Gabby Williams Leads France Into World Cup Final vs USA

The Golden State forward is averaging 18.4 points as France faces the United States in the FIBA Women's World Cup final, with Caitlin Clark's role in the closing minutes a key question.

Published 13 September 2026 1 min read Sportpul editorial

Gabby Williams leads France into the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup final against the United States, and she does it as one of the more unusual figures in the women's game: an American who has become the player around whom the French side is built.

Williams was born in Nevada, played her college ball at Connecticut and was picked fourth overall in the 2018 WNBA draft. She joined Golden State this year and has put up a career-high 14.3 points per game there. At this World Cup she is shooting at a different level again — 18.4 points per game on 56.9% from the field, 48.4% from three and 91.7% from the free-throw line.

She was central to the taut Olympic final in 2024 as well, finishing with 19 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Her last-second shot in that game stayed just inside her foot; a few inches back and it would have sent the match to overtime.

Her Golden State team-mate Janelle Salaun is the second-leading scorer for the Valkyries and sits third on the French scoring list behind Williams and Marine Johannes of the New York Liberty. Inside, the work has gone to Dominique Malonga, the 20-year-old Seattle centre averaging 10 points, 6.6 rebounds and a block a game. Eight French players are on WNBA rosters; only one, Romane Bernies, still plays her club basketball in France.

On the US side, Caitlin Clark's tournament has been a mixed one. She is averaging 20.6 minutes per game, third on the team behind Jackie Young and Breanna Stewart, and just 7 points on 29.4% shooting from the field and 22.7% from three, with two makes from three free-throw attempts. Against that, she leads the team in plus/minus at 22, is the runaway leader in assists at 5.8 per game, and has cut her turnovers to 1.2 per game, well below her usual WNBA rate. Late in games, though, the US have tended to look elsewhere — Kahleah Copper came on for Clark with 5:33 left in the semi-final, and Spain never got closer than eight points after that change.

The final sets up as a contest between American depth and a France team carrying most of its scoring load through Williams, Salaun and Malonga. How the US coaching staff manages Clark's minutes down the stretch may again decide the closing exchanges.