Courtney Williams may have found a home with the Minnesota Lynx

Courtney Williams was walking the streets of New York City when her phone rang. 

It was June 2016 and Williams was just 14 games into her rookie season with the Phoenix Mercury. Two months earlier in April, she had been the No. 8 overall pick in the WNBA draft, a tantalizing 2-guard from the University of South Florida who UConn head coach Geno Auriemma had labeled as one of the toughest guards in the AAC to defend.

With the Mercury, Williams had yet to get an opportunity to make her mark, appearing in just six games and averaging only four minutes of play. In New York, she got a call from then-Phoenix coach Sandy Brondello.

Williams had been traded to the Connecticut Sun. 

“I didn’t know anything about anything … I’m a kid,” Williams said. “I’m like, ‘do I come to the game tomorrow?’ “

The news came as a surprise to Williams, who believed she’d begin her career in Phoenix. It’d be the first of several unexpected franchise departures.

Now in her ninth season, Williams is still in search of that long-term franchise home. It’s possible, though, that she may have found a landing place in Minnesota, her fifth WNBA team. After signing with the Lynx in February, Williams has become a major contributor on a team that quickly emerged as a title contender.

“My first year has been amazing,” Williams said. 

As the Sun lead the Minnesota Lynx 1-0 in the WNBA semifinals heading into Game 2 on Tuesday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) with a shot at a league title on the line, Williams has enjoyed every part of her latest WNBA stop hoping that it will be her last.

This year’s Lynx team, which finished the regular season with the second-best record in the WNBA and its most wins in franchise history, offers Williams her best potential path to a WNBA championship since 2019. That season, Williams played for Connecticut when it reached the Finals against the Washington Mystics, but lost in the fifth and final game of the series.

“It sticks with you forever,” Williams said. “You don’t get points for just getting there. You got to win it. You definitely have that chip on your shoulder of ‘I got to go get one now.’ ”

Four months later in February 2020, Williams, who felt like she had found a core group she was ready to run it back with, was traded to the Atlanta Dream. Following the announcement of the trade, then-Sun general manager and head coach Curt Miller said Williams had no longer wished to be in Connecticut, which Williams disputed at the time. Williams maintains that she never wanted to leave the Sun, but has changed her perspective on the matter.

“Now that I look back on it, I’m older now, I think I was so connected to that group and I was so emotionally invested … I took out the business aspect of it,” Williams said. “I think when it was time to negotiate … when it was time to do business, I let my emotions get the best of me when it came down to it. We all learn. We all grow. But, yeah, I definitely didn’t want to leave, man. [Those were] all my people. ”

Williams thought she had found her final WNBA destination with the Dream. She was back in her home state of Georgia and had the opportunity to play for coach Nicki Collen, who had been an assistant coach for the Sun.

“It was kind of like, ‘all right, my people can come see me. I can get back home.’ So at first, I definitely thought that [Atlanta was it].”

But it didn’t work out in Atlanta either. Despite excelling with the Dream, and being named an All-Star during the 2021 season, Williams’ involvement in a non WNBA-related fight involving other Dream players led to Atlanta electing to not re-sign her. Williams then entered free agency.

For the next two seasons, Williams spent a reunion year with Connecticut in 2022, and a year with the Chicago Sky in 2023. When Williams entered free agency in January, she wasn’t just in search of an organization to play for, she was looking for a long-term home.

“That was my biggest thing during free agency,” Williams said. “When I talked to every team, I said I’m at a point in my career now where I don’t want to bounce around no more. If you can offer me being a part of a core group more than if you can see me being a part of the franchise, that’s where I want to be. Minnesota came, and they matched my energy.”

“It was something that Courtney and I talked about – Courtney being back in the conversation as one of the best guards in the league is where she belongs,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said after a regular season win over Chicago on Sept. 1. “We have a commitment to doing that.”

During her time in the WNBA, Williams’ identity in the league has become synonymous with midrange scoring. A whopping 57.5% of Williams’ points came from the midrange this season. The WNBA player who was second in that category (for players who logged at least 20 minutes per game) was Atlanta Dream forward Tina Charles at 22%.

“[The midrange is] something that is kind of like a lost art in the game. That normally is not a high-percentage shot for most people in the league, including the NBA, too,” Lynx guard Bridget Carleton said. “That’s a shot that defenses want offensive teams to take. For Courtney, it’s a layup and teams don’t want her taking that.”

