Make no mistake, it was collectively that Les Bleues reached the final of the Olympic tournament and came very close to a legendary feat in the final of the Games against Team USA. But how can we not consider that all of this was made possible by the presence and talent of Gabby Williams ?
We will be able to tell our grandchildren that we saw a French player carry the Blues in a match against the Avengers of Team USA and look the opponent straight in the eye. This opponent, we imagined impossible to defeat, with 12 of the best players in the world and some who, once their careers are over, will be considered among the best of all time: A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Sabrina Ionescu, Brittney Griner, not to mention the icon Diana Taurasi, who remained on the bench before putting on her 6th Olympic gold medal… All these superstars, these girls that she knows by heart for having played with and against them in high school, university, in the WNBA or in Europe, Gabby Williams faced them on an equal footing and without fear.
In attack, defense, creation, Gabby was everywhere. And not just in the final. During the tournament, she was the best player of the Bleues with 15.5 points, almost 5 assists and 5 rebounds on average and 18.8 evaluation. Quite logically, she was elected in the best five of the competition, but also best defensive player of the tournament. A few centimeters away, a whistle too, it is not only in the legend of French basketball that she would have entered – that, it is already done – but in the legend of the Olympic Games.
For the general public, who only watch women’s basketball during the Olympic Games, she has in any case entered the hearts. Her drives, her shots, her interceptions, made us vibrate. Her tears, everyone shared them, she who seemed even more touched by the outcome of the match than her teammates.
Les Bleues fall one step short of Olympic gold against Team USA
Thanks Gabby!
Gabby Williams was not born in France. But since she decided to defend the colors of her mother’s country of origin, she has done it 1000%. Every time she was able to play an international competition with the Bleues, she did it, sometimes at the risk of her career in the WNBA. Her misadventures with the Chicago Sky, where she was clearly treated the wrong way, prove it. Her desire to play in France, first at Montpellier, then at ASVEL, when her level clearly allowed her to continue playing for European superpowers, her gigantic progress in French in a few years and her desire to be fully integrated rather than just being “the American on the French team”, have made her journey and her attachment to the French team even more sincere.
Despite this, Gabby still had to face ignoramuses who talked about a passport of convenience, as if, like what the Spanish did with Lorenzo Brown or Megan Gustafson, she had been granted sports naturalization without having any connection with France. No, Gabby is American AND French, and has magnificently defended the colors of her choice and her dual culture. She deserves, like all the players in this group of exceptional girls, to be followed beyond the competitions with the French team. Gabby will soon be in the Euroleague with Fenerbahçe, before returning to the WNBA where her popularity will inevitably grow even more, with the Seattle Storm or any other team that will be able to take advantage of her versatility and qualities.
In the meantime, she will most certainly take a well-deserved rest, immerse herself in the manga and anime that she loves so much. Then, already, think about the next deadlines with this French team that she has left her mark on: the Eurobasket in 2025 and the 2026 World Cup, where Gabby Williams and the Blues will try to do anything but just be a figurehead.
Thanks Gabby!
