Why isn’t Gabby Williams playing in the WNBA?
It’s a question that Williams has had to reckon with too many times over the past four years, and one that is once again at the forefront after the former UConn guard’s dominant showing at the Paris Olympics. As Williams debates a return to the league she has played 135 games in since 2018, the barriers to her re-entry raise important questions about player agency in the WNBA and what changes the players union should prioritize as they decide whether to opt out of the current collective bargaining agreement at the end of 2024.
Williams, who led France to a silver medal and averaged 15.5 points, 4.8 assists, and 2.8 steals per game during the Olympics, entered the 2024 WNBA offseason as an unrestricted free agent. She has been an ace perimeter defender throughout her professional career and has improved her ballhandling and shot creation while playing in Europe and could immediately step into a guard rotation for a contender.
But Williams has been an intermittent member of the WNBA since 2021. She couldn’t play that entire season and has dealt with prioritization challenges each of the last two years. The players union has a variety of priorities to address in a new CBA, including salaries, maternity protections (of particular…
