# Courtney Williams

Courtney Monae Williams (born May 11, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Lynx of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Williams completed her high school basketball career at Charlton County High School. She signed with the University of South Florida and enrolled at the school in the fall of 2012.

## Early life

Williams grew up in Folkston, Georgia, a town with under 5,000 people. In her childhood she slept with a basketball and said she wanted to play in the WNBA. Her father said that she "didn’t play with dolls or any of that growing up. She was jumping on my dirt bike, riding four-wheelers. Mostly, though, she was hanging with the fellas out there on the court banging and balling.”
She played basketball for the Indians at Charlton County High School. Her mother Michelle Williams (then Michelle Granger) also played basketball for the same high school 22 years earlier. Michelle set the single-game scoring record when she scored 40 points. In her junior season, Williams took over the record by scoring 42 points in a game. She later broke her own record by scoring 44 points in a game. Williams credits her father, Donald Williams, with challenging her athletically too. Her father advised her to develop her midrange because of her smaller size in high school. "My daddy told me to get a little middy so I wouldn’t get hurt,” [Williams] said with a laugh. “It kind of became my identity.” Her father also wouldn't let her play basketball for her high school during her sophomore year as punishment for sneaking out of the house to spend time with someone he thought was trouble. Her mother let her continue to play AAU basketball that year. In her senior year, she led her team to the state semifinals. In the quarterfinals she scored 47 points. She was named to the first team for all state in Georgia but was left off the senior all-star game.

## College career

Williams was a solid role player coming off the bench in her first season with the South Florida Bulls. she appeared in every game and started in 3. She averaged 7.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and .88 assists over 33 games.
In William's sophomore year she averaged 30.4 minutes a game compared to her 15.3 coming off the bench the season before. She finished the year with 16.3 points a game along with 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists. She was named All-Conference First team and was an Honorable Mention for the All-American team.
She was a starter in every game her junior season and averaged 20.3 points per game which led the AAC. Overall she was the ninth leading scorer in the country with 20 or more points in 20 different games. During one stretch of 10 game she scored over 20 points in each game which is the longest streak in the nation at the time.
In her senior year Williams hit 308 field goals which was second in the nation among all Division I teams. She scored 763 points which was eighth best among all Division I players.
Williams was inducted into the University of South Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2019 and her number 10 jersey is retired by the team. University of Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma said of Williams, "She was just a really difficult match up for anybody and I don’t think there’s anybody in college who really had an answer for her on a regular basis."

## Professional career
### WNBA
#### Phoenix Mercury

Williams was selected as the eighth overall pick by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2016 WNBA draft. She was surprised by the selection since she didn't have many pre draft discussions with the Mercury. Williams has identified Diana Taurasi as a player who “I look up to and who I compare my mentality to”, and now she will be playing on the same team as Taurasi. After appearing in a handful of games for the Mercury, Williams was traded to the Connecticut Sun on June 26, 2016.

#### Connecticut Sun (2016–2019)

Geno Auriemma encouraged the Sun coach Curt Miller to give Williams a chance as a player who could go out and get points; "There’s nobody that I know that can stop her from doing that.’” Williams helped the Sun reach the WNBA Finals during the 2019 season, before they ultimately lost to the Washington Mystics. During the 2019 season, Williams was also honored by the league with a Player of the Week nod.

#### Atlanta Dream (2020–2021)

On February 19, 2020, Williams was traded to the Atlanta Dream as part of a three-team trade. 2021 WNBA ALL-STAR
In October 2021, Williams (along with teammate Crystal Bradford) was released from her contract after a video of them circulated through various media outlets of their involvement in a fight outside of an Atlanta area food truck.

#### Connecticut Sun (2022)

The Connecticut Sun re-signed Williams for the 2022 WNBA season.

