Courtney Williams may have found a home with the Minnesota Lynx

Courtney Williams was walking on the streets of New York when her phone rang.

It was June 2016, and Williams had played just 14 games in her rookie season with the Phoenix Mercury. Two months earlier, in April, she was the No. 8 pick in the WNBA draft, an attractive two-point guard out of the University of South Florida who UConn head coach Geno Auriemma described as one in every of the hardest defenders in the AAC to defend.

For the Mercury, Williams has yet to make her mark, appearing in only six games and averaging just 4 minutes a game. In New York, she got a call from then-Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello.

Williams was traded to the Connecticut Sun.

“I didn’t know anything about anything… I’m a kid,” Williams said. “I’m wondering, ‘Will I come to the game tomorrow?’ “

The news got here as a surprise to Williams, who believed she would start her profession in Phoenix. This can be the first of several unexpected departures from the franchise.

Now in his ninth season, Williams continues to search for a long-term franchise home. However, she may have landed in Minnesota, her fifth WNBA team. After signing with the Lynx in February, Williams became a core member of a team that quickly emerged as a title contender.

“My first year was amazing,” Williams said.

With the Sun leading the Minnesota Lynx 1-0 in the WNBA semifinals heading into Game 2 on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) with a probability to win the league championship, Williams enjoyed every little bit of her final WNBA break, hoping it will be her last time.

This yr’s Lynx team, which finished the regular season with the second-best record in the WNBA and most wins in franchise history, offers Williams the best potential path to a WNBA championship since 2019. That season, Williams played for Connecticut, when she reached the finals against the Washington Mystics, but lost in the fifth and final game of the series.

“It will stay with you forever,” Williams said. “You do not get points only for getting there. You have to win this. I’m sure you have that thought in your mind: “I need to buy something now.” “

Four months later, in February 2020, Williams, who felt she had found a core group with which she was able to make a comeback, was traded to the Atlanta Dream. After the trade was announced, then-Sun general manager and head coach Curt Miller said Williams not desired to be in Connecticut, a claim Williams disputed at the time. Williams maintains she never wanted to depart the Sun, but has modified her perspective on the matter.

“Now that I look back and I’m older, I think I was so connected to that group and became so emotionally invested… I got rid of the business aspect of it,” Williams said. “I believe when it got here time to barter… when it got here time to do business, I let my emotions get the higher of me when it got here all the way down to it. We are all learning. We all grow. But yeah, I definitely didn’t want to depart, man. (They were) all my people. ”

Williams thought she had found her ultimate WNBA goal with the Dream. She returned to her home state of Georgia and had the opportunity to play for coach Nicki Collen, who was an assistant coach for Sun.

“It was like, ‘Okay, my people can come visit me.’ I can go home. So at first I definitely thought so (it was Atlanta).”

But it didn’t work out in Atlanta either. Despite excelling with the Dream and earning All-Star honors during the 2021 season, Williams’ involvement in a non-WNBA fight involving other Dream players led to Atlanta selecting to not re-sign her. Williams then entered free agency.

Over the next two seasons, Williams would spend one other yr with Connecticut in 2022 and one yr with the Chicago Sky in 2023. When Williams entered free agency in January, she was not only on the lookout for a company to play for, but in addition on the lookout for a long-term home.

“That was my biggest thing in free agency,” Williams said. “When I talked to all the teams, I said I used to be at a point in my profession where I didn’t wish to bounce back anymore. If you may offer me more of being a part of the core group than when you see me being a part of a franchise, that is where I would like to be. Minnesota got here and matched my energy.

“It was something Courtney and I talked about. “Courtney’s back in the conversation as one of the best defenders in the league is where she belongs,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said after a Sept. 1 regular-season victory over Chicago. “We are committed to doing this.”

During her time in the WNBA, Williams’ identity in the league became synonymous with midfield scoring. As many as 57.5% of Williams’ points this season got here from the middle. The WNBA player who was second on this category (for players who logged a minimum of 20 minutes per game) was Atlanta Dream forward Tina Charles with 22%.

“(The diameter is) something of a lost art in the game. For most players in the league, including the NBA, it’s usually not a high percentage shot,” said Lynx guard Bridget Carleton. “It’s a shot that defenses expect from offensive teams. It’s a break for Courtney and teams don’t desire her to take it.

