Natalie Williams

Natalie Williams won a gold medal with the US basketball team at the Sydney Olympics. She also helped the USA win gold at the 1998 and 2002 World Championships, and at the 1996 Jones Cup.

Williams was the daughter of Nate Williams, a former player who had an eight-year professional career in the NBA. She played in college at UCLA from 1990-94, where she was the 1994 Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year and was a three-time All-Pac-10 selection. Williams also played volleyball all four years at UCLA and led the Bruins to the 1990 and 1991 NCAA titles. She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation’s top female collegiate volleyball player in 1992 and 1993.

After college Williams played professionally in the ABL (American Basketball League) with the Portland Power. When that league folded, she was drafted by the Utah Starzz in the first round, with the overall third pick of the WNBA Draft. She then played in the WNBA from 1999-2005, with the Starzz through 2002, and then the Indiana Fever in 2003-05.

Williams was a WNBA All-Star in 1999-2001 and 2003, and was named first-team All-WNBA in 1999, 2000, and 2001. She had also been on the All-ABL first-team in 1997 and 1998 and was the league MVP in 1998.

A Utah native, she retired after 2005 to raise her adopted twins, and stated she would pursue a real estate career. But she did some local coaching and eventually became general manager of the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA. In 2016 Williams was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.