#### Chicago Sky (2023)

On February 4, 2023, the Chicago Sky announced the signing of Williams. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed, per team policy. The Sky asked Williams to switch to playing point guard. Although she was reluctant to begin with, she finished the season fourth in the league in assists per game. Williams said the position switch "felt like a whole new world opened up for me."

#### Minnesota Lynx (2024–present)

On January 31, 2024, Williams signed a two-year guaranteed deal with the Minnesota Lynx. In free agency she expressed a desire for stability in playing for a team longer term. Williams ruptured a right thumb ligament in training camp and played through it until the Olympic break allowed enough healing time. In the June 14, 2024, Lynx home game against the Sparks, Williams became only the 4th WNBA player to have 15+ points, 10+ assists, 8+ rebounds, and 4+ steals. After the October 4, 2024, semifinals Lynx win over the Connecticut Sun, Cheryl Reeve said that Williams's "way with this team is exactly what was missing from our team last year. The toughness, the swag, the dog, and all of those things, the belief. But not just in her ability to score the ball, but also her ability to play make to make our team better." Reeve has had Williams playing the point guard position, a new role for Williams that started with her play for the Chicago Sky. Williams' trash talk was noted in the semifinals against the Sun, but she says her style is to remain light. Williams is known for her midrange shooting; she leads the WNBA in midrange attempts with 6.9 per game, while shooting 46.2%. In the 2024 season, 57.5% of her points were made in the midrange. In the October 8, 2024, game 5 semifinals Lynx win against the Connecticut Sun, Williams "had her most points in a playoff game since 2019" with 24 points; she also had seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals.
In Game 1 of the finals against the New York Liberty on October 10, 2024, Williams became only the second in Lynx franchise history to have 20+ points, 5+ rebounds, and 5+ assists in back-to-back playoffs games. Maya Moore had been the only Lynx player to do that before Williams. Williams played a clutch role for the team in their historic comeback win by scoring 8 of the last 10 points in regulation and 5 of the last 7 in overtime. Her four-point play with 5.5 seconds left in the game gave the Lynx their first lead.

### International play

On August 10, 2017, Williams signed with the Perth Lynx for the 2017–18 WNBL season. Williams was named to the WNBL Team of the Week on 14 November 2017, after a 26-point performance against the University of Canberra Capitals. The following week, Williams was named WNBL Player of the Week, after tallying 37 points, 15 rebounds and 13 assists across a pair of victories. Williams was a key contributor in the Perth Lynx's historic 14 game winning streak, resulting in the team finishing the regular season on top of the ladder. Williams finished the WNBL regular season averaging 21.7 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 4.1 APG, 2.25 STPG and 0.9 BLKPG.

### Athletes Unlimited

Williams played for Athletes Unlimited in the 2022 season.

### Unrivaled

On October 9, 2024, Unrivaled announced that Williams would play in the inaugural 2025 season for the new league. She was selected for Lunar Owls.

## National team career

Williams was selected as one of 12 players to play for the US at the 2015 World University games, held in Gwangju, South Korea in July 2015. The USA team opened with a win over Italy. In the second game against China, Williams was the leading scorer with 18 points. The USA team won the next two points to earn a berth in the semifinal against Japan. The USA team was down by 15 points, but came back to tie the game up and send the game into overtime. The teams matched scores in the first overtime and went into double overtime for the first time in World University Games history. With 10 seconds left in the second overtime, Japan cut the lead to two points but Williams hit two free throws to secure the victory. Williams recorded a double double, scoring 17 points and securing 10 rebounds. The gold-medal game was against Canada. The USA won the gold-medal 82–63 with Williams again contributing a double double, with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Williams was selected for the 2017–2020 USA Women's Basketball National Team pool and participated in National Team training camp in 2022 as well.