Williams led the league in mid-range shots per game (6.9) while posting a career-best shooting percentage (46.2), passing Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson (46.3) for the best shooting percentage in the league amongst players with a minimum of 4 attempts per game from the level.

“It’s a lot of fun, he can give it his all,” Carleton said. “She’s really good and extremely efficient, and when she can achieve that, it’s really nice. It can’t be stopped.”

Williams credits the Lynx coaching staff with setting her up on the court to achieve success. Minnesota assistant coach Elaine Powell played with two exceptional midfield talents in Katie Smith, now also the Lynx’s associate head coach, and Deanna “Tweety” Nolan.

“Courtney is able to get to her place. He knows when he gets to his spot he’s going to do one of his mid-range pull-ups,” said Powell, who won three championships as a defenseman with the Detroit Shock. “When you have someone like Courtney, it’s easier for her to do pins or get (Alanna Smith) to screen drag or whatever so she can get to her favorite thing, which is the pull-up jumper.”

Williams says she has had the most fun playing Lynx basketball in years. Teammates say Williams brings a veteran presence to the Lynx locker room and an energy as big and brilliant as the blonde hair he currently sports on the court.

“Every time Courtney is in the room, you’re going to laugh,” Carleton said. “You’ll have fun.”

Williams is in the second yr of the biggest transition of his profession, moving from a two-guard position to a point guard. As a Sky player in 2023, Williams was asked to attain for the first time, to which she reluctantly agreed. Despite her reluctance, Williams achieved her goal, rating fourth in the WNBA in assists per game (6.3).

As the Lynx point guard in 2024, Williams continued to showcase her skills as Minnesota’s leading defender. The Lynx led the league in assists during the regular season, and Williams averaged 5.5 per game, the most on the team.

“Most people know Courtney as a great mid-range shooter, but now she penetrates the hole and gets to the hole and makes it easier to get the ball where it needs to be,” Powell said. “Now she’s really pulling more out of the bag she already had.”

Williams committed herself to development in her recent position. Whenever she could, she watched other games to see how other top quarterbacks viewed the game and the way they handled it. He is consistently on the lookout for “gems” from the Lynx coaching staff. Sometimes they’re easy reminders, like putting more emphasis on clock management or ensuring he can see the entire court while he’s working.

“He’s not afraid to ask questions and he’s not afraid to say, ‘Hey, show me again because I don’t understand,’” Powell said. “She is open and wants to learn.”

As Williams continues to learn, Carleton said she already has a few of the traits of a point guard.

“Her decision making on ball screens. Her ability to deal with pressure, recover from balls and read correctly. He always reads well,” Carleton said.

“I think people have to make a decision,” Williams said. When I get out of the pick and roll, will you step forward? Are you going to make use of hard hedging? Whatever they select, I have a decision I can agree with.

New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones, who played for Williams on the Sun, is joyful to see her flourish in Minnesota, where he considers Williams’ role to be ideal. Now, as Williams and the Lynx’s opponent, Jones said that given the variety of offensive threats the Lynx have on their roster, from 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier to 2 of the best three-point shooters in the league, Kayla McBride and Carleton, Williams’ protection becomes rather more difficult.

“The one-on-ones are very important because as soon as you help, you pay for it with the shooters they have,” Jones said. “Courtney has always been great in one-on-one games, so stopping her is even more difficult.”

As Williams continued to reflect on her recent finals appearance with The Sun, one aspect of her performance in Connecticut stood out.

“We had a great group,” Williams said. “I believe that is what got me to where we at the moment are. We’ve got a great group, man. They’re just a selfless group and I believe that is the most vital thing that involves my mind after I take into consideration attending to the finals – it’s the locker room.

After the Lynx cruised to a victory late in one in every of the final games of the regular season, Williams was interviewed by Terrice Foster-Brasby of NBC Sports Boston. Williams, buoyed by the victory, gushed about her team and teammates, indicative of the impact the Lynx organization had on the ever-adapting and developing league veteran. Williams has his sights set on bringing the title to Minnesota. She’s willing to do whatever it takes to get into the franchise that offered her the home she was on the lookout for.

Williams said at the end of one in every of her post-game answers, “I love being here.”