Seattle Storm wing Gabby Williams and rookie center Dominique Malonga will not play for the French national team during this summer’s EuroBasket tournament, they announced Sunday on social media.
Williams and Malonga were both part of the French team that reached the gold medal game of the Paris Olympics before losing to the United States 67-66. Williams, who was named to the tournament’s All-Star Five and Best Defensive Player, had 19 points and seven rebounds against Team USA. She made a shot at the buzzer with her foot on the 3-point line, leaving France one point shy of sending the final to overtime.
The Olympics were Malonga’s first major international tournament at age 18. She averaged 2.8 points and 2.0 rebounds off the bench, but Malonga — taken No. 2 overall by the Storm in last month’s WNBA draft — is considered a future building block for France.
“It was a difficult decision because the French jersey is very important for me,” Malonga said Monday. “I decided to stay here [with the Storm] because I think my rookie season is really important and I wanted to leave it all…
