Michael Jordan’s Private Message to WNBA Champion Gabby Williams Revealed After Valkyries’ 1st Title

Winning a championship within just the second year of existence and setting league records left and right, the Golden State Valkyries couldn’t have done so without Gabby Williams on the roster. Sure, the WNBA had its own way to flower the 30-year-old American-French star, but NBA icon Michael Jordan wasn’t going to fall behind either.

“Michael Jordan texted me this morning; that was awesome,” Williams said during the team’s end-of-season press conference. In fact, ESPN journalist Kendra Andrews also posted on X, writing, “Williams told me that MJ told her to 'stay hungry,' to which she responded, ‘I’ve never been hungrier.’”

And hungry she was, for sure. Williams, who was the Chicago Sky’s No. 4 overall pick from the 2018 WNBA draft, spent her offseasons playing overseas, on European teams like Sopron Basket in Hungary, ASVEL in France, and Fenerbahçe in Turkey. She was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks (where she did not appear in any games) and spent four seasons with the Seattle Storm as well.

However, the magic really came to life when she signed a three-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $3,748,500 with the Golden State Warriors’ expansion team, the Valkyries, in April 2026. Under Valkyries’ coach Natalie Nakase’s guidance, Williams helped lead the 2-year-old team to the playoffs, averaging 14.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. But in the postseason, she was on a league of her own.

Her numbers rose to 21.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in the postseason, with Nakase keeping her on the floor for 32.8 minutes on average. She set WNBA Finals records for the most total points (137) and most total steals (18) in a single championship series. She dropped 25+ points in three games against the Dream, and fired up 30 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists in Game 7 to secure a 68-63 win.

In fact, 28 of her 30 points came during the second half, allowing her to set the WNBA playoff record for the most points scored in a single half. This sort of performance made perfect sense why she walked out as the WNBA 2026 Final MVP. The hunger reflected in her game as she helped lead the Valkyries to victory. However, Williams herself hasn’t been able to completely comprehend the grandeur of the event yet.

“I’m honestly just kind of living in the moment,” she told the Warriors and Valkyries’ beat reporter Kenzo Fukuda. “I’m not even really thinking that far. I think I’ve just been focusing on my family, my friends, my loved ones, soaking in the moment with them, my teammates. Because I think, unfortunately, we’ll never have exactly this group ever again. So, I think I’m just trying to soak in this moment as long as I can with these people.”

The Valkyries forward is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2029. So, the time might be slipping away fast, as she mentioned. But the hunger keeps the embers burning, and her humility towards it makes the success last longer.