Why Seattle Storm's Gabby Williams calls WNBA's prioritization rule 'very harsh'

If only signing with a WNBA team could be as simple as it is for Gabby Williams to fit in immediately with the Seattle Storm.

“I have so much comfort in Gabby,” Storm coach Noelle Quinn said.

Williams doesn’t have much comfort, however, with the WNBA’s prioritization rule. She signed with the Storm as a free agent following the Paris Olympics because Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe ended its season early to allow players to prepare for the Summer Games.

Otherwise, Williams wouldn’t have been able to sign with the Storm. That’s because the prioritization clause requires players to report at the start of the WNBA calendar, even if their overseas team hasn’t finished its schedule. If a player doesn’t abide by those rules, they can face a season-long suspension.

“We’re not paid enough to counteract it. If we were being paid as much as we were being paid overseas, yeah we got paid a little bit more but it’s still not enough to entice us to stay. So that’s the problem,” Williams told Sportskeeda.

“Also when it comes to national teams, foreigners are punished and Americans aren’t. If I would’ve signed a contract and gone to France, I would’ve been suspended for two years all because I would want to play for my national team. That would never happen for the Americans.”

Williams also spoke to Sportskeeda about fitting in perfectly with the Storm, how she’s become a plug-and-play player as well as France’s silver-medal finish in the Paris Olympics.

Editor’s note: The following one-on-one conversation has been edited and condensed.

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Gabby Williams exclusive

You obviously have familiarity with the group. But what’s it been like to jump back with them?

Gabby Williams: “It’s been easy. It’s been easy in the sense that you can fall back into the rhythm of things. It’s good to be around these girls every day. It’s been fun. I’m happy to be back. They know me well. They know how to get me in rhythm and know what the things I like to do. It’s as if we haven’t missed a step from last year. So that’s the relationship we have.

You have a lot of two-way talent. But what else do you think goes into being a good plug-and-play player?

Gabby Williams: “It’s what I do. Noelle is very vocal about what she wants from me. So that makes it easy, too. She’s telling me to do this. She’s telling me to do that. It’s always something different, but that’s what I like to do. She’s been calling me the ‘French Army knife.’ So, I’m trying to be that every day.

What has been her feedback on what she wants from you?

Gabby Williams: “Every game has been different. Sometimes, she wants me to be on the ball a bit more, bring up the ball and have more point-guard responsibilities. Some days, she wants me to be a little more aggressive off the ball. Some days, she wants me to attack more. But at the end of the day, she just wants me to be me.”

Noelle said it’s not just about your skillset. You said your mindset makes it possible to be adaptable to various roles. How have you formed that over the years?

Gabby Williams: “The fact that I played for like seven different teams a year (laughs). I’ve been going between the [French] national team, WNBA and Europe. In Europe, I change pretty often with my teams so that plays a part into it. I prepare for it, no matter what environment I’m in.”

Amid all your different stops, what were the significant turning points that helped you become adaptable?

Gabby Williams: “The two years I had with Sopron [Basket] was a huge turning point for me when we won Euroleague [in 2022]. That was also the same year that I was brough to Seattle. I think that was a huge change in my career. That’s when I finally felt really comfortable. Both teams helped me develop my game a lot, especially Sopron. I was playing a lot on the ball. There were a lot of ball screens that I liked to play. Then winning the Euroleague title did a lot for my confidence. Same thing in Seattle. There were ways to develop my game, and I felt like I grew a lot.”

With this year, how has it been to establish chemistry with Nneka [Ogwumike] and Sky [Skylar Diggins-Smith]?

Gabby Williams: “It’s been easy. It’s been very easy. They’re great teammates. They’re awesome people. They talk a lot. They communicate a lot. It’s been very easy.”

What’s your comfort level with the team’s chances to make a championship run?

Gabby Williams: “I think we’re good. There are still a lot of things that we need to work on, but I think we’re on the right track. And I think we have good momentum.”

How did you view France’s silver-medal finish in the Olympics?

Gabby Williams: “I’m definitely disappointed with the result at the end. We were very close. But we did a lot of stupid stuff at the end, I think. It’s not even just the play with me stepping on the line. It’s the minutes before that that I think of where we had certain moments. But that also shows the experience of the U.S. The French have been in that title game twice. The U.S. has been in that title game however many times [11 gold medals and one silver]. That really showed, I think, with their experience.”

Have you carried a lot of ‘what ifs’ with that game?

Gabby Williams: “I try not to. You never know. You never know with ‘what ifs’ because something else could’ve happened. I’m very proud of what we’ve done and what we did. I’m happy with that. It’s a silver medal.”

What was the key for your strong Olympic run and for France to challenge the U.S. in the gold-medal game?

Gabby Williams: “My advantage is that I’m half American. So I knew them very well. I knew their weaknesses. I knew their strengths. I knew what to attack. I’ve played in the W for however many years now. So I’m used to that style of play. I feel like it helped a lot. Just throughout the whole tournament, I was being me and being aggressive. I’ve been in that environment before plenty of times and that kind of craziness when a lot of my teammates haven’t. I tried to get going to settle the nerves of everybody else. If I get this going and get this on the board, then everyone else can breathe and it’ll be a regular game.”

Then when you were weighing free-agency options afterwards, why did Seattle become the best option for you?

Gabby Williams: “Because I’ve been here before, and they’ve been amazing with me. They gave me no reason to leave. We also had been in communication all year, talking about my physical and mental health. The plan was always that if I felt good that I would come back here. I explored other options just because it can’t hurt. But it was a very easy decision to come back.

I see there were a lot of recruiting pitches, including on social media. What did you think of that?

Gabby Williams: (laughs). “It was funny. These were conversations I was having way before the Olympics. Then everybody said, ‘Oh, she played well, so now she’s getting a contract.’ I’m like, ‘I could’ve scored two points, and I would’ve signed [with the Storm]. These are conversations that had been happening for months.”

What has been your opinion on the WNBA’s prioritization clause?

Gabby Williams: “It’s harsh. It’s very harsh. We’re not paid enough to counteract it. If we were being paid as much as we were being paid overseas, yeah we got paid a little bit more but it’s still not enough to entice us to stay. So that’s the problem. Also when it comes to national teams, foreigners are punished and Americans aren’t. If I would’ve signed a contract and gone to France, I would’ve been suspended for two years all because I would want to play for my national team. That would never happen for the Americans. So for the non-USA players, it’s very, very difficult. I think if the money was higher, then it would be easier. But it’s not.”

Mark Medina is an NBA insider for Sportskeeda. Follow him on X, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.