Injuries are an unavoidable part of the game of basketball. With the intense physical nature of the game, more often than not, players sustain severe injuries. When the intensity is as high as the WNBA, these occurrences are more than usual. However, a player’s injury recently had a $51M-worth franchise’s trainer bearing some of the cost.
A regular season matchup in the WNBA saw an unusual technical foul call recently. After a 26-year-old WNBA star twisted her ankle mid game, her trainer rushed in to help her out. However, much to everyone’s surprise, the trainer was awarded a foul. How did this incident take place? Let’s dive in.
A WNBA team’s trainer receives an abysmal foul call
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In the WNBA, a technical foul is not a rare occurrence. Due to the intense physicality and the competitiveness, players often get entangled in inappropriate behavior on the court leading to technical fouls. However, this time, it was the Seattle Storm’s trainer that put the team in trouble.
Storm’s 26-year-old star, Gabby Williams suffered a horrifying injury during their matchup against the Connecticut Sun. After attempting a layup and missing, Williams tried to grab her own rebound. However, she landed on the Sun’s forward, Alyssa Thomas’ foot after failing to get the rebound, twisting her ankle badly.
After watching the player going down, the Storm’s trainer entered the court to help out the injured Williams. Much to her surprise, the team received a technical foul for her action. The referees later explained that the team received the foul call because they had exhausted their timeouts for the quarter before the trainer entered the court.
This is an interesting call from the referees, considering the player needed immediate medical help. However, what does this injury mean to the Storm and Williams?
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Williams is most likely ruled out
The Seattle Storm have had an underwhelming WNBA season, with only four weeks of action remaining. Placed 5 games out of the 8th playoff seed, the Storm are in desperate need of victories. Williams’ injury unfortunately will not help their case. She?walked off the court after rolling her ankle, not to return for the rest of the game. The Storm later announced that Williams will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks due to her injury. A later report revealed that Williams suffered a stress fracture in her left foot, ending her 2023 season.
The 26-year-old joined the Storm roster after re-signing with the franchise in July. After missing out on the start of the regular season, Williams showed promise in her mere 10 appearances for the franchise. Starting 8 games, she averaged 8.4 PPG and 3.8 APG overall. She also had a terrific 4-game stretch, averaging 13PPG just before her season-ending injury.
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Placed 5 games away from the 8th seed, the Storm desperately needed the services of their star forward. However, Williams’ timeline for recovery does not complement the Storm’s efforts to push for a playoff spot.