Living it up in her 8th season in the WNBA, Courtney Williams has been a dynamic force on the court. Today, along with her contribution, the Minnesota Lynx won the in-season Commissioner’s Cup Championship by serving a 94-89 defeat to the New York Liberty. The pull-up jumping powerhouse reigns the court with her resurgence, however, she keeps her gameplay on a simpler end.

Born in May 1994, Williams grew up in Folkston in southeastern Georgia, a town located just 5 miles east of Okefenokee Swamp. She dominated playing basketball at Charlton County High School where she surpassed her mother’s 22-year-old 40-point single-game scoring record by 2 points. So, let’s explore where she gets her strength from.

Courtney Williams’ family always cheered for her

Courtney’s passion for basketball came from her parents, Michele and Donald Williams, who also played basketball during their time. Moreover, her father, Donald, as she puts it, was the athletic one who played every sport. Simply put, he was an all-round athlete doing round-offs and back-flips.

More to that expression, his athletic physique can be widely noticed when he is cheering for his daughter on the sidelines, holding an oversized cutout of Courtney’s face above in his hands whenever she scores.

“He has definitely been this way always at all my games, doing the same thing. But I love it. I feed off his energy when he’s over there clowning and jumping around and having a good time, then just telling me what I need to do and how I need to do it. It definitely keeps me going while I’m playing,” Courtney graphically describes her father’s enthusiasm that helps keep her spirits high while she plays the game.

Being the daughter of former athletes, Courtney started showing glimpses of her passion for basketball at an early age. She would play in Michele’s recreational league, which was coached by her uncle, Interestingly, the league had boys playing in the majority, but Courtney got the opportunity to play with them. As a 7-year-old, she was already outscoring boys when her father noticed her above-average potential.

“[Basketball] was our recreational sport. And we ran all the time. We’d run, run, run,” said Donald. Knowing the genes, Donald was gearing up to program her confidence, as he knew the skills would eventually come by. So, he got to work, boosting her confidence with words of athletic affirmations, “I needed to put in her head that she’s the baddest, she’s the best. Can’t nobody beat her at nothing. Whatever it was, track or basketball, she always had it locked in her head that can’t nobody mess with her or beat her.”

It was this programming that led Williams to score 42 points in a single game as the Charlton County High School junior and broke Michele’s record. She then carried with her that mental strength instilled by her father and established her name in the history of the University of South Florida’s program by garnering a career stat line of over 2000 points, 900 rebounds, and 300 assists. At the time, she had amassed 2304 points, 931 rebounds, and 318 assists.

But then again, Courtney had another mountain to cross, i.e. to play in the major league.

Facing the continued challenge at home

One thing that is always common with athletes having former athletes as parents is that they don’t let them have anything that easy, especially when it comes to pivotal life decisions. The same was the case for Courtney whenever she would come home during breaks and holidays.

During those visits back home, Donald would continue to challenge his daughter for runs, “We had about a 4-mile run around the neighborhood and I would outrun everybody.” However, he already had his condition in place, “I told [Courtney], when she beat me in that run, then she’d be ready.”

As a result, there was nothing left for Courtney in this situation, except only to beat her father. So, she went ahead and did it. “The last time we did it, her second year of college, she made me look bad. That’s when I knew she was ready.”

Courtney Williams was selected by the Phoenix Mercury as the 8th overall pick in the 2016 WNBA draft. Later, she transferred to the Connecticut Sun and has been growing her game since then. Her 6th season in the league has been her best so far. At the time she was playing for the Atlanta Dream and averaged 16.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. And as for her current season, as her 8th, she is averaging 10.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game.

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