Account
Sky's Gabby Williams Placed on Full-Season Suspended List While Playing Overseas
May 6, 2021
Chicago Sky forward Gabby Williams has placed on the suspended list for the entire 2021 WNBA season, the league announced Thursday.
Richard Cohen of Her Hoops Stats provided more details on the suspension:
Richard Cohen @RichardCohen1But she's not. Williams is in France's preliminary squad for EuroBasket Women, and was always likely to head straight there once her season in Hungary was finished. Then there's the Olympics. No idea when or if she intended to show up in the US this season. #WNBA https://t.co/nSY8Ai0gsM
Richard Cohen @RichardCohen1To clarify, it's also perfectly possible that this move was made with Williams's complete agreement, given she was likely intending to spend much of the season with the French national team anyway. But if so an interesting coincidence that it happened now and not earlier. #WNBA https://t.co/qy7FbNyCkH
Williams had been playing for Sopron Basket in Hungary during the WNBA offseason and is expected to spend a majority of the summer with the French national team playing in Eurobasket Women and the Olympics.
Williams was named the EuroLeague Defensive Player of the Year in 2021 to go with averages of 15.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
The No. 4 pick of the 2018 WNBA draft hasn't made quite as much of an impact in the United States, averaging 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game with Chicago. She mostly came off the bench last season for a team that went 12-10 before being eliminated in the first round.
According to Annie Costabile of the Sun Times, Chicago was weighing a potential trade involving Williams this offseason. Given Williams' international commitments, she was unlikely to spend much time with the team this season, however, now she won't play in the WNBA this season.
The Sky will move forward with a team led by Candace Parker and Allie Quigley.
