Chicago Sky center Elizabeth Williams was named to Athletes Unlimited Pro Basketball's All-Defensive team, the league announced in a Sunday tweet. She joined guard Odyssey Sims, forward Alysha Clark, forward Crystal Bradford and guard Shey Peddy.
Williams will suit up for Team Siegrist in the final game of the 2025 AU Pro Basketball season. The 3rd-year Chicago big will face off against a new Sky teammate in guard Kia Nurse, who is in 10th place on the league's leaderboard going into Sunday's matchup. Williams is four spots ahead of her following a season that has seen her average nine points and 7.4 rebounds per game. The game will tip off at 6:30 p.m. EST on Sunday and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Williams has been known for her defensive prowess since even before she first stepped on a WNBA court. The former McDonald's All-American earned the Atlantic Coast Conference's Defensive Player of the Year four times during her time with the Duke Blue Devils. She is just seven blocks behind a former WNBA center in Alison Bales for second place in the school's all-time blocks list. Williams averaged an astounding 3.1 blocks per game in her four seasons with Duke, peaking at 3.5 per contest during her freshman year.
With Williams under contract next season, the Sky will have a solid core of defensive bigs to rely on as their 2025 campaign begins in May.
The 6-foot-3 big most recently earned a WNBA All-Defensive Second Team selection in 2023. She served as a shot-blocking anchor for a Sky squad who kept their playoff hopes alive despite undergoing a major transitional period. Center Kamilla Cardoso and forward Angel Reese would join her one season later as Chicago started to lay its foundation of the future through the draft. Williams would continue to showcase her shot-blocking proficiency in the nine games she suited up for in 2024. She swatted away shots with ease and averaged 1.7 blocks per game before missing the rest of the season with a torn meniscus.
Cardoso can be the defensive anchor the Sky need for the future if she can replicate the stardom she has shown in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association. The sophomore center brought down 20 rebounds, including 13 on defense, as she nearly earned a triple-double for the Shanghai Swordfish on Friday. She showed flashes of her potential as a shot blocker during her rookie season with an average of 1.4 blocks per game. Both her and Reese must continue to tap into their defensive potential in what should be a solid big rotation heading into the 2025 WNBA season.