Angel Reese's Chicago Sky Recruiting Pitch to Olympics Star Gabby Williams Gets Denied
The US women's national basketball team won its eighth consecutive Olympic gold medal on Sunday after defeating France 67-66.
While Team USA won the day, the sports world was buzzing about French standout Gabby Williams after another sensational performance.
Williams (who went to UConn and played in the WNBA as recently as 2022) finished the gold medal game with 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals in 32 minutes played. This caps off an excellent showing in Paris, where she averaged 15.5 points and earned a silver medal after six Olympics games.
Williams' play caught the attention of Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese, who took to X after the Olympics final to recruit Williams back to the WNBA; specifically, back to the Sky.
"ok now that the game is over, would you like to be apart of the chicago sky again???
(thought it wouldn’t hurt to try lmaoo)," Reese wrote on X, along with a crying and a thinking face emoji.
ok now that the game is over, would you like to be apart of the chicago sky again???@gabbywilliams15 😭🤔 (thought it wouldn’t hurt to try lmaoo)
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) August 11, 2024
Reese is alluding to Williams being drafted by the Sky with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2018 WNBA Draft. She then played with Chicago from 2018-2021 before joining the Storm in 2022.
This viral post caught Williams' attention. Yet, the French superstar clearly isn't keen to return to her former team.
"orrrrrr we could just play together for a différent organization," Williams responded to Reese, including three emojis of her own.
orrrrrr we could just play together for a différent organization 👀🤷🏽♀️😂
— gabby williams 👻 (@gabbywilliams15) August 11, 2024
Williams is alluding to the new Unrivaled 3x3 basketball league, which Reese will play in during this WNBA offseason.
This witty retort checks out with Williams' comments to The Next Hoops last summer, saying that, "Unfortunately, [the WNBA] doesn’t pay the most. So I am happy to have other options to provide for me and my family. "
Unrivaled will reportedly offer double the average WNBA salary (which is about $120,000) to all of its players, per The Athletic insider Shams Charania.
This is why it makes sense Williams would rather team up with Reese at Unrivaled instead of on the Sky.
While Unrivaled's 30-player roster is likely already filled out, perhaps Williams' Olympics performance convinced co-founders Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier that she's deserving of a spot.
Reese then responded to Williams' reply with a simple, "sighhhh," and a smiling teary-eyed emoji.
sighhhh🥲 https://t.co/UVPyjYS82E
— Angel Reese (@Reese10Angel) August 11, 2024
It was worth a try.
GRANT YOUNG
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.