Elizabeth Williams readies for the WNBA

With a sixth-place overall finish and being named to the All-Defensive Team for Athletes Unlimited (AU), Elizabeth Williams has demonstrated that she’s back in playing shape after suffering a knee injury during the 2024 WNBA season. She expects to return to the Chicago Sky.

“I really wanted to stay stateside this off-season, especially coming off an injury. I thought it was important to have easy access to physical therapists and be able to call the Chicago staff and also my PTs (physical therapists) from Washington, D.C., where I did all my rehab,” said Williams, who has played overseas consistently since joining the WNBA in 2015.

“I also knew this is a very competitive league,” she said. “A lot of the players that came into the league this year are pros with a lot of experience. I had pretty high expectations.”

The fourth AU season wrapped up on Sunday with forward Maddy Siegrist crowned the 2025 AU Pro Basketball Champion. The four-week season took place in Nashville, and it was announced that the professional league will return to Music City again next year. AU has a unique format where players receive individual points for various aspects of their games. Odyssey Sims placed second, Crystal Bradford third and Maya Caldwell fourth. Teams change each week.

“It’s been pretty cool with the concept of the captains and having the facilitators who coach as much or as little as you want,” said Williams. “I was a captain in the scrimmage week. It was a balance of talking to my facilitator about what I wanted practice to look like, and then she would lay out a plan. Ultimately, we kind of tag-teamed.”

Williams noted that the AU format pushed players to be versatile and open minded. She enjoyed connecting with a broad range of players, some of whom are aspiring to make a WNBA roster and others to return to the league.

Ten years after graduating from Duke University and being a first-round pick in the WNBA Draft, Williams is somewhat surprised that she’s still playing. She’s balanced playing with being strongly social justice activism and recently finished a master’s degree in global health, as well. “I found a lot of value in basketball and in passions off the court,” said Williams. “I’ve grown in a lot of ways in finding my voice — advocating, being a good teammate, competing and winning. I don’t know if I could have ever predicted that my career would look like this, but I’m definitely not mad at it.”

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