Gabby Williams' Bay Area return gives Valkyries their missing piece

SAN FRANCISCO - Gabby Williams walked to the podium inside the Bill King interview room at Chase Center with a smile.

The grin lingered through every answer, every glance around the room, as if the distance between where she's been and where she always felt tied to was finally wiped away.

For Williams, this wasn't just another stop in a professional career. It felt like returning to something unfinished.

"It just felt like a perfect full-circle moment," Williams said. "I grew up here, spent all the AAU years here. I’m from Reno, which is just right over the mountain. I grew up in Alameda, played for the Bay Area Bulldogs and played for the Mission Rec Center Rebels."

The Valkyries didn't just add a versatile, high-motor defender in Williams - they tapped into something deeper.

That familiarity, she said, made the decision feel instinctive. As the Valkyries look to build an identity in Year 2, Williams arrives not just as a key piece on the floor, but as someone who already understands the heartbeat of the place she now represents.

"Just knowing what women’s basketball means to the Bay Area, and what it has meant here for decades, I know up close and personal exactly just what it means to be a female athlete here," Williams said. "That definitely played into my decision as well."

While the Valkyries prioritized continuity and familiarity this offseason, it was clear Golden State needed a star going into its second season.

As the first few days of free agency went by, the Valkyries were quiet as players like Satou Sabally and Nneka Ogwumike signed elsewhere.

As the Valkyries pursued Williams, the 2025 All-Star wasn't just looking at Golden State as a potential new home. According to reports from ESPN, Williams was also entertaining offers from the Minnesota Lynx and the defending champion Las Vegas Aces.

But even as the stakes increased, Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase had a feeling Williams would eventually pick Golden State the night before she eventually made the news official.

"I told Ohemaa (Nyanin), ‘Yo, I’m gonna break out my Caymus.' And it was not a regular Caymus bottle, it was a double bottle," Nakase said. "Ohemma asked, ‘why are you breaking it out now?' and I just said I have a good feeling."

Nakase's intuition turned out to be on point.

Williams made the signing official on April 12, leaving the Seattle Storm after three years to join the Valkyries for their second season of existence.

More than anything, Williams said she was intrigued about the way Golden State played last season and the energy brought to the arena each night. She got to see that as both an opponent and as a fan when she watched her partner, Marine Johannes of the New York Liberty, play the Valkyries.

"Seeing the way that the team played together last year was really, really impressive," Williams said. "It felt like a system that I would play well in. A bit European, very tactical. The ball moves everybody, everybody eats kind of thing, and that’s just kind of the kind of basketball I want to play.

"I remember it being really, really hard to play here as an opponent. I also came to a game last year as a fan. I was watching my partner play and seeing the experience … was so cool. This is what creates dynasties. I think having a franchise that thinks about every detail like that, every nook and cranny to make the experience better for everybody."

With Williams' signing, the Valkyries instantly became one of the best defenses in the league. Golden State finished third in defensive rating, allowing the fewest points per game. The Connecticut alum averaged a career-high 11.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game last season while earning her first All-Star nod and all-defensive first-team honors.

Alongside solid 3-and-D players like Veronica Burton and Kayla Thornton, Williams adds to a team that has the defensive versatility to make any game tough for their opponents.

"Her length and athleticism is really evident every single time you play her," Burton said. "All of our defense is a priority, but I think between me, her and KT – I think just the ability to play off of each other and give each other some rest every now and then will be huge."

If the Valkyries spent last season proving they could compete, this move felt like a declaration they intend to dictate.

Williams doesn't arrive needing to be convinced of what this can become. She's seen it, felt it and, in some ways, grown up around the edges of it. Now she steps into it with expectations that match the moment - not just to defend, not just to fit, but to help elevate.

And as the press conference wound down, that smile never really left.

For Williams, the journey back to the Bay is about timing.

The player she's become has finally met the place that always felt like home.

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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 5:25 PM.