Gabby Williams recalls ‘tipping point’ that led to WNBA-altering Valkyries decision
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Gabby Williams recalls ‘tipping point’ that led to WNBA-altering Valkyries decision originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When she hit free agency last spring, Gabby Williams had one thing on her mind: she wanted to win a championship.
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But at first, the Golden State Valkyries weren't on her radar.
It's hard to imagine now, in the days since Williams led the Valkyries to their maiden WNBA title in the first Finals series ever to go seven games. Williams claimed Finals MVP after she dropped 30 points in Game 7 against the Atlanta Dream; of those 30 points, 28 came in the second half.
MORE: Gabby Williams, four other Valkyries discover Unrivaled fate as rosters revealed
It all could have been so different. As Williams revealed on Sue Bird's "Bird's Eye View" podcast this week, the Valkyries at first didn't meet her goal of chasing a ring in 2026.
But calls with Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase and team owner Joe Lacob changed Williams' mind, and she went on to enjoy the best year of her career.
"Mr. Joe definitely was the tipping point for me coming to Golden State," Williams told Bird.
Gabby Williams reveals she was 100% ring-chasing in free agency before Golden State owner Joe Lacob convinced her to sign by promising he never loses. "I mean, I was 100% ring-chasing in free agency, and I I'm like no one believes me, but if you were on those calls, if you talked and heard those conversations I had..." "Mr. Joe... he is a he definitely was the tipping point for me coming, um, to Golden State, and I was in traffic, he calls me, uh, while I'm in Turkey, and he was just like, there's no one who's ever going to do it. He's like, I never lose. I never lose." "And I was like, I don't, I don't know how we're going to do it, but this team is absolutely going to take me where I want to go. Like you said, I've never won in the W and I've kind of just had like the same disappointing endings over and over again."
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Williams recalled how Lacob told her "I never lose" during a phone call when Williams was in Turkey, as she pondered his next steps following her departure from the Seattle Storm.
Lacob's words again proved prophetic. Though the Valkyries teetered during the Finals, Williams led them back from a 2-1 deficit -- and a halftime deficit in Game 7 at home in San Francisco -- to deliver Golden State its fifth NBA/WNBA championship since 2015.
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