Sources: Storm designate Williams as core player

The Seattle Storm have designated Gabby Williams as their core player, meaning she will not become an unrestricted free agent, sources told ESPN on Tuesday.

Teams have until Jan. 20 — the day before players and teams can begin negotiating — to extend core designations to eligible players. Williams joins Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces), Satou Sabally (Dallas Wings) and Breanna Stewart (New York Liberty) as players with that designation, which allows them to sign the one-year qualifying offer at the WNBA’s highest possible salary ($249,244) but prevents them from signing with another team as a free agent.

Williams’ situation is notable because she reportedly indicated to teams last summer that committing to not using the core designation on her would factor into her decision on where to sign after leading France to a silver medal in the Olympics.

Sources told ESPN that Williams and her representatives were not surprised by Seattle’s decision to use the core designation on her and have been working closely with the Storm on determining her next steps.

Because of Williams’ late arrival, she played just 12 games for the Storm last season, as opposed to the full seasons that other core players finished for their teams. Her international commitments have also prevented her from going through the typical unrestricted free agency process. She re-signed with Seattle in July 2023 as a restricted free agent after recovering from a concussion suffered playing professionally in France before considering offers from multiple teams last year.

Although the Storm’s season ended in a sweep by the Aces in the opening round of the playoffs, Williams said afterwards she thought re-signing with Seattle was the correct move.

The 12 games that Williams played for Seattle in 2024 represented the best stretch of her WNBA career. She averaged a career-high 10.3 points in addition to 4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game. An all-defensive second team pick in 2022, the last full season Williams played in the WNBA, she was also selected to the Olympic All-Star Five after averaging 15.5 oints and 2.8 steals for host France.

Williams had 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals in the gold-medal game, but she was unable to score at the buzzer as the United States won its eighth consecutive Olympic championship.

Under the current WNBA collective bargaining agreement, which expires after this season, players are subject to the core designation a maximum of two times, or for a single contract lasting at least two years. Teams can use the core designation on one free agent each offseason unless that spot is taken by a player still under a multiyear contract signed with the team after receiving the designation.

This is the first time Williams has been given the core designation.

Players who have received the core qualifying offer can still be traded. Sabally told reporters last week she has played her last game in Dallas and is working with the Wings on finding a new home.