Why doesn't Gabby Williams play in the WNBA?
It's a question Williams has had to consider many times over the past four years and one that came to the forefront again following the former University of Connecticut guard's dominating performance at the Paris Olympics. As Williams discusses returning to the league where she has played 135 games since 2018, the obstacles preventing her return raise important questions about player agency in the WNBA and what reforms the players' union should prioritize as it decides 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 at the Olympics, is available as an unrestricted free agent in the 2024 WNBA offseason. An ace perimeter defender throughout her pro career, she has improved her ball-handling and shot-creation while playing in Europe and could quickly slot into the guard rotation on a championship-contender team.
But Williams has been an on-and-off member of the WNBA since 2021. She was unable to play that entire season and has dealt with prioritization challenges each of the past two years. The players' union has a variety of priorities to address in the new CBA, including pay, maternity protections (especially important after the Dearrica Hamby lawsuit) and revenue sharing. Williams' experience also highlights the agency and autonomy of players and the freedom they have gained after helping to build the league.
The Best of Xi'an 👑
Gabby Williams helps France🇫🇷 continue winning streak #FIBAOQT In Xian, he averaged 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 steals and 19.3 mph, earning him the Tissot MVP award. pic.twitter.com/UALfRCwPCe
— FIBA ​​(@FIBA) February 12, 2024
During the 2024 offseason, Williams chose to spend the first half of the season preparing for the Olympics instead of signing with a team. She maintains her free agent status and is not bound by the WNBA priority clause, as she finished her European club season by May 1. The clause requires players who play international games to report at the start of the WNBA calendar (even if their overseas teams are still playing games) or face a season suspension. She could also choose to play the rest of the season in the United States if the team has the roster spot and cap space. The WNBA trade deadline is Tuesday, but Williams would be the most impactful addition a team could acquire before the end of the regular season.
However, Rachel Galligan of X first reported the AthleticWilliams is considering whether to return to the WNBA this season, considering how the decision would affect her options for 2025. If Williams chooses to leave the WNBA in 2024 (she's already under contract to play for Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahce in the 2024-25 season), she would again become an unrestricted free agent in the 2025 offseason and have full control over where she plays in the league next year. But if she were to sign for the remainder of this season, that team would have the opportunity to keep Williams in their core and would hold exclusive negotiating rights for 2025.
WNBA teams have the opportunity to designate a free agent as a core player during the offseason, after which the player may negotiate exclusively with that team as a free agent and will be guaranteed a one-year supermax contract unless the two parties agree to a contract or trade on different terms.
The purpose of the core clause was to give teams the ability to protect their investment in players. After drafting, developing and investing in a player, the core clause gives franchises another mechanism to keep top talent in-house. But it also, by definition, reduces a player's freedom, which has been the story of Williams' WNBA career.
In 2021, Williams was scheduled to miss part of the season to play for France at EuroBasket and the Tokyo Olympics. She expected to be able to return to the United States after her international commitments were over, but the Chicago Sky suspended her for the entire season, meaning she was not paid her WNBA contract salary. In 2023, due to a priority clause, Williams was unable to play for the Seattle Storm as their season in France ended after the start of the WNBA calendar. Her ability to play for the Storm was due to an unexpected coincidence: she suffered a concussion in France, which caused her European season to end earlier than planned, allowing her to play for Seattle.
Going deeper
Why is Gabby Williams the first test case for the WNBA's prioritization rules?
Now Williams feels her autonomy is threatened by another provision in the CBA, the “core.”
Williams' case challenges the theory of the core clause. She is not a franchise player. If she were to return to the WNBA, it would be to a team that didn't draft her and didn't give her marketing dollars because she's always overseas during the offseason. The team's only investment in her would be about $20,000 for the 12 or so regular-season games that close the season. And for that limited time, the team would have control over where she plays in 2025.
Though the WNBA has grown in size and revenue, the CBA still exists to protect the interests of teams, not players. Mechanisms like restricted free agency, hard caps and cores stifle the market for players and reduce players' ability to seek the situation they want.
As a result, players are forced to make tough decisions that often discourage them from joining the WNBA. Prioritization forces them to choose between playing overseas or in the U.S., with overseas contracts often outweighing what the best players can make in the U.S. Elena Delle Donne was scouted by the Washington Mystics this offseason, and the veteran is now sitting out despite reportedly wanting to play elsewhere. As such, the WNBA is missing out on the two-time MVP winner's final healthy season.
Williams could stay in France and bask in the glory of her silver medal for a month before reporting to Turkey. But her decision to help a team in pursuit of a WNBA title would hold her back and once again put her WNBA career in the hands of an outsider. Professional experience should come first for players, not force them to rely on the promises and goodwill of an organization. The reason Williams won't play in the WNBA is because she wants control over her career, not the league's CBA, which wants to control her.
(Photo by Jean Katuf/Getty Images)
