Natalie Williams, general manager of the Las Vegas Aces, is gearing up for a win of a lifetime. She could become the first Black general manager in WNBA history to win back-to-back titles.
The 2022 WNBA champions are just one win away from trailblazing history. Las Vegas could become the first team to win back-to-back championships in 20 years if they defeat the New York Liberty. In Game 3, the Aces were looking to become the first repeat WNBA champion since the 2001-2002 Los Angeles Sparks. But the Liberty’s win has opened up another opportunity, with Game 4 taking place Oct. 18 in Brooklyn. Williams is all in!
The wife and mother of six has served as the Aces’ general manager for only two years. In her first season, the Basketball Hall of Famer witnessed the “magical” run to Las Vegas’ first title in franchise history last year. Her team was also the 2022 Commissioner’s Cup Champions.
And yet Williams is no stranger to winning as a player herself.
Considered the greatest two-sport athlete in UCLA history, Williams was the first woman to earn first-team All-American honors in both basketball and volleyball in the same
year. She is an Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup Champion. Before joining the Aces, she was honored as Pac-10 Player of the Year, ABL MVP, and four-time WNBA All-Star. Williams is a recipient of the 2023 Outsports Power 100 award.The Utah native was coaching basketball in Salt Lake City at her successful Natalie Williams Basketball Academy when the call came to join the Aces.
“It was a pretty big business, and it was a challenge for me to give that up and one I didn’t want to give up,” Williams told Outsports in a previous report. “I definitely miss coaching the youth. It was an incredible joy for sure.”
In her new chapter with the Aces, Williams takes pride in empowering LGBTQ youth by being an example of what’s possible. She found a place to be her authentic self, celebrating her team’s Pride Night, which took place in June 2023 and attracted one of the largest crowds of the championship season.
“The biggest thing for me is that people like myself, and anyone in the WNBA, finds an avenue to somehow, with all of these amazing players in the league who are part of the community, reaches out to the youth who are struggling,” she said, per Outsports.
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