Gabby Williams penned a five-word goodbye to the Storm.
“Thank you, Seattle. Love, Gabby,” she posted on her social media account Friday afternoon.
And just like that, Williams’ four-year tenure with the Storm came to an end, perhaps sooner than many expected. It’s not immediately clear where she’ll play next season.
After three unproductive seasons with the Chicago Sky and sitting out the 2021 WNBA season, Williams, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 draft, resurrected her career in Seattle.
On Feb. 3, 2022, the Storm dealt forward Katie Lou Samuelson and the No. 9 pick in the 2022 draft to the Los Angeles Sparks for Williams.
The 5-foot-11 versatile wing started 36 games in 2022 and appeared in just 22 games the next two years because of injuries and late arrivals due to her international commitments and desire to play with the French Olympic team.
Last year, the 29-year-old Williams had her best season in the WNBA while posting career highs in scoring (11.6 points per game), assists (4.2) and steals (2.3) en route to capturing her first All-Star Game invitation.
Several league observers believed Williams would return to Seattle considering she frequently worked out at the Storm practice facility during the offseason and represented the Storm at the WNBA expansion draft lottery in December.
Williams’ exit is the latest departure and follows Nneka Ogwumike, who is signing with the Los Angeles Sparks, and Brittney Sykes, who is reportedly receiving a two-year deal with the Toronto Tempo.
Meanwhile, Skylar Diggins, the fourth All-Star from last season’s team, is reportedly linked to the Chicago Sky and unlikely to return to Seattle.
On Friday, the Storm reportedly signed Natisha Hiedeman and on Tuesday they secured exclusive negotiating rights with Ezi Magbegor, Zia Cooke and MacKenzie Holmes.
Seattle, which has Dominique Malonga, Jordan Horston and Lexie Brown under contract, has about $5.9 million in salary cap space to fill out the roster. WNBA teams can carry 11-12 players.
