Paris 2024 women's basketball: Gabby Williams’ 'mixed emotions' as France falls agonisingly short of ending USA golden dynasty
A tear began to roll down Gabby Williams' face. She quickly moved to wipe it off.
Standing on the women’s basketball podium on Sunday, 11 August, the 27-year-old’s name had just been announced to the Bercy Arena as silver medallists France were introduced — and thousands of voices roared back.
The reaction had caught Williams by surprise, and the pain of what had just happened immediately resurfaced.
An hour before, not more than a couple of metres from where she was currently standing receiving her silver medal, Williams had made her last-ditch attempt at a three-point shot to keep France’s hopes of an Olympic gold alive.
With a second remaining and the score 64-67, Marine Johannes launched a bullet pass Williams’ way and, without hesitation, she fired her shot up skywards.
The arena held its collective breath as it waited for the ball to fall through the net. When it did, for the briefest of moments, there was an explosion of ecstasy in the arena.
And then came the devastation.
In the thrill of the moment, Williams had overextended herself and ended just centimetres inside the three-point line when she made her attempt. Her great effort — intended to send the game into overtime — was worth two points, not three.
There would be no epic upset in front of thousands of buoyant fans and no historic Olympic basketball gold for France.
The collective agony was painted across the French players’ faces while the USA, now on its eighth consecutive gold medal, began celebrating.
Gabby Williams shooting her last-second basket over Breanna Stewart during the women's basketball gold medal match at Paris 2024.
“One team no one’s really talked about is France in France,” USA’s now six-time Olympic gold medallist Diana Taurasi had said at a press conference ahead of the tournament.
Unsurprisingly the veteran’s sixth basketball sense wasn’t off.
Les Bleues, led by Williams and Johannes, had stitched together a solid campaign during the Games at home in France.
Dropping only one game — their final group match against eventual bronze medallists Australia — the French then tore through the knockout stages, scoring a stunning 81-75 overtime win in the semi-finals against neighbours Belgium. That win sent Bercy Arena into a blaze.
The French, at home in Paris, were going to upgrade their bronze from Tokyo and perhaps even better their silver from London 2012.
In the final, they started strongly.
With dogged defending, the home team gripped tightly onto the coattails of the USA. Though not quite able to punish the reigning champions as they might have liked — the score 25-25 at halftime — the 13 turnovers committed by the Americans in the opening 20 minutes felt like just reward for their suffocating efforts.
When France went on a 10-0 run to claim the biggest lead of the night in the third frame, Bercy began to believe that their Bleues were on to end one of the greatest Olympic win streaks. And had it not been for the grit of USA's A’ja Wilson, battling through an uncharacteristically slow start, the feisty French might have had their way.
But Team USA, consummate Olympic basketball professionals, would not be denied. Wilson, Kelsey Plum, Sabrina Ionescu and company rallied until the last to take the gold by the narrowest of margins at 67-66.
Marine Fauthoux, Gabby Williams and Marieme Badiane react after their loss against Team United States
It was with a broad brush that Williams ultimately reflected on the game and her final match moments.
While Sunday had proved painful in its result, there was still plenty to celebrate. France had pushed this US basketball behemoth to the edge at an Olympics more than any team in recent memory.
And though she wasn't the hero, the dial in international women's basketball had shifted on this day because of Williams and her teammates.
“Mixed emotions,” she said in summing up the silver. “Because we were, of course, so close.
“There’s a million things you wish you could change at the end,” she continued. “It’s time to just be happy with what we’ve done and just think about the positive things. I’m not going to sit on the negative. there are so many great things we did.
“[I'm] Super proud of what we’ve done. Super happy to have this medal. I hope we made our country proud.”