While the Las Vegas Aces celebrated their sixth consecutive WNBA Semifinal appearance and 11th consecutive home playoff win, the performance of a key Seattle Storm star went under the radar. Gabby Williams, who returned to the Storm midway through with just 12 games remaining in the regular season, scored a playoff career-high 20 points in Game 2 of the first-round matchup against A’ja Wilson & Co. It was an impressive performance from the 5’11 power forward, and she ultimately got what she deserved.

Williams’ superior athleticism was on full display in Paris as she made life difficult for Team USA to capture their eighth straight gold. But it looks like she’s bringing the same to the WNBA. She had an incredible performance yesterday, including a ridiculous reverse layup that saw the ball fly high over the backboard before it went in. Her 8-of-16 shooting, 5 rebounds and 3 assists couldn’t help the Storm cross the line, however, as the Aces won 83-76. But once the Gabby Williams hype started on social media, it was hard to stop.

Analyst Rachel Galligan was one of the first to start the procedure on X with: “Gabby Williams is poised to become one of the hottest free agents.” Williams was suspended after 2023 due to the WNBA’s priority rule. In addition, she was preparing for the Paris Olympics with the French team, thanks to her mother’s French nationality. She even nearly forced overtime in the Olympic final against the US with a one-handed shot, if it hadn’t been for part of her foot on the 3-point line.

While that silver medal game is now far behind us, Williams proved once again that she is worthy of a richer WNBA contract. Following Rachel Galligan’s tweet of appreciation, thousands of others joined in to celebrate the day with the Storm’s one-woman army.

Fans praise championship-winning Gabby Williams despite Seattle Storm’s embarrassing first-round exit

In her 12 regular season games, Gabby Williams averaged 10.3 points on an impressive 48% shooting. “Gabby Williams Experience,” as WNBA legend and Storm co-owner Sue Bird called it, was in full swing. “This feels like home,” she said upon her return to Seattle.

Even though the Storm were knocked out on the Aces’ home court, Williams played like she was still at home. In response to Galligan’s tweet, one fan pointed out how the Storm PF will be saturated with offers in the postseason.

Another X user did the same, using Williams’ play in the second half to highlight how “bidding war” will take place in 2025. She was already a hot pick when she didn’t let Team USA breathe in the Gold Medal Game. Remember how Angel Reese to Kalani Brown and even Dearica Hamby flooded her tweet to come back to American soil and play for their teams?

Of course, this bidding war begs the question: Which teams would compete for her presence? And the team that came out victorious today? The Aces could certainly use a better star PF to lighten A’ja Wilson’s load. While it may not be what Becky Hammon is thinking, maybe they can try it while they’re at it?

The aforementioned reverse layup, and another strong layup finish off contact in the 4th quarter, turned heads. Not to mention, Williams was also a 2022 All-Defensive pick. One fan couldn’t contain his excitement, claiming that Williams absolutely deserved a WNBA championship.

Surprisingly, there was one fan who advocated for Gabby Williams to be selected as one of 30 players for the Unrivaled Women’s Basketball League. The 3v3 league promises a minimum salary of $150,000, which also solves the Nevada native’s low pay problem with the WNBA.

If the WNBA’s prioritization rule weren’t in place, imagine the impact Williams would have had on the Storm’s roster. While she’s still an option to sign with them for the 2025 season, would she be a better fit with the Aces or the Fever? Or does she already have someone else in mind? Only time will tell.