Chicago Sky Season in Review: Elizabeth Williams

Recapping all-defense center Elizabeth Williams’ season including her scoring off the dribble, reading of the game defensively and more.

Continuing through December 18th, I’ll have a weekly post reviewing one member of the Sky’s 2023 season each Monday. Each post focuses on three positives from the player’s season and one thing I’d like to see more of from them next year. Think of it like a (highly positive) end of season report card. You can view past reviews here.

As the only Chicago Sky player to receive any notable post season recognition from the league, it would be safe to call Elizabeth Williams’ first season in Chicago a success. A closer look at Williams’ game tape and statistical performance, however, reveals that the veteran big may have been arguably the most important Sky player — not named Kahleah Copper — post coaching change. Let’s dig into the aspects that turned a good season into a great one:

1. Defense

An obvious place to start given Williams was a second-team all-defense selection in 2023. The blocks are what got the voters’ attention and justifiably so, but there’s a lot of basketball IQ that goes into making those rejections possible in the first place. It’s no great surprise that a former Duke student athlete who is the secretary of the players’ association is switched on, but Williams’ reading of the game stands out nonetheless. She’s a great athlete — don’t get me wrong — but her blocks aren’t usually the result of a freakish wingspan or a lateral burst that aids with close outs. Instead, Williams’ positioning and understanding of what the opponent wants to do makes the actual action of blocking the shot rather straightforward.

There’s also great value in the way Williams’ defense allows for her teammates to lean into their own personal strengths. Front court partner Alanna Smith, for instance, is freed to wreak havoc as one of the league’s elite help defenders because of the anchor alongside her. Elsewhere, perimeter players like Kah gain a lot from having an elite shot blocker behind them. When a shot blocker of Williams’ caliber is in the opposing front court, that danger is bound to enter the decision making process for a ball-handler before they turn downhill. If this creates even a split-second of indecision, Copper probably already has enough leverage to force a mistake and win her battle on the perimeter. When you’re good enough to be considered amongst the 10 best defenders in the W, that’s certainly something impactful all on its own, but the trickle-down effect of Williams’ presence on defense is probably even larger for the Sky.

2) Scoring Off the Dribble

It’s worth highlighting pretty much everything Williams did in the pick-and-roll this season, but her varied skillset with the ball at the elbow was a pleasant surprise. Her passing in these situations was dependable and provided an outlet for her to unload possession when her path towards the rim was blocked. When the path was open, Williams’ handle allowed her to get to the basket off the dribble more successfully than other bigs. For me, her strength in this area largely came from her ball security when putting the ball down — especially after a switch. For the smaller player, the first move is often to go for the steal — understanding that, once the bigger player is in motion, the options for stopping them become limited. Williams, however, does a very good job of angling her body just enough to protect the ball as she goes into her dribble and, at that point, she has enough strength to finish — even through contact.

When she did draw contact, Williams’ improved free-throw shooting was key to her late season success. Over the first 20 games of the season, Williams flirted with a 50% clip at the free throw line — meaning anybody who could foul her and prevent a lay-in would take the trade-off. It was hard to pinpoint what triggered it, but there seemed to be a loss of confidence in her approach at the stripe. As the season wore on, however, Williams regressed positively to (and then past) her mean. Over the final 20 games, she shot free throws at close to 70% — a career-high mark that she achieved twice in Atlanta. For a player who shoots a relatively low volume of attempts, the difference between the two percentages would seem marginal, but the impact it has on the way players defend her in these situations can be significant. Without the ability to play as aggressively, defenders may give Williams just an extra inch of space when receiving possession at the elbow. This extra space makes getting into her dribble easier or, if the defender sags further, allows her to release from the mid-range where she was solid (48% from 3–10 feet) this season.

3) Work Rate

I’m not sure if data exists to show what percentage of on-ball screens for the Sky this season were supplied by Williams, but I would guess it had to be somewhere in the 80’s. There’s not necessarily a great deal of fatigue in each individual screen but when you start to add up the volume, there’s a physical tax that comes with being the perpetual screener. Williams is coming from the post out to the perimeter, absorbing the physical contact and then turning back downhill towards the basket. Depending on how the play cycled through, Courtney might even call for Elizabeth to come and set a screen twice in the same twenty-four. Considering the mental fatigue that comes with the decision making after the screen (#2 above) and the diligence on the defensive side (#1 above), there was a lot on Williams’ plate this season. Add the sheer volume of playing time (29.7 minutes per game — her highest average since 2017) to the equation, and you’re looking at one of the most demanding seasons Williams has had in the WNBA. And yet, she only continued to improve her level as the season went on.

In the final 9 games of the season, Williams averaged nearly 33 minutes a game (excluding the Sky’s blowout wins over Seattle and Indiana). Over that stretch, she exceeded her season scoring average (11.2 PPG vs 9.8 PPG) was exceptional at the free throw line (just below 77%) and had multiple steals or blocks in 6 of 9 games (including 5 blocks in the crucial win vs. LA). While no one really got up to speed in the abbreviated playoff run, Williams delivered a respectable 10 rebounds and 2 blocks per game. Having a player who can maintain a high work rate over the course of a long season is one thing, but a player who increase their performance as the work piles up is something else entirely. As Teresa Weatherspoon looks to build a gritty, defensive identity for the Sky, you can only imagine that a player like Williams — who delivered her best basketball in the biggest moments — will be a big part of what she establishes next season. In a winter sure to be full of tricky free agency decisions, Elizabeth is already under contract for next season at a more than reasonable number ($135k) given her all-defense status.

What I’m Looking for From Williams Next Season: Ride the Momentum

Defensively, there’s nothing like an emphatic block to stamp your authority on the game. In that respect, Williams has things covered. At the offensive end, however, we only saw Williams take over a game with her scoring on a couple of occasions. That was largely by design as Williams was often more of a tactical piece in the pick-and-roll game Emre employed. Yet, there were still moments where Williams started to find a scoring groove or offered the Sky reliable offense during cold shooting nights. In those instances, I felt we got a glimpse of what Williams might be able to do next season to take her individual game — and the Sky— to the next level.

In the backcourt, Marina talked about how the strength of the Sky was that all three of the perimeter players could get hot on any given night. Consequently, the pressure to always be the lead scorer wasn’t there, and the guards all felt empowered to be a distributor first and a scorer second. From my view, the only thing Elizabeth needs to do to establish herself alongside those guards as an occasional lead scoring option is call for the ball when she’s hot. During an eight game stretch in August, we saw Williams hit double figures 6 times in 8 games, and I think Courtney’s trust in her big and insistence on getting her the ball in the pick and roll were a big part of that. The beauty of Courtney as a distributor was that, as a scorer herself, she seemed to have a keen understanding of when a teammate was heating up. If the veteran returns in the Sky backcourt next year, I think we’ll see Elizabeth have some big scoring nights simply by virtue of her fellow Williams getting her the ball and encouraging her to keep the opposing big on the ropes. If not, I hope that we’ll see Williams call for the touches she needs to extend her hot streaks and continue to punish opponents down low.

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