LILLE (France) - The Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024 is still in its early stages, but French ace Gabby Williams is looking like serious MVP material right now.
Setting the tone at both ends of the court, the forward has been the spark that lights the fire for the host nation. And, that fire is burning brightly, with France tipped to make a seriously deep run on home soil.
Williams has left a deep stamp on both games so far and as the leader of the starting five, she is setting the standards for all around to aspire to.
I know my team definitely feeds off my defense and my energy
An absolute beast on defense, she has already snapped up 6 steals. That's already 11 balls stolen in two games. That energy and work both on the ball and off the ball is driving home this defensive renaissance of France.
"I know my team definitely feeds off my defense and my energy," said Willliams.
"It's about my transition from defense to offense and I feel I have the perfect teammates to play that way. Everyone likes to run, everyone is athletic and we are a young team and that helps me a lot."
France held Nigeria to just 54 points, meaning no team has even scored 55 past them yet. "I didn't even realise that," laughed Williams. "But we actually set the goal not to let them get 50, so I am not sure if I should be disappointed. But for sure, our defense is going to continue being our identity," she confirmed.
At the other end of the floor, she's excelling too. She is basically producing 1 point in efficiency for every minute on the floor since the beginning of the tournament (43 in 48 minutes).
Against Nigeria, she posted 14 points, 7 assists, 6 steals, and 5 rebounds in 23 minutes (23 efficiency rating) before going to the bench with 20,000 recognizing her performance.
Williams became only the third player to combine for more than 10 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and more than 5 steals in a game at the Olympics during the 21st century.
This was also her second game with more than five steals in a game at the Olympics and she now joins Amaya Valdemoro of Spain to have accomplished the feat in the 21st century.
But it's never about the stats. Those don't not reflect the attitude, the confidence, the energy, the charisma. This is a player on a mission with France and you would not back against her ultimately being crowned MVP.
Most steals in a single-game All-Time at the Olympics
*Active players The steal was introduced as a statistic for the Olympics in 1996.
FIBA