The Valkyries made a huge splash this offseason, bringing in All-Star forward Gabby Williams. Williams is a monumental signing as she joins the Valkyries after the best season of her career — she averaged career highs in points (11.6 PPG) and assists (4.2 APG), led the league in steals (2.3 SPG), made her first All-Star team and was on the All-Defensive First Team.

"For a player of Gabby's caliber to choose us in just our second year means everything," Valkyries General Manager Ohemaa Nyanin said. "She is world-class. One of the best defenders in the world, a WNBA All-Star and someone who makes everyone around her better. Honestly, what excites me most is who she is as a person. Gabby has deep roots in the Bay Area, and she is coming home. The community is going to love her, and I think she is going to love it here."

In 2025, Williams was one of six players to have at least 500 points, 180 rebounds and 180 assists, joining her new teammate Veronica Burton and four other All-Stars — Alyssa Thomas, Jackie Young, Sabrina Ionescu and Courtney Williams. She became one of six players in WNBA history to average at least 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals (Tamika Catchings twice, Lindsay Whalen, Angel McCoughtry, Alyssa Thomas, Arike Ogunbowale). Williams was far and away the WNBA’s best ball thief, nabbing a league-best 99 steals — 30 more than the next closest player. She had eight games with at least four steals, including eight steals against the Los Angeles Sparks on June 17, which is tied for the 4th-most in a game in league history. 

“Her versatility, her athleticism, gives her the ability to guard a lot of people and affords us an opportunity to switch,” former teammate and seven-time All-Star Skylar Diggins said. “She’s one of the best in the game at what she does.”

At this point in the offseason, pairing Williams with Burton makes the Valkyries the only team that enters the 2026 season with multiple 2025 All-Defensive team members. Both players are tenacious point-of-attack defenders. The Valkyries ranked third in the league in defensive rating (99.8 DEFRRTG) and Williams’ former team, the Seattle Storm, ranked fourth (100.1 DEFRTG). The Storm led the league in both steals (8.5 SPG) and blocks (5.1 BPG). 

“I get the Swiss Army Knife analogy a lot and that's the type of thing I try to be,” Williams said. “I just try to help the team in any way I can.”

Williams is a 5’11 forward with a 6’3 wingspan, allowing her to guard multiple positions, cover a lot of ground on switches and protect the rim. Offensively, she isn’t a ball dominant scorer but is a more than capable ball handler who can knock down catch-and-shoot jumpers, post up and finish plays around the basket. She’s been the focal point of the French National Team, awarded the Alain Gilles Trophy, which is given to the best male or female French basketball player and was named FIBA Europe SuperCup MVP after guiding Fenerbahçe to the FIBA Europe SuperCup title in 2024. Williams’ international resume also includes an Olympic silver medal with France, two Turkish Presidential Cup championships, a EuroLeague championship, a EuroLeague Final Four MVP and a pair of EuroLeague Defensive Player of the Year awards. She already has chemistry with several of her Valkyries teammates from her time with the French National Team, including Janelle Salaün and Iliana Rupert. 

In addition to her skillset on both ends of the floor, what made Williams’ 2025 season so special was how reliable she was for her team. Williams played in all 44 games and was fourth in the league in overall minutes played (1,391 minutes) behind Kelsey Plum, Allisha Gray and Sonia Citron. She was tied with Angel Reese for eighth in minutes played per game (31.6 MPG). At age 29 and entering her sixth WNBA season, Williams’ leadership, experience and stellar two-way play will be vital for a young expansion franchise looking to build off a historic inaugural season.