Williams led the league in midrange shot attempts per game (6.9) while posting a career best shooting percentage (46.2), narrowly trailing Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson (46.3) for league-best among players with at least four attempts per game from the level.

“It’s so fun, she can get it off against anybody,” Carleton said. “She’s really good and so efficient and it’s really fun when she gets that thing going. It’s impossible to stop.”

Williams credits the Lynx coaching staff with putting her in positions on the court to be successful. Minnesota assistant coach Elaine Powell played with two exceptional midrange talents, Katie Smith, also currently an associate head coach for the Lynx, and Deanna “Tweety” Nolan.

“Courtney is able to get to her spot. She knows once she gets to her spot, she’s going to one of her midrange pullups,” said Powell, who won three championships as a guard for the Detroit Shock. “When you have someone like Courtney, it’s easier to run pindowns for her, or get [Alanna Smith] to drag screen, or whatever, so that she can get to her go-to thing and that’s the pull-up jumper.”

With the Lynx, Williams says she is having the most fun she’s had playing basketball in years. Teammates say Williams brings a veteran presence and an energy to the Lynx locker room as big and bright as the blond hair she currently sports on the court.

“Anytime Courtney is in the room, you’re going to laugh,” Carleton said. “You’re going to enjoy yourself.”

Williams is in the second year of the largest transition of her career, shifting from the 2-guard to the point guard position. As a Sky player in 2023, Williams was asked to play point for the first time, which she agreed to reluctantly. Despite her reluctance, Williams excelled, finishing fourth in the WNBA in assists per game (6.3).

As the point guard for the Lynx in 2024, Williams has continued to showcase her skills as Minnesota’s lead guard. The Lynx led the league in the regular season in assists, with Williams averaging a team-high 5.5 per game.

“Most people know Courtney as being a great midrange jump shooter, but now she’s penetrating and getting to the hole and she’s facilitating the ball where it needs to be,” Powell said. “Now she’s just really bringing out more that is in her bag that she already had.”

Williams has been committed to growing within her new position. When she could, she’d watch other games to observe how other top point guards see and manage a game. She’s constantly seeking “gems” from the Lynx coaching staff. Sometimes that’s simple reminders, from a larger emphasis on clock management to ensuring she’s seeing the entire court as she operates.

“She’s not afraid to ask questions and she’s not afraid to say, ‘hey, show me again I don’t get it,’ ” Powell said. “She’s open and wanting to learn.”

As Williams continues to narrow the learning curve, Carleton said she already has several point guard qualities.

“Her decision-making in ball screens. Her ability to handle pressure, get off ball screens and make the right read. She always just makes the right read,” Carleton said.

“I think people have to make a decision,” Williams said. When I come off a pick and roll, are you going to step up? Are you going to hard hedge? Whatever they choose to do, I have a decision that I can go with.”

New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones, who played with Williams on the Sun, is happy to see her thriving in Minnesota, where she calls Williams’ role a perfect fit. Now as an opponent of Williams and the Lynx, Jones said that because of the amount of offensive threats the Lynx have on their roster, from 2024 Defensive Player of the Year Napheesa Collier to two of the best 3-point shooters in the league, Kayla McBride and Carleton, guarding Williams becomes that much harder.

“The one-on-one matchups are so important because, the minute you help, they make you pay with the shooters that they have,” Jones said. “Courtney has always been a great one-on-one player, so it just makes trying to stop her that much harder.”

As Williams continued to reflect on her last Finals appearance with the Sun, there was one aspect of that Connecticut run that sticks out.

“We had a great group,” Williams said. “I think that brings me to where we are now. We have such a great group, man. It’s just a selfless group, and I think that’s the biggest thing that sticks out to me when I think of making that push to the Finals – it’s the locker room.”

After the Lynx pulled out a late-game win in one of the final games of the regular season, Williams was interviewed by Terrika Foster-Brasby of NBC Sports Boston. Williams, energized by the victory, raved about her team and teammates, indicative of the imprint the Lynx organization has made on the ever-adapting and evolving league vet. Williams has her sights set on bringing a title to Minnesota. She’s willing to do whatever the team needs to get there for a team and franchise that has offered her the home she’s been searching for.

Williams said as she concluded one of her postgame responses: “I love it here.”