The Sky’s Elizabeth Williams won the 2023 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award, the WNBA announced Tuesday morning.
Williams, who signed with Chicago before the 2023 season as an unrestricted free agent, is the second Sky player to win the award. Hall of Fame player Swin Cash earned the award in 2013, her second and final season with the team.
The award is named after Perrot, who died in 1999 after a seven-month battle with cancer. The guard from what is now Louisiana-Layfayette helped lead the defunct Houston Comets to their first two WNBA titles in 1997 and 1998.
“I think part of respecting the game is competing at a high level and playing fairly,” Williams said. “For me, competing at a high level is blocking a lot of shots but at the same time not being disrespectful.”
“I was reading up on past award winners and Kim and something that stood out was that she was super competitive and a crowd favorite. I think there’s a lot of value in respecting the game by playing really hard.”
Williams is one of the best shot-blocking bigs in the league. In her first season with the Sky, she averaged 1.5 per game and was named to the league’s All-Defensive second team. The 6-3 center has never been one to chirp at opponents, instead her highlight reel blocks speak for her.
“That is my version of talking [stuff],” Williams said. “If I throw it in the stands when I probably didn’t need to, it’s like, just don’t do that again. Usually, it works because people will throw up something crazy the next time. So in a sense, I did my job without having to say anything.”
Williams received 15 votes from a panel of 60 media members. Mystics guard Ariel Atkins finished second with eight votes. Aces forward Alysha Clark finished third with seven votes, and Dream forward Monique Billings and Storm guard Sami Whitcomb each received five votes.
Williams was a bright spot for the Sky this season, primarily on defense. She averaged 9.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists in her ninth season.
She is currently playing in Turkey for CBK Mersin Yanisehir Belediyesi, where she’s averaging 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
