Elizabeth Williams
No. 1 – Chicago Sky
PositionCenter / power forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1993-06-23) June 23, 1993 (age 30)
Colchester, England
NationalityNigerian/American
Listed height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolPrincess Anne
(Virginia Beach, Virginia)
CollegeDuke (2011–2015)
WNBA draft2015: 1st round, 4th overall pick
Selected by the Connecticut Sun
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015Connecticut Sun
2015–2016İstanbul Üniversitesi
2016–2021Atlanta Dream
2016–2017Nadezhda Orenburg
2017–2018Liaoning Flying Eagles
2018–2019Botaş
2019–2020Fenerbahçe
2020–2021Botaş
2021–2023Fenerbahçe
2022Washington Mystics
2023–presentChicago Sky
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Medals
Women’s basketball
Representing  United States
U16 and U17
Gold medal – first place 2009 Mexico National team
Gold medal – first place 2010 France National team
U18 and U19
Gold medal – first place 2011 Chile National team

Elizabeth Olatayo Williams (born June 23, 1993) is a British-born Nigerian-American basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was the longest standing member of the Atlanta Dream until she signed with the Mystics.[1] After immigrating from Colchester, Essex, England, she played her college career at Duke University. Then, she was drafted by the Connecticut Sun 4th overall in the 2015 WNBA draft, and was traded to Atlanta after only one year with the Sun.

USA Basketball career

2009 U16 Mexico City

Williams was selected to be a member of the first ever U16 team for USA Basketball. The team competed in the First FIBA Americas U16 Championship For Women held in Mexico City, Mexico in August 2009. She led the team leader in rebounds, with 5.2 per game, and averaged 13.4 points per game, second highest on the team. She tied Breanna Stewart for the most number of blocks per game, recording 7 per game. She helped the team to a 5–0 record and the gold medal at the competition. The win secured an automatic bid to the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship. Williams was named the Most Valuable Player in the Championship.[2]

2010 U17 France

Williams continued with the team as it became the U17 team. The team competed in the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women, held in Rodez & Toulouse, France during July 2010. Williams helped the team win the gold medal and an 8–0 record. She was the leading scorer, averaging 13.5 points per game and hit 61.8% of her shots, highest on the team and second highest among all participants. She led the team in rebounds, averaging 7.6 per game. She recorded 16 blocks, second highest on the team. Williams started strong, recording a double-double in the opening game against France, and again, with 20 points and 14 rebounds in the second game against Russia.[3]

U19 World Championships Chile

In 2011, Williams was selected to be on the USA basketball U19 team at the U19 World Championship, held in Puerto Montt, Chile.The USA won their first five games, but then came up short, losing to Canada 64–52. They were still qualified for the medal round, and played France in the quarterfinal. The USA was down by as much as 13 points early in the game, but took a lead with just over a minute to go in the game and ended up with the win 70–64. The USA took an early lead in the semi-final against Brazil, and went on to win to qualify for the gold medal game. The final game was against Spain. Williams was one of three USA players with 15 points in the game, along with Stefanie Dolson and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis who helped the USA win the gold medal 69–46. Williams averaged 8.9 points per game and 5.0 rebounds per game to help the US to an 8–1 record and the gold medal in the Championship game.[4]

College career

Williams played at Duke for four seasons. During her last year she averaged 14.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game. Her assist average was the highest of any center in the country in the Atlantic Coast Conference women's basketball league. She ended her career with 426 total blocks, the ninth highest in NCAA history.[5]

WNBA career

Connecticut Sun (2015)

Williams was drafted fourth overall by the Connecticut Sun in the 2015 WNBA draft. Her rookie season was her only season with the Sun, where she averaged 3.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks per game.

Atlanta Dream (2016–2021)

She was traded to the Atlanta Dream for the 2016 WNBA season. For 2016, after experiencing increased per game averages of 11.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks, she won the WNBA Most Improved Player Award.

