Gabby Williams is an American-French basketball player who plays for the Chicago Sky of the WNBA and will play for Hungary’s Sopron Basket in the upcoming season. A 2x NCAA Champion at UConn, Williams was drafted 4th overall by the Sky in 2018.

What are your thoughts about the WNBA’s social justice efforts and the importance of dedicating this season to Breonna Taylor?

Deciding to come to the bubble was really hard for us as WNBA players, because this was at the forefront of our minds. So as a league, we decided that if this season was going to happen, it would be dedicated to this cause.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by spooky g ???? (@gabbywilliams)

Can you talk to me about the social justice campaign (“Sky Takes Action”) that you and your teammates launched?

Before we even came to the bubble – before we even knew we were having a season – we often spent time on team Zoom calls to discuss how each of us has been affected by racism and social injustice. As a team, we really wanted to do something together that made us feel like we were provoking change, and being seen and heard.

“Sky Takes Action” is a campaign where my teammates and I donate our own money, based on our performance during the game, to five local organizations after each game we play. For example, every point is $10, every win is $100 and every loss is $50. We’re also challenging the fans to match our donation collectively. After our first game, we as a team raised over $1,000 because we scored 96 points and won. Our fans kicked our butt and raised almost $2,000.

Why do you think it’s so important as an athlete to use your platform to speak up about social justice issues?

We’re trying to normalize the reality that we are citizens, Black people, women – we’re whatever we are and we’re basketball players. The two come together. We’re not one or the other. They are intersectional.

We hear the phrase “shut up and dribble” all the time. But when we step off the court, we’re Black women. We’re citizens of this country as well. It’s so important that we use our platform to normalize this idea that this is a part of who we are. And if people are going to watch this on TV, they’re going to know who we are.

Using your platform as a player was one of the reasons you decided to opt into this season in the first place, right?

Yeah, exactly. I was going back and forth between the dangers of coming back for this season. I decided to embrace it and realized there could be an even greater thing that comes out of this. Look at the numbers – we’re finally getting the attention that we deserve. I thought how powerful it could be in a time like this, when we’re in this kind of national turmoil, for a young Black girl to turn on the TV and see powerful Black women on the screen, basketball players who are also using their platform to speak about their community and what’s important to them. We thought that could be really powerful.

 How do you think that the league has handled all the different logistics leading up to life in the bubble and now with games happening?

It’s been surprisingly pretty good. I don’t think anyone expected it to be absolutely perfect. But the way we monitor our temperature every day to the way we’re getting our food delivered – it’s all been really great. So, I’m pretty impressed with how IMG and the league put this together.

There was a lot of momentum with the new CBA before this season. How do you think that the WNBA can keep it going in the bubble?

We’re just getting what we deserve – at least a portion of it. We’ve been preaching and saying for years that if you just give us the chance, people will watch us and enjoy our games. We play good basketball, and the WNBA is a good product. With the CBA, the league is paying us more money – and we’re showing that we deserve it.

Last time you spoke with JWS, you were locked down in France after the French League season and you had your cat with you. Were you able to bring her to the bubble at all?

There’s no pets allowed on the IMG campus. I’m sleeping alone at night. I get a lot of pictures, and I have her photo on my fridge.

Do you think that it’s been hard to stay motivated while living in such a different environment this season? 

It hasn’t been difficult at all. I mean, we’re competitive players at the core – it’s a part of our identity. For sure we miss our fans, but we still know that we’re playing for them. We know that people are watching us on TV. We also know a lot of people are watching us for the first time. It hasn’t been hard to stay motivated. It’s been so fun to play again, especially with this team. I think the team is just so special.

Chicago has come out well in the opening games. What are your thoughts on how the team is playing so far? How do you keep this momentum throughout the rest of the season?

Our first two games were important to us, because we won those games as a collective team. Everyone contributed. Everybody got a piece of the action. A lot of us had to step up in roles that we haven’t necessarily been in with Stefanie Dolson out at the last game [Dolson sat on the sidelines with an ankle injury at the Sparks game], with Diamond DeShields being limited in her minutes [DeShields is recovering from a knee injury]. It’s forced a lot of us to be in positions that we weren’t in before. The fact that we showed that we can step up and rise to the occasion is a really good sign for the future of our season.

How do you feel like you’ve transitioned back into playing? 

Just like any return to training camp, you have those bumps and bruises that you have to fight through. But overall, I’ve just been so excited to be back and play again. And during quarantine I got time to take care of a lot of things in my body that I needed to take care of.

With that said, after our first game, I literally told myself I forgot how hard basketball is. There’s nothing you can really do to prepare for 40 minute games except playing 40 minute games. I’m sure by the middle of the season, we’ll be back in the swing of things.

You recently signed to play with Hungary’s Sopron Basket.  What led you to this decision?

I’ll be going to Hungary this year instead of returning to France, which I’m a bit sad about because of course it was so nice to be in the motherland and be with my family. [Williams is American-French.] But I’m really, really excited about this next team. Unlike the US, Hungary handled COVID very well. So they’re expected to start the season on time. I’m not exactly sure what will happen with the Euro league, but Hungary is fine. The first couple of games might overlap with this WNBA season, depending on playoffs and things like that. Regardless, I’ll go after this WNBA season is over.

The 2025 NCAA volleyball championship game is officially on lock, as No. 3-seed Texas A&M and No. 1-seed Kentucky survived Thursday's semifinals to punch their tickets to Sunday's season finale.

After snapping overall top-seed Nebraska's undefeated season in last weekend's Elite Eight round, The Aggies kept their history-making hot streak alive, blowing past No. 1 Pitt as the first team to sweep the Panthers all year.

