Olympic medalist Gabby Williams re-signs with Storm for playoff push

Olympic silver medalist and WNBA free agent Gabby Williams signed a rest-of-season contract with the Seattle Storm as they battle for top-four positioning in the WNBA playoffs, the team announced on Tuesday. Williams, a former UConn star who played for France and nearly sent the gold medal game to overtime against Team USA, was named the Olympics' best defensive player and named to the All-Star Five.

Williams played for the Storm in 2022 and part of 2023, but opted to remain with her French national team in the lead-up to the Olympics this spring. She is the face of the prioritization clause in the WNBA, a controversial part of the collective bargaining agreement that suspends players who do not arrive to training camp on time. Many WNBA players still spend their offseasons playing on clubs overseas, where playoffs can bleed into the WNBA season.

The 5-foot-11 forward was able to sign with a team this season despite missing training camp because she was a free agent who finished her offseason playing obligations before the start of the WNBA regular season. Williams played in the French league, which usually extends past the start of the W season. This year, the league scheduled its season to end earlier for players to get ready for the Paris Olympics.

Though the signing happened to fall on trade deadline day, teams can sign free agents until the final day of the regular season at a pro-rated minimum. Williams, who played in Chicago from 2018-2020, signed a pro-rated vet minimum for the final month of the season. Seattle had $24,195 in cap space, per Her Hoop Stats, and had to wait until Tuesday to sign Williams at $23,491.

The Storm (17-10) went 0-2 in the first weekend after the WNBA's All-Star/Olympic break. It dropped them out of fourth in the race for hosting duties. Seattle finishes its three-game road trip at Washington on Tuesday. Williams will rejoin the team in Seattle next week, the team said in a release. The Storm host the Mystics on Monday, the Dream on Wednesday and the league-leading Liberty on Friday.

What Williams brings to Seattle

Williams is one of the league's best defenders and will join one of the league's best defenses backstopped by rim protector Ezi Magbegor. She'll be playing alongside Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith for the first time after the former All-WNBA stars signed with the Storm in free agency.

Yet, she's familiar playing alongside Magbegor and Jewell Loyd, the league's leading scorer last season, as well as playing in head coach Noelle Quinn's system. That's a massive plus this late in the season with about 13 games remaining. Those four are all averaging more than 31 minutes per game with few consistent contributions off the bench.

The Storm's strength of schedule ranks seventh of 12 teams with two games against New York and two against Connecticut still remaining. The Storm's defense already hit snags by allowing the Indiana Fever to drain 15 3s while shooting 48.4% from beyond the arc in Sunday's loss. Atlanta guards combined to score 29 and wing Rhyne Howard dropped 30 in the Dream's buzzer-beater victory over Seattle on Friday.

“We’re thrilled to have Gabby back with the Storm,” Quinn said in a team release. “Gabby is a dynamic player who brings tremendous versatility. She’s a two-way player that can guard multiple positions and has a strong offensive game; given her familiarity with our system, we know she can have an immediate impact. Gabby’s Olympic performance showcased her world-class talent, and we’re excited to have her join us as we push for the playoffs.”

Williams averaged 7.5 points, five rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game in 2022. She started all 36 games and shot a career-best 44.4% from the field. She was named to the all-defensive team. The prioritization clause went into full effect that offseason and Williams did not re-sign anywhere. She was able to play for Seattle late last year after a concussion sustained playing in France ended her season there early. The team released her, and since her offseason obligations ended before the start of the WNBA season, she was available.

At the Paris Olympics, she averaged 15.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.8 steals over six games for France. She scored 19 in the gold medal game against Team USA.

WNBA trade deadline moves

The hard salary cap makes midseason trades rare in the WNBA. If any, there is usually a small one made for draft picks or equal salary. (The Marina Mabrey move from Chicago to Connecticut, which the guard requested, is an anomaly.)

The Mystics are looking for draft capital as the next two WNBA Drafts, led by No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers in 2025, are expected to be flush with talent. Washington made two separate moves on Tuesday.

Washington acquired a second-round pick in the 2026 Draft as well as guard Olivia Époupa and forward Sika Koné in a trade with Minnesota. The team waived Époupa and guard DiDi Richards to make the numbers work.

Minnesota acquired 2019 WNBA champion Myisha Hines-Allen from the Mystics to add depth at the forward position. The Lynx (19-8) rode strong defense and 3-point shooting to a Commissioner's Cup victory over the New York Liberty and are chasing the Sun (19-7) for the No. 2 overall seed. Hines-Allen is averaging 8 points, 4.9 rebounds and a career-high 2.7 assists for a Mystics team in rebuild mode after losing fellow 2019 victors Elena Delle Donne and Natasha Cloud.

Later in the day, the Mystics acquired guard Sug Sutton and a 2025 third-round pick from Phoenix. Sutton, the Ms. Irrelevant of the 2020 Draft selected by the Mystics, worked her way onto the Mercury roster for extended minutes last season. Phoenix acquired the rights to Klara Lundquist, a 5-8 guard from Sweden. Lundquist, 24, signed training camp contracts with the Mystics in 2021 and 2022, but never played in the WNBA. She is slated to play for Spar Girona in Spain's Liga Femenina this winter and has played in the Sweden national team pool since 2016