Chicago Sky: Buying stock in a Gabby Williams breakout season in 2021

Thursday night’s WNBA Draft was an eventful one for the Chicago Sky. The organization drafted Shyla Heal, a smooth-shooting guard who should keep the Sky from getting headlocked when Courtney Vandersloot needs a breath, and then doubled down with a steal of a pick in Natasha Mack, an imposing two-way big with a story to match.

That’s the top-fold news. Along the bottom-fold, Sky fans were dealt a haymaker to simmer over: according to Chicago Sun-Times reporter Annie Costabile, the Sky are reportedly considering trade packages that include Gabby Williams. It’s worth mentioning that this news broke just three minutes prior to the WNBA Draft.

One couldn’t help but wonder if any of last night’s picks were the first phase in foreshadowing a potential deal, which feels disconcerting on the surface. Williams has been, arguably at least, the best and most versatile defender over the past few seasons — and on Tuesday was named the EuroLeague Women’s Defensive Player of the Year, mind you — on a Sky team that hasn’t finished among the top-half of the league defensively since 2015.

So, in short, the kind of player you want around.

Earlier today, Costabile noted that Williams is committed to the French national team, which will delay her arrival to the Sky to start the season. Nonetheless, it’s safe to say she’s due for a breakout season, and thus should be a key piece for Chicago going forward, for a few notable reasons:

1. Williams has made major strides in EuroLeague play

There are few players across the Association that command the tag of “untouchable,” and Williams isn’t one of them. But it’d be difficult to part ways with a do-it-all 24-year-old who adds new dimensions to her game year-after-year, no?. Last season, Williams starred in the Ligue Féminine de Basketball league, and then returned with a better-than-ever 3-point stroke. This spring, she was an All-EuroLeague Women’s First Teamer for Sopron Basket, pairing that defensive intensity with offensive versatility.

Williams worked her usual array of slick backdoor cuts — arguably her most redeemable trait — but also looked as spry as ever quarterbacking the offense and controlling the game with the ball in her hands. Her game has developed a twitchy, stop-and-go verve that opposing forwards and bigs are helpless against when she’s getting downhill.

Here are a few clips that illustrate that, as well as some fun, Williams-related illustrations per Dani Bar-Lavi of Winsidr. Among the personal favorites is this isolation score with the clock winding down against unanimous All-Defensive Teamer Alysha Clark.

Here’s a convenient reminder that not even two years ago, Williams reportedly “disliked” the idea of having point guard responsibilities. Now, she’s got an in-and-out crossover that she could probably maneuver in between closing elevator doors. The same goes for her newly-developed 3-pointer; the returns on her work ethic are showing themselves quickly. And that should be reason enough to keep her around.

It might not even be a stretch to say that she was, sometimes, the fastest player on the court during EuroLeague play. Obviously, the game changes a bit in the “W,” and despite maybe sometimes forcing the issue with her shot selection, she’s more than deserving of a shot with this new, championship-focused Sky group.

2. A hand-in-glove fit with Candace Parker

Ignore everything you read in that last paragraph for just a second; Williams’ off-the-dribble accuracy and 3-point shooting ability come and go. But if there’s one skill Williams has always been able to hang her hat on, especially with the Sky, it’s her ability to find a crease in the defense through a well-timed cut or “lift” up the perimeter.

If you’ve watched any Candace Parker game from Tennessee on, you’ve likely seen her generational passing ability on display. Only the Las Vegas Aces feast on teams in the paint as often as the Sky do, and that’s a scenario that only magnifies with Diamond DeShields and Azura Stephens, among others, back to full health.

With Williams, you get one of the game’s best cutters. She understands angles to a tee, as well as her opponent’s tendencies. It’s almost reminiscent of an option route in football, where you read a defense’s leverage and spacing, and go wherever they aren’t. Few are better at finding open spaces:

The WNBA is beginning to embrace the analytical age with small ball, torrential 3-point downpours, and space above all else. Nonetheless, it’s fun to imagine these lineups with Parker and Williams, two forward-big hybrids capable of pulling down a rebound and going coast-to-coast. Williams can fill up a stat sheet when given the chance; she averages 11.7 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists on 42–29–64 percentage splits per 36 minutes for her career.

Intuition suggests hockey assists and highlight passes would be at an all-time high with Parker dishing out of the high post, Vandersloot rendering defenders fools through facilitating, and then Williams’ ability to both cut at an elite level and drive-and-kick. Under James Wade, the Sky have prided themselves in quick paint touches and efficient decisions. Williams is the type of player who embodies that. Which leads to a third point:

3. The second unit could be as well-rounded as ever

For years, Chicago’s Achilles heel has boiled down to one borderline-comedic problem: the second that star guard Courtney Vandersloot takes a breather, the Sky’s leads end up on life support. With credit to Eric Nemchock of SB Nation’s Swish Appeal, consider the Sky’s net ratings per 100 possessions when she leaves the court: -17.3, -13.1, -11.8, and -18.7.

Over the past few seasons, head coach James Wade has gotten experimental in how he uses the 5-foot-11 Williams, even having her run backup point guard for spells. This year, all signs suggest they plan to tinker it with a mix of on-ball and off-ball again. When Wade selected Heal — even with more heralded guards still on the board — he spoke of her “true point guard” skills.

Regardless of how often she’s running the show, Williams’ tightened handle, paired with the addition of Heal and Parker’s flexibility, the Sky will be far better equipped to atone for last year’s problems, assuming they stay healthy. She should also be far more comfortable overcoming a long 3-point shooting slump the way she had last season with added experience.

The Sky have scratched the surface of having an elite bench, with a third and fourth-ranked scoring bench in 2018 and 2019, and have a consistent group that works well together. It only feels reasonable to tinker with this if it’s because of contracts (and the Sky do have some questions to answer in regards to Williams and DeShields).

But as it stands today, the Sky have the look of a versatile team prepared to scratch and claw their way to the top of a vulnerable Eastern Conference. And it’s only fitting that they have a multifaceted, Swiss army knife type of player like Williams along for the ride.