Leading the charge for A&M were sophomore outside hitter Kyndal Stowers and senior opposite Logan Lednicky, who registered 16 and 14 kills, respectively, on the Final Four court in Kansas City.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

As for the last No. 1 seed standing, Kentucky survived No. 3 Wisconsin in a five-set thriller on Thursday, following the example of senior outside hitter Eva Hudson, whose 29 kills trailed only the semifinals-leading 32 posted by Badger senior outside hitter — and fellow AVCA Player of the Year finalist — Mimi Colyer.

With Kentucky hoping to add to their 2020 Division I title — the only NCAA volleyball championship in SEC history — the conference already owns the 2025 trophy, as Thursday set up the sport's first-ever all-SEC national final.

Though the 2025 SEC champion Wildcats seemingly have the edge over the conference's runners-up — Kentucky took down Texas A&M 3-1 in October — A&M's current momentum is undeniable, with the Aggies riding into Sunday's clash having ousted two No. 1 seeds and one No. 2 seed en route to a program-first national final.

"We are considered the underdog in a lot of these moments just [because] we haven't been here before. But we know we have all the right pieces," said Lednicky. "So why not us?"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

How to watch the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship

No. 3 Texas A&M will battle No. 1 Kentucky for the 2025 NCAA volleyball championship at 3:30 PM ET on Sunday, airing live on ABC.

Retired WNBA icon Sylvia Fowles is returning to the court, with ESPN reporting on Wednesday that the former Minnesota Lynx star center will join the staff of the Portland Fire, becoming an assistant coach for the 2026 expansion team.

After reportedly fielding multiple offers of WNBA coaching opportunities, the 40-year-old will back up recently announced Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama during the team's debut season, with the opportunity to help mold a fresh league roster and create culture from day one serving as a deciding factor in Fowles choosing the expansion franchise.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

The 2025 Naismith Hall of Fame inductee's resume underlines her ability to make an impact from the sideline, as the beloved WNBA alum packs both championship experience and a defensive mindset to aid a team still forming its identity.

In a 14-year playing career split between the Chicago Sky and Minnesota, the 2017 WNBA MVP won two league titles, earning Finals MVP honors alongside each of those Lynx championships.

A four-time WNBA Defensive Player of the Year, Fowles exited her pro career as the league's all-time rebounds leader with 4,007 boards — a stat that held until current Connecticut Sun center Tina Charles passed the Hall of Famer in September 2024.

The eight-time All-Star also shined on the international stage, as Fowles snagged four Olympic gold medals during her time with Team USA.

With the 18-team UWCL league phase now done and dusted, the 12 clubs still standing discovered their paths to the Final in the 2025/26 Champions League knockouts draw on Thursday.

While the top four clubs — No. 1 Barcelona, No. 2 OL Lyonnes, No. 3 Chelsea FC, and No. 4 Bayern Munich — punched their way into March's quarterfinals behind elite league-phase performances, the remaining eight teams must battle in February's playoffs in order to advance.

Thursday's draw has reigning champs No. 5 Arsenal facing Belgian side No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the playoffs, but the Gunners then face a difficult road in the UWCL knockouts, staring down a potential quarterfinal clash with WSL rivals Chelsea as eight-time UWCL winners OL Lyonnes looms on the same side of the semifinal bracket.

Elsewhere, No. 7 Real Madrid have an opportunity to make UWCL history should they win their playoff tie against No. 10 Paris FC, setting up the tournament's first-ever El Clásico with a possible quarterfinal match against perennial winners Barcelona.

How to watch the 2025/26 Champions League Playoffs

The first-leg of the 2025/26 UWCL playoffs kick off with No. 12 Oud-Heverlee Leuven hosting No. 5 Arsenal at 12:45 PM ET on February 11th, with No. 7 Real Madrid visiting No. 10 Paris FC at 3 PM ET.

The following day, No. 8 Juventus will take on hosts No. 9 Wolfsburg at 12:45 PM ET before No. 11
Atlético de Madrid faces the visiting No. 6 Manchester United at 3 PM ET.

All 2025/26 Champions League matches will stream live on Paramount+.

The NWSL Players Association is not on board with the league's latest proposal, rejecting the NWSL's new "High Impact Player" rule allowing teams to exceed the salary cap by up to $1 million to retain star athletes.

According to the current CBA, the union — rather than the league — has the final sign-off on all changes regarding compensation.

"The league is trying to control and interfere by trying to dictate which players [benefit from] this pot of funds," NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke told ESPN. "How you measure a player's value, both in terms of sporting merit and business criteria, is nuanced. It is more complicated than a handful of bullet points."

The NWSLPA has instead suggested that the league simply raise the 2026 salary cap by $1 million, giving clubs the same spending discretion without the star player mechanism.

Citing concerns about the rule's potential long-term implications on the market, roster structures, and locker-room culture, Burke noted that "We just don't feel that it delivers anything of value that simply increasing the team salary cap wouldn't, without having negative consequences."

"Our position is that teams — GMs, soccer ops, business folks at the team level — are uniquely positioned to make judgment calls about how to structure their rosters, how to negotiate deals," Burke continued. "It is within the purview of the teams to make those judgement calls, and in a system of free agency like we all agreed to, that's how it works. It's a free market."

"We are actively reviewing feedback from the NWSLPA as part of the consultation process outlined in the CBA," an NWSL spokesperson said in response.

"The league remains committed to being the home of the world's best talent, and this path gives our clubs the opportunity to pursue that goal while raising overall player investment."