## Career statistics
### WNBA
#### Regular season

WNBA regular season statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2016 | Phoenix | 6 | 0 | 4.2 | .111 | .000 | .500 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| 2016 | Connecticut | 19 | 0 | 17.2 | .427 | .308 | .579 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 8.1 |
| 2017 | Connecticut | 34 | 28 | 26.0 | .473 | .324 | .878 | 4.2 | 2.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 12.3 |
| 2018 | Connecticut | 30 | 29 | 27.1 | .456 | .377 | .680 | 5.9 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 12.6 |
| 2019 | Connecticut | 34 | 34 | 29.1 | .435 | .457 | .800 | 5.6 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 13.2 |
| 2020 | Atlanta | 20 | 14 | 30.8 | .436 | .235 | .696 | 7.2 | 3.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 2.7 | 14.6 |
| 2021 | Atlanta | 32 | 32 | 34.4 | .418 | .382 | .642 | 6.8 | 4.0 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 16.5 |
| 2022 | Connecticut | 34 | 34 | 27.9 | .426 | .338 | .750 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 1.7 | 11.1 |
| 2023 | Chicago | 40° | 40° | 30.1 | .437 | .443 | .600 | 6.0 | 6.3 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.5 | 10.4 |
| 2024 | Minnesota | 40° | 40° | 26.5 | .443 | .333 | .810 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 11.1 |
| Career | 9 years, 5 teams | 289 | 251 | 27.5 | .438 | .369 | .736 | 5.3 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 12.0 |
| Career | All-Star | 1 | 0 | 20.1 | .875 | — | .500 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 15.0 |

#### Playoffs

WNBA playoff statistics :
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
| 2017 | Connecticut | 1 | 1 | 31.0 | .455 | .000 | .000 | 6.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 10.0 |
| 2018 | Connecticut | 1 | 1 | 33.0 | .478 | .800 | .333 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 27.0 |
| 2019 | Connecticut | 8 | 8 | 34.4 | .428 | .414 | .813 | 5.8 | 4.4 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 17.9 |
| 2022 | Connecticut | 12 | 12 | 27.1 | .415 | .318 | .667 | 3.9 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 10.3 |
| 2023 | Chicago | 2 | 2 | 32.5 | .316 | .286 | .000 | 8.0 | 4.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 7.0 |
| 2024 | Minnesota | 12° | 12° | 29.4 | .415 | .444 | .913 | 4.1 | 6.0 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 3.1 | 13.8 |
| Career | 6 years, 3 teams | 36 | 36 | 30.1 | .419 | .407 | .813 | 4.8 | 4.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 13.4 |

### College

Source
| Year | Team | GP | Points | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| 2012–13 | South Florida | 33 | 245 | 41.9 | 32.4 | 72.5 | 3.4 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 7.4 |
| 2013–14 | South Florida | 36 | 586 | 43.8 | 27.4 | 76.7 | 7.5 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 16.3 |
| 2014–15 | South Florida | 35 | 710 | 42.0 | 36.9 | 78.9 | 7.5 | 3.3 | 1.6 | 0.9 | 20.3° |
| 2015–16 | South Florida | 34 | 763 | 42.6 | 38.2 | 69.7 | 8.4 | 2.6 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 22.4° |
| Career | South Florida | 138 | 2304 | 42.6 | 35.3 | 74.6 | 6.7 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 16.7 |

## Personal life

Williams is the daughter of Michele and Donald Williams, and has one sister, Doniece. Her father is a visible supporter when in attendance at her games, dancing, cheering, and high fiving fans. He describes watching his daughter play well in the postseason as "euphoria," and Williams credits her father with "always instilling confidence in me. ... I try to put on a show for him." Outside of playing basketball, she does day and night trading. She has an American bulldog. Williams is openly queer, and her relationship with real estate broker N'Shya was featured in a video in the WNBA Pride is Love series in 2024.

## Awards and honors

* 2014—AAC First team
* 2014–15 added to watchlist for the Wooden Award, Dawn Staley award, the Naismith Trophy, and the Wade Trophy
* 2015—AP All-America honorable mention
* 2016—AAC First team (unanimous)
* 2016—AAC Scholar-Athlete