Q&A with Gabby Williams: Chicago Sky forward speaks on the addition of Candace Parker, reflects on the bubble and marvels at the WNBA impact on Georgia Senate runoffs

Chicago Sky forward Gabby Williams was off for only 10 days off before she had to leave the country to play for her Hungarian team, trading in the WNBA bubble for life with Sopron Basket.

That didn’t give her much time to reflect on the accomplishment that was the WNBA bubble, where the league put on a successful 2020 season and became the leading voice on racial and social justice issues among sports leagues.

But when Williams does take time to reflect on her role as one of the most vocal and engaged WNBAvoices, it fills her with pride.

“It’s my favorite thing when people ask me about the bubble,” Williams said during a phone interview this week. “It’s like, ‘Yeah, we did this, we raised this much money, we talked to this person.’ I think it can be really motivating too. For people who are in other sports or whoever it is, just educating people on what they can do as well.”

Those same values are what prompted Williams to get involved in a new partnership with Ford on their #ShowSomeMuscle social campaign. The challenge encourages women to share stories of strength — and not just limited to physical strength — as the company attempts to re-imagine the concept of a “muscle car.”

Williams has encouraged her social media followers to show their strength and she joined the Tribune for a phone interview this week as she promoted her campaign from Hungary on a wide range of topics, from the team’s reported addition of Candace Parker, the WNBA’s role in swinging a Senate election and what’s next for Sky Takes Action.

Questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.

Tell me a little bit about the “Show Some Muscle” campaign and why you decided to get involved in it?

I think it’s just an incredible thing that Ford is giving this platform to women, all over, no matter who it is, and giving them a chance to tell their stories. That’s the biggest thing to hear, that there’s multiple forms of muscle and strength, especially by women. Women don’t recognize things in themselves, and of course people don’t recognize that in women, that we have certain strengths that aren’t highlighted enough. I love that Ford is giving that opportunity.

How would you answer that question? What makes you feel strong?

When I step out of my comfort zone, because I tend to be really introverted around people I don’t know. People always tell me, I thought you were really quiet or that you hated me. (laughs) I have trouble expressing myself, like even telling you this, I’m uncomfortable. So I think whenever I push myself out of my comfort zone and speak up about what’s bothering me, I gain some strength from that because that’s not easy for me to do.

How’s your season going?

Season is going really well. We’re undefeated, so what else can I ask for? We just qualified for quarterfinals in EuroLeague, which is huge. Went 6-0 in EuroLeague, which is big with the circumstances of the two bubbles and stuff. That was pretty cool, we’re starting to play our best basketball right now.

Where have you seen a step forward in your game?

I’ve been shooting really well since I’ve been here, especially in the EuroLeague, I think my percentages were really good. And I’m taking tougher shots. So, in that aspect I think I’ve improved a lot. Out here they have me focusing on the 2-3, so I’m not as all over the place as I am in Chicago, playing 1 through 4. I feel a lot more comfortable offensively and defensively out here. And I think my on-ball defense against wings is getting a lot better. I’m getting through screens a bit better and that kind of thing.

I know it’s not official yet, so I’m not sure how much you can say, but what was your reaction to the news of Candace Parker signing with the Sky?

I’m super excited. I know Candace off the court as well (the two worked together at the Mamba Academy in Los Angeles) and it’s just going to be an amazing chance to play with her. She knows what it’s like to win a championship, so that’s going to be good for us and our team identity. I think she’s going to help that a lot. She knows what it takes and she’s already an outspoken leader. But off the court, she’s really cool and I feel already comfortable with her. I think she’ll be a great addition to the team.

You guys came into last season with championship goals, but how big can a signing like this be in helping get your team get to the next level?

Already people are seeing us — we always see ourselves as championship contenders — but I think now everyone else is seeing it too. And like I said, it’s nice to have someone on the team who knows what it takes to win a championship in the WNBA. Because we can’t really say that. We know what it takes to be good or to win the game. But she knows what it’s like to win a championship and that’s going to be so important. She has experience on that stage, many times.

What stands out to you when you think back to the bubble?

Honestly, I barely remember the basketball (laughs) because so much more was going on, especially with the ‘Say Her Name’ group campaign, with the Warnock elections, with the Sky Takes Action stuff. I think that’s the stuff that I’m going to remember the most, because that was even the most talked about. Yeah, it was an opportunity for fans to finally see us play again, but it was also an opportunity for people everywhere to see the stance we were taking and how much we can get done as 144 women all working together.

The Raphael Warnock campaign seems like the best examples of that. That night you all wore the shirts, he was polling in single digits. For him to end up winning a senate runoff as a Black Democrat in Georgia, how have you processed the role you all played in helping make that happen?

When you’re in the moment, it’s kind of hard to grasp just how big of a moment in history that it was and just the impact that it had on the whole country and the whole world. I’m walking out with such a sense of pride that I could even say that I was a part of it from the beginning. All of us, WNBA players, we had a chance to say we helped that, we were a part of that. And everyone knows where we align as people. They understand that we agree with what Warnock is doing and that’s important for fans to know as well. This is the kind of things that we support.

But were you thinking this was all possible when you first wore the shirts?

Well yeah, we wore the shirts with the intentions to make it possible. We weren’t just wearing the shirts as a fan club (laugh). It was, ‘Alright, let’s bring some attention to this. This is going to be huge.’ We knew how important it was to get voter turnout. We talked to (Warnock) and we had some calls with him about what he wanted us to talk about and to promote and how we could use our voice. The biggest thing just came down to voter turnout and just educating people on that, how we get people registered and that kind of thing. Do people know when they can vote or how they can vote absentee? But we definitely wore it with the intention to make some waves.

You also took the lead on Sky Takes Action, which raised more than $100,000 to benefit local Chicago organizations. What were the next steps after the bubble and how will you go about distributing the money?

We’re still figuring out how to distribute. I’m going to divide it up a bit. (Bears linebacker) Sam Acho and (Sky guard) Diamond (DeShields) work closely with By the Hand (Kids Club), so they’re going to report back to Athletes for Justice about, ‘Okay, they need this, can we provide this for them, can we help that?’ And I’m having my conversations too.

While I’ve been overseas, it’s just been about what’s the most efficient way we can fund this. We want to be a part of the projects as well, which is going to have to wait until COVID (ends). We want to be more hands on too, whether it be community service or just coming to speak to someone. We’d like to make it about more than just the money. I think now we’ve kind of set the foundation for what Sky Takes Action could be, just with that monetary donations and creating it. So, I think now we can build on that every year.

Looking at the WNBA overall: the games were on TV a lot more, the ratings were up, the orange hoodie has been one of the hottest selling items. How are you feeling about the growth of the league in the past year and are you encouraged by what you’ve seen?

I think every WNBA player is like, ‘Told you so.’ All you have to do is just put us on TV. That’s the biggest problem, it’s not that people don’t want to watch women’s basketball, it’s just that it’s not promoted and doesn’t have the same media platforms as other sports, which makes people think it’s unimportant or unimpressive. But when you put on the games, you see people are actually interested and actually want to watch. I hope those big sports networks recognize that. When you promote us and you give us a shot, it’s good basketball. People are going to watch.

After accomplishing so much in the bubble, what now? Do you take time to sit back and reflect? Or are you the kind of person that’s like, ‘Alright, what’s next?’

It’s always about finding the balance because it’s never done. Our work is never done. So the Warnock election was a time for me to reflect like, ‘Dang, that’s cool we were a part of that.’ And it was a moment. And then it’s like, ‘Right on to the next thing.’ Enjoying the moment, but not letting yourself get too relaxed and comfortable because there’s always work that can be done.