SAN FRANCISCO – There's a stratosphere of belief that Golden State Valkyries all-star Gabby Williams is reaching that few ever get to touch.
Towards the end of the first quarter of Golden State's decisive 71-60 victory over the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the semifinals, a new chant began to coalesce from the raucous Ballhalla home crowd as Williams took to the free-throw line.
“Gabby, Gabby, Gabby, Gabby,” the fans cheered, their volume and passion rising with every syllable as she took a breath before stepping to the line.
It was a rare thing to witness even amongst a fanbase that's become synonymous with their deafening cries and unending support for their beloved team. For all the microphone-breaking crowd pops and ear-piercing roars, never before had the Ballhalla crowd done this– echo the name of one of their players in gladiatorial honor and devotion over and over again.
And as she's done all season long, Williams let that belief materialize through her hoops once again.
Whether it was hounding the Aces' star guard duo of Chelsea Grey and Jackie Young or bombing threes and slicing her way to the rim, the Valkyries' All-Star forward– the Bay Area's homegrown star– was nothing short of spectacular.
Williams finished with a game-high 25 points on 9-of-18 field goals, collecting 11 rebounds and five assists to guide her team to a big Game 1 victory off the heels of surviving an emotional do-or-die Game 3 just 36 hours prior.
“I don't even have the words for it, honestly,” Williams said, shaking her head in a kind of disbelief. “Growing up here and knowing what this community is about, and seeing it at this level, means everything. The Bay has always been love.”
Williams, who spent the summers of her youth hooping in gyms all over the Bay Area, whether it be with the Mission Rec Center Rebels or the Bay Area Bulldawgs, knows what this community is about. Those Bay Area icons she grew up idolizing– Too Short, E-40, Marshawn Lynch, Allie Wong, heck, even George Lucas? They're watching her become the portrait of the culture.
“The Bay's always been a community like this, and now, all these people that have been Bay Area legends that I've looked up to since I was a kid… it just feels like a big party, and I'm just enjoying it. Honestly,” Williams said with a smile.
The Valkyries' unshakable belief
Article Continues BelowThe joy it brings Williams is palpable. After Game 1 against the Wings, it was asking the crowd, in the spirit of Too Short, “What's my favorite word?” After the winner-takes-all Game 3, it was Williams, shouting on live television, “What up, George Lucas? That's pretty cool.” And like many of the other Valkyries players, it's a joy that stems from belief.
In one of the few quiet moments at the podium on Friday after Game 3, Williams reflected on what makes playing for Golden State special.
“I came here because I just wanted someone (in the WNBA) to believe in me,” Williams said. “I never quite got that belief in the W from a staff or from teammates. So the fact that I believe in Tip (Hayes), she believes in me; I believe in Kai (Charles) she believes in Kiah (Stokes); she believes in V (Burton). It's down the line.
We all just like really trust each other with whatever decision. And the fact that they trust me to have the ball in my hands. It's not even about taking the right shot; it's just making the right decision. But I'm able to do that because we have always four people that can go off on the floor.”
That belief carried on in the Valkyries' win over the Aces. From Kiah Stokes inhaling 14 rebounds, seven on the offensive boards, and running primary on the legendary A'Ja Wilson to Kaitlyn Chen walking into the game off the bench and dropping 11 points in an instant, the belief and mojo Golden State is rolling with now is unshakeable.
Perhaps some of that stems from the level-up you get when you survive the near-death experience of a do-or-die game. But “strength-in-numbers” and “one through 14” are mottos that have always been at the core of the Valkyries' ethos. And that includes the Bay Area, whose love for their team is growing every time they watch Williams and the Valkyries do their thing
“You could see when the girls go out there, and they play their hearts out, and Ballhalla is responding,” coach Natalie Nakase said. “Or they're initiating it, and we're responding. It's just a complete team atmosphere. Ballhalla is part of us, and so I think that's what (Williams) talking about. It's the culture. It's Oakland. It's Bahalla. It's the Bay… It's everything. I think people here are intentional, and they want to see amazing basketball, and they want to empower women.”
Golden State still has a long way to go before they're satisfied. The pressure hasn't changed, according to Stokes, and while playoff wins are nice, the goal is a banner, a ring, and a trophy, a feature Williams is highly aware of as she nodded her head in unison to Stokes' answer. But that stratosphere of belief Williams has reached? She's not taking a single bit of it for granted.
“I'm just enjoying it,” Williams repeated to herself, the media, and the Bay. “Taking advantage of it, taking advantage of this energy and this magic that we have in this arena.”