Gabby Williams (1) shoots over Chelsea Gray (12) in the second half as the Golden State Valkyries played the Las Vegas Aces in Game 1 of the 2026 WNBA playoffs semifinals at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) scores against Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) in the fourth quarter during Game 1 of the WNBA Semifinals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 04, 2026.
Santiago Mejia/S.F. Chronicle
AJ Hardy, of Oakland, holds a homemade sign stating: “Gabby is Daddy; This Magic is the Gays,” as fans cheer in the fourth quarter during game 1 of the semifinals as the Golden State Valkyries (2) compete against the WNBA’s defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces (3), at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday, October 4, 2026. The Valkyries went 0-3 against the Aces during the regular season, however, the Valks defeated the Aces 71-60.
Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle
Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) scores a three-pointer against Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd (24) in the second quarter during Game 1 of the WNBA Semifinals at Chase Center in San Francisco, Sunday, Oct. 04, 2026.
Santiago Mejia/S.F. Chronicle
Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams (1) drives the ball down the court against Las Vegas Aces guard Jewell Loyd (24) during the first quarter of game 1 of the semifinals as the Golden State Valkyries (2) compete against the WNBA’s defending champions, the Las Vegas Aces (3), at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday, October 4, 2026. The Valkyries went 0-3 against the Aces during the regular season.
Yalonda M. James/S.F. Chronicle
The man in the violet T-shirt paused in the Chase Center hallway to make an observation.
“Do you know who the best player in the world is?” asked Joe Lacob. And then the Golden State Valkyries owner answered his own question.
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He isn’t wrong, at least not for the past six quarters of basketball.
On Sunday, in Game 1 of the semifinals against the reigning champion Las Vegas Aces and the acknowledged best player in the world, A’ja Wilson, Williams picked up where she left off in Friday night’s dramatic finish. She scored 25 points on 9-for-18 shooting, 4-for-7 from 3-point range. She had five assists, 11 rebounds, played shut-down defense and was the best player on the floor in the Valkyries’ 71-60 victory.
She became the 10th player in WNBA history to record 25-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and 5-plus assists in a playoff game. In her past six quarters of play, Williams has scored 42 points and been a dominant force.
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“She’s continuing, game to game, to show she’s one of the best players in the world,” head coach Natalie Nakase said. “She’s doing it step by step. Certain minutes or possessions might not be flashy, but they’re valuable.”
The identity of the Valkyries in their short life has been one of “strength in numbers,” with everyone contributing, the strongest bench in the league and — so the narrative has gone — the lack-of-a-star system. The team that selected and then traded Flau’jae Johnson on draft day and has barely played last year’s top draft choice, Justė Jocytė, didn’t seem to really want a headliner.
But they have one now. As Valkyries teammate Tiffany Hayes calls her, it’s “Gabby F—ing Williams.” Already a superstar in France, she has become a Bay Area icon in recent weeks.
“I don’t have the words for it, honestly,” Williams said of her new status. “Growing up here and knowing what this community is about and seeing it at this level means everything. ‘
Williams has been leaning into her Bay Area roots in the postseason, shouting out Too Short and George Lucas and reveling in the fans’ adoration.
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“The Bay’s always been love, always been a community like this and all these Bay Area legends that I’ve looked up to since I was a kid … it just feels like a big party and I’m enjoying it,” she said. “Taking advantage of it, of this energy and magic that we have in this arena.”
There was magic in Chase Center again on Sunday afternoon. Though one might have expected the Valkyries to be drained both emotionally and physically after Friday night’s epic comeback, and though they had one less day of rest than the Aces, they came out on fire.
They played swarming defense and dominated the boards 58-34, with a 17-2 offensive rebound advantage. Former Ace Kiah Stokes led the effort against her old team with 14 rebounds and Nakase called her the game’s MVP.
“Don’t ask me about the game, it was rebounding,” said Aces coach Becky Hammon, who called it “atrocious.” “That was it.
“The good news is we played like ass but only lost by (11).”
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Friday night’s emotional win over the Dallas Wings, which clinched the first playoff series win in Valkyries history, included Nakase collapsing due to what she, before Sunday’s game, termed exhaustion. With just 40 hours between that and the start of a battle in the semifinals, a letdown wouldn’t have been surprising.
“We were joking around because all of our families were like, crying after the game and we were just all, ‘Oh, we didn’t play our best game,’” Williams said. “So it didn’t feel like there was any emotional hangover. We were more focused on, ‘OK, what do we need to tighten up for Vegas? Because if we play like that Vegas is gonna get us.’”
Instead, the Valkyries got Vegas, for only the second time ever. In June 2025, in the first ever meeting, former Aces assistant Nakase beat her old team 95-68. Since then, the Aces went 5-0 against Golden State, including a 3-0 sweep in the regular season this year.
But none of that mattered Sunday. The Valkyries came out with purpose and intensity and now Vegas is on its heels, with Game 2 at Chase on Wednesday.
“We have to make sure we set the tone again because it’s home court, we have that advantage and we need to use it,” Stokes said.
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The advantage was there on Sunday. At one point, the crowd started a “Gabby, Gabby, Gabby,” chant when Williams was at the free-throw line. These playoffs have been a coming out party for Williams, who recently turned 30 and is in her eighth WNBA season.
She spoke poignantly of her decision to sign as a free agent with Golden State last March.
“I came here because I just wanted someone to believe in me,” she said.
She’d felt that belief in her professional teams in Europe. With the French national team, where she is a huge star.
“But I never quite got that belief in the W, from a staff or from teammates,” she said. “We all just really trust each other … the fact that they trust me to have the ball in my hands.”
They all trust her. They all believe in her. They all consider her a star. Her fans, her teammates, her coach. Not to mention the team owner, who is quite sure she’s the best player in the world right now.