SEATTLE – She’s not the type who points or gestures or calls attention to herself after a big play.

Instead, Gabby Williams makes her impact on the court in more of a sleek, slick, soft-spoken kind of manner.

One moment, the ball is in an opponent’s hands. The next moment – seemingly from out of nowhere – it’s not.

That’s because it has been knocked away, deflected or outright stolen by Williams.

The 5-foot-11 Connecticut star, who is in her seventh WNBA season and fourth with the Seattle Storm, can score, rebound or pick up the assist. More often than not, her box score stat line is the epitome of playing a complete game.

But it’s the steals that are standing out – and stacking up: 98 of them heading into the final game of the regular season. No one else even has 70.

No wonder Williams is one of the leading candidates for the WNBA’s Defensive Player of the Year Award.

“She’s an instinctual type of basketball player defensively,” Head Coach Noelle Quinn said. “The deflections, the timing … More (often) than not, she’s getting her hands on balls. She takes on the other team’s top guards all the time, and she takes that assignment with a lot of pride.”

“That’s why she’s a DPOY candidate, in my opinion, because of how she impacts us on that side of the ball.”

On the one hand, it’s not unheard of to have 90-plus steals in a season. It has happened five other times in the WNBA’s 28 previous campaigns.

On the other hand, just two players have done it. Teresa Weatherspoon had 100 in 1998 with the New York Liberty and Tamika Catchings did it four times: in 2002 (94), 2005 (90), 2006 (94) and 2009 (99), all with the Indiana Fever.

Since the 99-swipes season by Catchings, the highest total has been 86 by Jordin Canada in 2023 with the Los Angeles Sparks.

Only four times in her first 42 games this summer has Williams not had a steal. In the other 38 games she has at least one steal, a league record; she has multiple steals in 27 games this season. That includes a career high and team record of eight against the Sparks on June 17 in Los Angeles. Williams also has two games with five swipes and five games with four.

“It feels great to be this active on the defensive end,” Williams said after her eight-steal performance. “I think I’m able to get these steals because I know I have help behind me. We’re just so connected with our communication, especially among the guards. The game slows down, so I’m able to get these deflections and steals.”

On May 17 when the Storm tipped off the 2025 season at Phoenix, she had two steals, two blocked shots, and three assists in the opening quarter – the first player in league history with multiple markers in each of those categories through the opening 10 minutes of a game.

Then on Aug. 5 at home against Minnesota, she came up with her 75th steal of the year, breaking the team record of 74 set by Natasha Howard in 2019. (Howard won that year’s Defensive Player of the Year award).

Far from a one-dimensional player, along with her 2.3 steals per game, averages 11.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists. She even has 21 blocked shots.

“Her versatility, her athleticism gives her the ability guard a lot of people and affords us an opportunity to switch,” Skylar Diggins said. “Her ability to create deflections, to block shots, to get steals and help us convert on the offensive end – we rely heavily other for that.

“She’s one of the best in the game at what she does.”

Along with Howard, the only other Storm star to be named DPOY was Lauren Jackson in 2007.

Williams certainly would be joining some elite company if her name is ultimately added to that list.

“Noey has believed in me since I got here four years ago,” Williams said. “She has always seen something in me that people weren’t seeing in me before, I just feel very lucky to have found a franchise like this and ended up with a coach like her. My career wouldn’t be on this trajectory without this staff.”

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