After four years in Seattle, Gabby Williams didn’t expect that her championship fate would be decided while stuck in traffic in a foreign country. Winning two national titles and playing under Geno Auriemma at UConn, Williams had winning installed in her genes very early. Having faced a glaring reality for almost a decade in the WNBA, she knew exactly what she wanted when making her free agency decision.

“I was 100% ring chasing in free agency, and no one believes me,” Williams told Sue Bird on the WNBA legend’s podcast. “But if you were on those calls and heard the conversations I had, and you heard the way [Natalie Nakase] was talking about how disappointed she was that they didn’t reach their goal, I was like, ‘Yeah, she’s not going to let me lose.”

Nakase had spent her last three years in Las Vegas, working as an assistant coach under Becky Hammon. Three years ago, Lacob said in a press conference that the Valkyries would win a championship within the first five years. When Nakase arrived, five years seemed too long of a window. She wanted to win it sooner.

While Williams got confidence from Nakase’s will to win, little did she expect that it could be done in the first year itself. She signed with the team in April earlier this year, and after six months, she was holding the trophy, living the best moment of her professional career. 

But Nakase wasn’t the only reason. While she was stuck in traffic, it was in her car that she heard the most convincing pitch from Joe Lecob before making her final decision.

“He definitely was the tipping point in me coming to Golden State. He called me while I was in traffic in Turkey, and he was just like, ‘There’s no one who’s ever going to do it. I never lose. I never lose,” she recalled the Valkyries’ owner telling her. “And I was like, I don’t know how we’re going to do it, but this team is absolutely going to win.”

Lacob was not talking in the air. He had the resume to back up his case. He had won a title in 2008 as a part-time owner of the Boston Celtics. Lacob brought a championship culture to Golden State. Under him, the Warriors won four titles from 2015 to 2022. 

Lacob held his side of the bargain, and the Valkyries proved that teams didn’t need a superstar to win. The Valkyries lived with their defensive identity throughout the regular season, and it became the biggest reason that they were able to win the title.

“I’ve never won in the W, and I’ve kind of just had the same disappointing endings over and over again. A great super team, and then something happens. Superstars, all-stars, and then boom. I was like, ‘Let me just try something else.’ And here we are,” Williams further added. 

In 2022, Williams played her first season with the Storm. The roster featured Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird, Tina Charles and Jewell Loyd. They lost in the semifinals. Before the next season, Stewart left for New York, and Bird retired. In the next season, the Storm won only 11 games and failed to qualify for the playoffs. In her last two years, the Storm lost in the first round. 

They defeated the Dallas Wings in the first round and eliminated defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces, in the semifinals. Williams and the Valkyries trailed the Finals 2-1, but came back to win their first title in just the franchise’s second season, and Williams led them from the front, embodying the role of an unselfish leader.

In 13 games during this postseason, Williams averaged 21.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.2 steals per game. She shot 38.0% from the field and 33.0% from the 3-point line. She averaged career-best ‌postseason points, assists and steals. 

In the first-ever Game 7 of the WNBA Finals, Williams led her team with 30 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 4 blocks. She scored 28 points in the second half to lead the Valkyries to a championship victory over the Atlanta Dream.