Gabby Williams praises Dawn Staley ‘dynasty’ but doubles down on UConn superiority

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Gabby Williams praises Dawn Staley ‘dynasty’ but doubles down on UConn superiority

Russell Steinberg · ClutchPoints

Mon, Jul 28, 2025 ·

2 min read

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The post Gabby Williams praises Dawn Staley 'dynasty' but doubles down on UConn superiority appeared first on ClutchPoints .

Seattle Storm forward Gabby Williams doesn't want to hear about anyone other than her UConn Huskies as the premiere women's college basketball program in the country.

The UConn alum appeared on the Club 520 podcast over the weekend, where she was asked which program sits at the top of the sport, with the panel bringing up South Carolina and Tennessee as other candidates.

"No disrespect, but I obviously disagree, but anyways, cute moment," she said. "Shout out to Tennessee and South Carolina, they're cute."

Tennessee, once a dynasty under the late Pat Summitt, hasn't been to the Final Four since 2008, which was also the Vols' last championship. South Carolina, meanwhile, has won three National Championships under Dawn Staley, even defeating UConn in the title game in 2022. But the Huskies returned the favor in 2025, blowing out the Gamecocks to win their 12th championship — more than any other school.

"Mad respect, though, for especially what Dawn is doing right now," Williams said of Staley. "I think she is building a dynasty. There's no debate about that."

Staley's other two championships came in 2017 and 2024, with the latter being an undefeated run to the crown, highlighted by a win over Caitlin Clark and Iowa in the championship game.

"But THE dynasty [UConn]. You feel it as soon as you step on campus," Williams said. "And then you have to ask yourself, Oh, am I actually built for this? Because everyone wants to be cute and everyone wants to have the championships, but it is actually an insane kind of like, I don't know, just pressure cooker of an environment."

Storm forward Gabby Williams is having an All-Star season

Seven years after leaving UConn, Williams is an All-Star for the first time in her career. After starting her WNBA run with the Chicago Sky , Williams came to the Storm in 2022 and has steadily improved in the years since.

While injuries and overseas commitments have limited her WNBA action, she's playing her first full season in the league in three years and is averaging career highs in points per game (12.7), rebounds (4.7), steals (2.5) and minutes (32.8).

It was enough to get Williams a trip to Indianapolis for the All-Star game, where she scored 16 points and dished out five assists in Team Clark's 151-131 loss.

"I never thought I would be respected enough [to be an All-Star]," Williams said after the game, per Nancy Armour of USA Today. "I finally felt like they actually are seeing what I'm doing, respecting what I'm doing. It feels good just to have that respect from everyone."

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