Gabby Williams needed a team to have faith in her. Now, she’s given Valkyries reason to believe
· Yahoo Sports
SAN FRANCISCO — The 17 minutes of action for Gabby Williams could only be described as rough. She missed seven of her eight shots. Her rhythm and energy seemed impacted by the anxiousness sweeping through Chase Center.
But Valkyries wing Kaila Charles, the do-it-all reserve, stayed in Williams’ ear.
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“I just kept telling her,” Charles said, “like, ‘Girl, you’re the best f— player on this court. In the league. Do what you do.”
In hindsight, the ensuing turn up by Williams was inevitable. She’s shown it all season. Her alpha dog talent. Her diverse impact on the court. Her fearlessness in the clutch. And the entirety of Valkyries’ culture invested in hoisting her on their pedestal.
So they were validated when she scored 17 points over the final 13 minutes of the game, including three massive 3-pointers that shook Dallas, and four clutch free throws to seal No. 2 Golden State’s 77-73 win over the No. 7 Wings in the decisive Game 3 of the first round to advance to the semifinals.
“OK, she didn’t have the best start,” Charles continued. “But for her, to take those shots, hit those shots, get those stops, hit those touch free throws at the end. That just shows the type of player she is. And I so hope everybody can recognize her. I’m so glad she’s getting her flowers. She’s only going to be up from here. She is honestly the GOAT. I f—ing love her.”
Charles eyes divert. The smile streaked across her face spreads even wider.
“I’m sorry. I really want to say hello to E40,” she said before darting off to the hip-hop legend.
That kind of night in Balhalla. A reminder that Bay Area history was made Friday. The Valkyries’ first playoff series win happened in front of Too $hort and Star Wars creator George Lucas, with Sage the Gemini performing at halftime. A fitting atmosphere for Williams, an East Bay native who, after Game 1, asked the sea of violet in Chase Center, “What’s my favorite word?” in honor of her favorite rapper growing up.
This place is home for more reasons than just her local ties. But because it is where she flourished in a way she’d never been allowed. If home is where the heart is, Williams’ is now purple.
“I came here just because I just wanted someone to believe in me,” Williams said. “That’s really it — in the league, at least. … I never quite got that belief in the W from the staff or from teammates.”
The regular season feels like a massage compared to the smothering intensity of the postseason, especially for the favorites. The pressure gets heavier. The mind races faster. Familiarity demands increased intensity and execution.
The championship banner Golden State expects, the one owner Joe Lacob decreed by 2030 when the team was formed just two years ago through league expansion, required the Valkyries experiencing games like this. When angst threatens to swallow humans whole. When the room for error shrinks to microscopic. When great separates from good.
And for that, the Valkyries brought in Williams.
The eighth-year vet came to Golden State for the larger role, more in the W than an elite role player. Like she is for the France national team. Like she has for Fenerbahçe in Turkey and Sopron Basket in Hungary. Williams believed she could be a go-to player, a creator of offense and a maestro of moments. And the Valkyries believed her too.
“She’s incredible and she motivates me,” Valkyries guard Veronica Burton said. “The humility that she has, her story and everything that she’s been able to experience. It motivates me. She is such a team player. She understands the little things that it takes to win and she can impact the game on both ends of the floor.”
The WNBA playoffs are an elitist society. It’s a season owned and controlled by superstars and all-time greats. The biggest question about Golden State centered on their lack of such a player.
The Valkyries, who will host the No. 3 seed Las Vegas Aces in Sunday’s semifinals, play stellar team defense, boast a formidable second unit and have a crowd raucous enough to impact the action. But when the games come down to the high-stakes moments, the other team would always have the best player on the floor, a woman with greater accolades and experience and repertoire.
What would the Valkyries have?
“It’s Gabby f— Williams,” Tiffany Hayes said. “What you talkin’ about?”
Williams’ performance punctuated one of the great games in Chase Center history, which has seen some special performances since opening in 1999.
A 20-0 Wings’ run bridging the halves had the Valkyries on the ropes. The volume in Ballhalla had been turned down to church-youth-league levels. The frenzied arena known for its frothing energy suddenly was muzzled by dread.
The anxiety was palpable before the game and continued through the first half, as the problem of Arike Ogunbowale still hadn’t been solved after she put up a WNBA postseason record of 45 points on the Valkyries in Game 2. Ogunbowale, feasting on the Valkyries’ refusal to double, put up 17 first-half points Friday night on a series of runners, pull-ups and off-the-dribble 3s. Bueckers, meanwhile, used her savvy to draw fouls as compensation for her struggling shot. The vaunted Valkyries defense never looked more vulnerable.
And the Golden State offense matched its crowd’s energy. Missed layups, bricked threes and clanked free throws seemed to reveal a collection of players feeling the weight of the stakes. The underdog Dallas squad, playing with nothing to lose, had the No. 2 seed on their heels from the start and almost immediately erased any notion Game 3 would resemble Sunday’s rout at Chase Center.
Ogunbowale’s driving layup put Dallas ahead 53-37 with 6:02 remaining in the third quarter. Golden State trailed by 16 points with 16 minutes remaining, their historic season slipping through their fingers. The Valkyries were fast becoming pastel pumpkins. As if their dominant regular season was fool’s gold and they were being outed as not ready — by a team they’d owned for the better part of two years.
But Burton, the spiritual leader of the Valkyries, sensed her team needed a jolt and delivered it.
She answered with a step-back 25-footer from the right wing. Minutes later, she collected a steal as Dallas center Awak Kuier tried to post up Burton, who slapped the floor after drawing a foul with her hustle. It was enough for Ballhalla to come alive. It was a contagion that infected her teammates with urgency, getting them back into the game.
Williams just had to close.
“I love these situations,” Williams said. “I love high-pressure situations. I think I’m best when I don’t have a choice but to be my best. So I like being put into that position.”
She dropped in a runner over Paige Bueckers. She then pump-faked on a 3-pointer and stepped in for a midrange pull-up, perhaps the biggest shot of the night. The Valkyries led 73-72.
Then, with 9.6 seconds remaining, and again with 6.9 seconds, she stepped to the line. A place where she’s had some problems this year. But none of the four attempts even touched the rim.
When it was over, when the confetti fell, and the Ballhalla faithful reached a new octave, and the Wings were clipped, Williams roared as she bounced toward her teammates.
And they mobbed their star. The one they believed in.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Golden State Valkyries, WNBA
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