Activism

Williams led a basketball driven campaign to force Atlanta team owner Senator Kelly Loeffler to renege on her comments about the Black Lives Matter movement. Williams was also a part of a campaign consisting of Atlanta Dream players to elect Loeffler's opponent, Raphael Warnock, the eventual winner of the 2020-21 special election for US senator of Georgia.[6]

Washington Mystics (2022–present)

In an article for The Players' Tribune published on February 4, 2022, Williams detailed the circumstances and her rationales behind her decision to sign with the Washington Mystics for her eighth WNBA season.[7]

Honors

Personal life

She was born in England to Nigerian parents. Williams' younger brother, Mark, played college basketball at Duke and was selected 15th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2022 NBA draft.[9][10]

Statistics

College career

Source[11]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2011-12 Duke 33 461 48.6 50.0 60.7 7.8 1.6 1.5 3.5 14.0
2012-13 Duke 36 546 50.8 0.0 69.5 7.3 1.3 1.1 3.0 15.2
2013-14 Duke 35 484 52.6 - 56.3 7.6 2.2 1.3 3.1 13.8
2014-15 Duke 32 464 48.8 - 59.9 9.0 2.5 1.5 3.0 14.5
Career Duke 136 1955 50.2 33.3 61.9 7.9 1.9 1.4 3.1 14.4

WNBA

Source[12]

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2015 Connecticut 21 0 11.7 .528 – .560 3.2 0.4 0.3 0.9 0.5 3.3
2016 Atlanta 34° 34° 34.7° .442 .000 .692 8.1 1.2 0.8 2.3 1.2 11.9
2017 Atlanta 34 34° 31.4 .485 .000 .659 7.2 1.4 1.1 2.0 1.4 10.4
2018 Atlanta 33 32 26.8 .548 – .563 5.8 1.4 0.8 1.8 1.2 9.1
2019 Atlanta 32 32 28.4 .455 – .732 6.5 1.2 0.8 1.7 1.3 9.3
2020 Atlanta 22° 22° 29.2 .489 – .742 5.7 1.4 0.8 1.4 1.1 10.1
2021 Atlanta 32° 32° 23.8 .516 – .509 4.9 1.2 1.1 1.3 0.8 5.8
2022 Washington 30 0 14.9 .482 – .581 3.8 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.6 5.4
2023 Chicago 40° 40° 29.7 .514 – .630 5.8 2.5 1.3 1.5 1.4 9.8
Career 9 years, 4 teams 278 226 26.4 .489 .000 .647 5.8 1.3 0.9 1.5 1.1 8.6

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2016 Atlanta 2 2 38.5 .381 – .778 12.5 1.5 0.5 2.5 0.5 11.5
2018 Atlanta 5 5 31.4 .511 – .545 8.8 1.0 0.6 1.2 1.0 10.8
2022 Washington 2 0 5.5 1.000 – .250 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 2.5
2023 Chicago 2 2 33.0 .286 – .000 10.0 3.0 0.5 2.0 1.5 4.0
Career 4 years, 3 team 11 9 28.3 .452 – .560 8.3 1.3 0.5 1.5 0.8 8.2

References

  1. ^ "Atlanta Dream's Elizabeth Williams on finding her voice ahead of Georgia's Senate runoff". On Her Turf. 2020-12-30. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  2. ^ a b "First FIBA Americas U16 Championship For Women -2009". Archived from the original on July 27, 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  3. ^ "2010 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women". USA Basketball. Archived from the original on September 7, 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  4. ^ "USA U19 Women Sprint To 69-46 Victory Over Spain, Earn 2011 FIBA U19 World Championship". Puerto Montt, Chile: USA Basketball. July 31, 2011. Archived from the original on July 27, 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
  5. ^ "Duke's Elizabeth Williams goes 4th in WNBA draft". newsobserver. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  6. ^ Minutaglio, As told to Rose (2021-01-04). "Why We Dedicated the 2020 WNBA Season to #SayHerName". ELLE. Retrieved 2021-01-18.
  7. ^ Williams, Elizabeth (4 February 2022). "When Opportunity Knocks, What Do You Choose?". The Players' Tribune. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Williams Selected WBCA Defensive Player of the Year". goduke.com. Retrieved 2016-04-08.
  9. ^ Borzello, Jeff (November 1, 2019). "Top-5 center Mark Williams announces commitment to Duke". ESPN. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  10. ^ "Hornets Select Mark Williams With 15th Pick In 2022 NBA Draft". www.nba.com. 2022-06-23. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  11. ^ "Women's Basketball Player stats". NCAA. Retrieved 23 Sep 2015.
  12. ^ "Elizabeth Williams WNBA Stats". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
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