SAN FRANCISCO -- As the Golden State Valkyries embark on their second season, they welcomed their first big free agent signing to the organization on Saturday, officially introducing Gabby Williams ahead of their first preseason game against the Seattle Storm.
"There were three key factors in making my decision," Williams said. "Where am I going to win? Where am I going to be a part of a winning culture? Even though this is a newer team, I feel the competitiveness and the want to win ... the next thing for me was the culture off of the court ... from the outside seeing what its looks like to be in this team was something I really, really need right now."
Williams, who signed a multiyear deal with the Valkyries on April 12, was the biggest signing for Golden State since the franchise launched last year.
"The journey of building a championship is what we are working towards daily," general manager Ohemaa Nyanin said. "And as Mr. Joe [Lacob] says, we are on the clock ... Who Gabby is as an individual is the epitome of what we look for in athletes."
Williams played a key role in helping the Seattle Storm clinch a playoff spot last season and posted career highs in several categories, including points (11.6) and assists (4.2). She led the WNBA in steals per game (2.3) and finished with 99 for the season -- one shy of tying Teresa Weatherspoon's longstanding 100-steal record set in 1998.
A seven-year vet, Williams made her first All-Star team last season and was also named to the All-Defensive first team.
"To me, she is one of the best two-way players in the world," Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase said. "In terms of fit, we are going to see. But when you're selfless, that really fits well with us because we don't have just a couple superstars that take over. We love ball movement. We love the ability that anyone could go off on any given game because that is really guard. We see it as a perfect fit."
Last season, the Valkyries built their identity on being a gritty, defensive-minded team that Nakase said was full of "killers." Williams believes this style of play is the ideal system for her game.
"Where do I go to raise my ceiling as a player individually? Being part of a group like this will play into that," Williams said. "What I can add is on the defensive end. I can add a lot to our transition game, I can add in getting to the paint and creating.
"The way the [organization's] brain works is how my brain works. This felt like a system that I would play well in. It's a bit European, very tactical, the ball moves, everybody eats. That's the kind of basketball I want to play."
The Valkyries didn't make many big splashes in free agency last year, allowing them to be more tactful and aggressive this go around.
Nakase said she had a gut feeling that Williams was going to sign with the Valkyries after their meetings in April, so much so that she cracked open her magnum bottle of Caymus Vineyards wine before Williams had told them she was coming.
"I had a really good feeling," Nakase said. "It was the right fit ... I told Gabby to make this decision for herself ... I've wanted her to choose us because she wanted to and not that we were going to pressure her into that. She's kind, she's humble, she's amazing. So I broke out the Caymus early."
The Valkyries made history last season as the first WNBA expansion franchise to make the playoffs in its inaugural year. Nakase was named Coach of the Year, and guard Veronica Burton was awarded Most Improved Player of the Year.
Williams said playing at Chase Center as an opponent last season was one of the most difficult environments to play in, and made her want to be on the other side of it. She also watched a game as a fan when her partner, New York Liberty guard Marine Johannes, played against the Valkyries last summer.
Williams hails from Reno, Nevada, four hours north of San Francisco, and grew up in Alameda, which is just across the Bay Bridge and minutes away from the Valkyries' practice facilities.
"Knowing what women's basketball means to the Bay Area and what it has meant for decades, I know up close and personal what it means to be a female athlete here. That played a huge role in my decision, as well."
