she thought it could be a possibility. Hearing that helped her confidence, Williams said. Even more so was the boost she got from being selected, because it was opposing coaches who picked the reserves. 'I never thought I would be respected enough,' Williams said. '(Being an All-Star), I finally felt like they actually are seeing what I'm doing, respecting what I'm doing. It feels good just to have that respect from everyone.' In yet another endorsement, Williams played more than 24 minutes Saturday night, second-most of any player on Team Clark. She finished with 16 points and five assists. The Storm finished the first half of the season at 14-9, the fourth-best record in the W behind the Minnesota Lynx, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury. They've beaten the Liberty twice, split their two games so far with Minnesota and taken two of the first three from the Mercury. But Seattle also has lost two of three to the Golden State Valkyries, and dropped a game to the Connecticut Sun. 'I do think we can compete with any team in this league. I just think we're just too inconsistent,' Williams said. 'We just have to prove that we can be the same team every single night in order to get people talking about us in those (contender) conversations.' It's a conversation Williams is very much here for. Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Emma Meesseman will join the Liberty in her return to the WNBA, AP source says
NEW YORK (AP) — Emma Meesseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP who last played in the league in 2022, is joining the New York Liberty, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Monday. The timing of the arrival of the 32-year-old from Belgium in the U.S. will be determined by how long it takes to get her visa, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made. ESPN first reported Meesseman's decision. The two-time All-Star, who helped the Washington Mystics win the 2019 title, has been focused on leading the Belgium national team since her last season in the WNBA, which she spent with the Chicago Sky. Meesseman played with Natasha Cloud, whom New York acquired in the offseason, in Washington when the Mystics won their championship six years ago. Meesseman helped Belgium win the EuroBasket title last month to qualify for next year's World Cup. She joins a stacked New York team with Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu that won its first championship last year. The 6-foot-4 forward also considered Minnesota and Phoenix. The Liberty currently sit second in the standings, 3 1/2 games behind the Lynx. Meesseman has dominated overseas in her time away from the WNBA. She was named the EuroBasket MVP twice in the past three years. And she helped Belgium reach the medal round at the Paris Olympics before it lost to France in overtime in the semifinals and then Australia in the bronze-medal game. ___
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Sport
- Winnipeg Free Press
Emma Meesseman will join the Liberty in her return to the WNBA, AP source says
NEW YORK (AP) — Emma Meesseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP who last played in the league in 2022, is joining the New York Liberty, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Monday. The timing of the arrival of the 32-year-old from Belgium in the U.S. will be determined by how long it takes to get her visa, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made. ESPN first reported Meesseman's decision. The two-time All-Star, who helped the Washington Mystics win the 2019 title, has been focused on leading the Belgium national team since her last season in the WNBA, which she spent with the Chicago Sky. Meesseman played with Natasha Cloud, whom New York acquired in the offseason, in Washington when the Mystics won their championship six years ago. Meesseman helped Belgium win the EuroBasket title last month to qualify for next year's World Cup. She joins a stacked New York team with Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu that won its first championship last year. The 6-foot-4 forward also considered Minnesota and Phoenix. The Liberty currently sit second in the standings, 3 1/2 games behind the Lynx. Meesseman has dominated overseas in her time away from the WNBA. She was named the EuroBasket MVP twice in the past three years. And she helped Belgium reach the medal round at the Paris Olympics before it lost to France in overtime in the semifinals and then Australia in the bronze-medal game. New York signed Australian forward Stephanie Talbot earlier Monday. She was waived by Golden State last week. ___ AP WNBA:
NBC Sports
a day ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Report: Emma Meesseman will join the Liberty in her return to the WNBA
NEW YORK — Emma Meesseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP who last played in the league in 2022, is joining the New York Liberty, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Monday. The timing of the arrival of the Belgium forward in the U.S. will be determined by how long it takes to get her visa, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made. ESPN first reported Meesseman's decision. The two-time All-Star, who helped the Washington Mystics win the 2019 title, has been focused on leading the Belgium national team since her last season in the WNBA, which she spent with the Chicago Sky. Meesseman helped Belgium win the EuroBasket title last month to qualify for next year's World Cup. She joins a stacked New York team with Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu that won its first championship last year.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Emma Meesseman will join the Liberty in her return to the WNBA, AP source says
NEW YORK (AP) — Emma Meesseman, the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP who last played in the league in 2022, is joining the New York Liberty, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press on Monday. The timing of the arrival of the Belgium forward in the U.S. will be determined by how long it takes to get her visa, according to the person who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no official announcement has been made. ESPN first reported Meesseman's decision. The two-time All-Star, who helped the Washington Mystics win the 2019 title, has been focused on leading the Belgium national team since her last season in the WNBA, which she spent with the Chicago Sky. Meesseman helped Belgium win the EuroBasket title last month to qualify for next year's World Cup. She joins a stacked New York team with Breanna Stewart, Jonquel Jones and Sabrina Ionescu that won its first championship last year. ___ AP WNBA:
