Candace Parker Slams WNBA for Snubbing Finals MVP Gabby Williams

Candace Parker is calling out the WNBA’s All-WNBA voting after Gabby Williams was left off both teams.

The Golden State Valkyries guard won Finals MVP a week after the All-WNBA teams were announced.

No Golden State player made the first or second team.

The Valkyries then beat the Atlanta Dream 68-63 in Game 7 of the WNBA Finals.

According to ESPN, Golden State is the first team in league history to win a championship without an All-WNBA selection that season.

Parker and Aliyah Boston discussed the snub on the 54th episode of their podcast, Post Moves.

“Well, that’s real tough,” Boston said.

“That’s real tough. They’re doing it with the ring.”

Parker said she would have put Williams on the second team.

“I think now we are kind of, we are a little bit stat crazy, I think,” Parker said.

“And now with so many ways to watch games. I wish a lot more people would watch games. And then you could really honestly see impact.”

“Because if you didn’t look at the impact Gabby Williams was having on the Valkyries and think that she’s a first or second team, maybe not first, but second team person, I think you need to go back and watch basketball,” Parker continued.

The All-WNBA teams were announced on October 24.

The first team: Caitlin Clark, Olivia Miles, Kelsey Mitchell, Breanna Stewart, and A’ja Wilson.

Wilson made the first team for the sixth time.

Stewart made it for the seventh time.

Miles, the Rookie of the Year, was the only first-time first-team selection.

She averaged 19.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists for a Minnesota Lynx team that had the league’s best record.

The second team: Shakira Austin, Paige Bueckers, Rhyne Howard, Angel Reese, and Jackie Young.

Atlanta had two second-team picks in Howard and Reese, both first-time selections.

Golden State went 32-12 in the regular season.

They allowed a league-low 75.1 points per game.

Williams was named an All-Star for the second time this season.

In the playoffs, she averaged 20.3 points.

Her Finals average was 19.6.

In Game 7, she went into halftime with just two points.

She finished with 30 — 28 in the second half.

The snub also carries a financial cost.

Under the collective bargaining agreement ratified in March, a first-team All-WNBA selection is worth $30,000.

That is up from $10,300 under the previous deal.

A second-team selection pays $15,000, up from $5,150.

Williams did get the championship share: each player on the title team receives $60,000 under the new CBA.

The 2025 champions received $22,908 per player.

The Finals MVP bonus went from $5,000 to $30,000.

Parker read the figures on the podcast and put Williams’ total at $90,000.

Each player on the runner-up Dream receives $20,000, up from $8,521.

Had Williams made the second team, she would have earned an additional $15,000.

The All-WNBA teams are selected by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.

Voters are asked to pick a first and second team based on regular-season performance.

The playoffs are not supposed to factor into the voting.

That is why Williams’ Finals MVP run did not affect the ballot.

Still, Parker argued that voters should watch more games to measure impact beyond box scores.

“I think now we are kind of, we are a little bit stat crazy,” Parker said.

“And now with so many ways to watch games. I wish a lot more people would watch games. And then you could really honestly see impact.”

The Valkyries are only in their second season as an expansion franchise.

Their championship run has been one of the fastest turnarounds in professional sports.

Williams also credited her partner, Marine Johannès, for her support during the Finals.

Johannès plays for the New York Liberty.

The two met while playing for the French national team in 2021.

Their relationship became public during WNBA All-Star Weekend in July 2025.

At the championship parade in San Francisco on November 4, Williams called out Johannès’ role.

“My partner, who spent the entire finals with me,” Williams said as the crowd cheered.

She explained that Johannès helped with her “mood swings” and got her ready to play her best.