Gabby Williams, Breanna Stewart and Naphessa Collier were members of the unbeaten UConn women’s basketball 2016 national championship team.
“I’m incredibly excited to announce that I’ll be playing in Unrivaled next season,” Williams said in a statement after she signed a multi-year contract. “The opportunity to compete alongside some of the best players in the world, continue growing my game, and be part of something that is pushing women’s basketball forward is truly special. Can’t wait to get started. See you soon, Unrivaled!”
Williams, a member of the WNBA’s Golden State Valkyries, will join a team to be determined for Unrivaled’s third season this winter. She joins Minnesota Lynx rookie guard Olivia Miles as Unrivaled’s newest members.
A native of Sparks, Nev., Williams was a McDonald’s High School All-American basketball player and was an alternate for the 2012 United States Olympic team before arriving in Storrs in 2014.
She won two national championships with the Huskies (2015, 2016) and was a two-time All-American (2017, 2018). Though she played out of position at power forward for almost all her college career, the 5-foot-11 Williams was the national Defensive Player of the Year in 2017 and is one of nine Huskies (a group that includes Stewart and Collier) in their 1,000/1,000 club, finishing with 1,582 points and 1,007 rebounds while adding 305 steals. She owns one of the five triple-doubles in Huskies’ history when she had 16 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in a win at East Carolina on Jan. 24, 2017.
UConn was 148-3 (.980) in her four seasons with all three losses in overtime. She played in 149 consecutive games after sitting out (coach’s decision) a loss at Stanford the second game of her freshman year.
She was the No. 4 overall selection in the 2018 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky. After three seasons in Chicago, she was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks in 2021 but did not play due to overseas commitments. She was traded to Seattle a year later and spent four seasons with the Storm, becoming a two-time member of the WNBA all-defensive team and a first-team All-Star in 2025.
On April 12, she signed a multi-year contract with Golden State and has helped the Valkyries to a 10-5 start by averaging 16.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists. She had 25 points in a win over the Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and the Dallas Wings Wednesday night.
On the international scene, she is a two-time Olympian and led France to a bronze medal in 2021 in Tokyo and a silver medal in 2024. She was named to the 2024 All-Star Five. Against the United States in the gold-medal game with France down by three points, Williams hit a jump shot at the buzzer but her toe was on the arc leaving the host team a point short.
In EuroLeague play, she is the reigning two-time Defensive Player of the Year with Fenerbahçe and won her second career EuroLeague championship in the spring.
Williams and the Valkyries will be in Connecticut to take on the Sun July 10 and Aug. 26 at Mohegan Sun Arena.