By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
She took a long and winding road to get there, but Peyton Williams is finally in the WNBA.
Peyton Williams [Submitted photo]
The product of Cair Paravel Latin School and Kansas State University was listed on the roster of the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday at 5 p.m., when the league required all rosters be finalized.
The Mercury opens its season at Las Vegas on Saturday.
After going undrafted out of Kansas State, Williams played six years of professional basketball overseas, with seasons in Russia and France, then two seasons in Hungary and two in China. Having had only one opportunity to try out for a WNBA team – and that chance wiped out by a Covid diagnosis in 2021 – Williams was not sure another such opportunity would ever come.
“There was a time the past couple of years where I just focused on my international career because that seemed to be what I could expect out of my career,” Williams said. “That was not a bad thing. I enjoyed playing in Europe and then in China. But that was the expectation I had for myself, and that’s what I told my agent, that I’m going to kind of focus over here. I worked really hard over the last six years out of the view of my friends and family, not to mention the local media and the media of the United States.”
After Williams returned to Topeka from China in March, unsure of what was next for her career, her agent told her he was trying to get her into a training camp. That call finally came in late April.
With little advance notice, Williams hopped a plane to Oregon to fight for a roster spot with the expansion Portland Fire. Williams spent exactly one week with the Fire, playing in one preseason game at Seattle. Limited to just seven minutes off the bench, Williams made the most of her opportunity, knocking down a 3-pointer and a driving layup and blocking a shot.
But on May 1, Williams was summoned to the office of the Fire general manager, who informed the Topekan she was being placed on waivers. Williams spent one more evening in Portland, planning to return home unemployed.
Before she boarded a plane to return to Kansas on Saturday, May 2, Williams was told some other teams might be interested in bringing her to their camp. By the time her plane landed in Kansas City, the Phoenix team was working to claim Williams off the waiver wire.
Williams barely had time to drop off the Portland Fire sweats and T-shirts at home and do a load of laundry before she was off again on Sunday, this time to Arizona.
The Mercury coaches were scrambling to replace a recently injured player and waiting for a couple of others to come back to the United States from overseas commitments. Williams filled the void, trying to quickly learn new plays and new terminology, not to mention the names of her teammates.
When it came time for final cuts to be made to the Phoenix roster, Williams was summoned to the office of the Mercury general manager. The feeling was eerily familiar. But this time, she was told that she had made the cut.
“He said it in a nonchalant way, and I had to clarify, like ‘Really?’ He said ‘Yes, you’re on the team,’” Williams recalled. “My reaction to it was that I’d only been there for three days of practice, getting used to this system and new people, so it’s not my best basketball yet. So, I’m appreciative of the grace they’ve allowed me in this time of transition. It was excitement and a little bit of shock for sure.”
Williams said she is still trying to wrap her mind around the events of the past two weeks.
“It was roller-coaster of emotions,” the 2016 Cair Paravel graduate said. “I thought I would be done on Friday. And I was back in Kansas City on Saturday, and literally next thing I know I’m boarding another plane with another chance. It just shows you how quick things can turn around in professional sports.
"Friday was a sad day, and then Saturday another opportunity came around. It’s been a whirlwind for sure. I’m trying my best to just stay in the moment and be grateful for each day that I get.”
Williams said she had built confidence over the past six years that she could play at the highest level. She didn’t know if the opportunity would come, but she was ready if it ever did.
“This has been surprising to me, because I told myself that I was OK with what my career had been and that was cool with me,” Williams said. “But when this opportunity came along, I was surprised, but I felt prepared because of the time I put in overseas.”
