SAN FRANCISCO -- The Golden State Valkyries heard for the first two seasons of their existence that they didn't have any stars, that as an expansion club mostly made up of teams' dispensable players and no top-tier free agents, they lacked anyone who could step up and hit big shots when it mattered most.
In Game 7 of the WNBA Finals, Gabby Williams quieted anyone who believed that.
In front of a violet-clad crowd of 18,000 at Ballhalla on Halloween, Williams' 30-point outburst -- 28 of which came in the second half -- lifted Golden State to the WNBA title, with the Valkyries knocking off the Atlanta Dream 68-63 Saturday in the league's first Game 7 of the championship series.
Williams' 30-piece was tied for the most points in a winner-take-all Finals game, while her 28 in the second half were the most in any half of a postseason game in WNBA history.
"All we heard last year, 'We don't have no stars, we don't have no talent.' Yeah, right," Williams told the USA Network broadcast after being named Finals MVP. "We've got good people. We've got winners. We have people who are ready to put their bodies on the floor to win a game. ... We just build a beautiful culture here."
The Valkyries -- the third team across the NBA, BAA and WNBA to win the Finals within their first two seasons as a franchise, per Elias -- became the first league team to earn a championship without a single All-WNBA selection in that same season.
But they clinched the title because they had the biggest star on the court in Game 7.
"Gabby is our closer," coach Natalie Nakase said. "Closing with 30, I mean, that's f---ing incredible. And to me, the MVP is the Finals MVP. That means you've got to play through the playoffs. You've got to grind. You've got to go through a seven-game series. She's the most valuable player in the world, hands down."
Added Valkyries owner Joe Lacob: "She's been everything and more. She's a tremendous person as well as an incredible player."
Along with her 26 points in Games 1 and 6, Williams -- whose career average sits just shy of 10 points -- had three 25-point games in the series, tied for most in a single Finals in WNBA history. She finished Saturday on 10-for-23 shooting (4-for-8 from 3 and 6-for-6 from the free throw line), added four blocks, three rebounds, two steals and two assists and held the Dream to 2-for-9 shooting as the primary defender.
"I want to focus on people who believed in myself the whole time," Williams said. "There were a lot of people that believed in us and believed in me as well. It started with us believing in each other and that's so special.
"We just kept our circle so tight to shut out the outside noise, shut out whatever the talk about we don't have this or whatever, and we just focused on the good stuff, focused on the positive. That was a beautiful thing to come into every day and feel that."
Williams' WNBA career has taken a circuitous route. The 2018 No. 4 pick out of UConn spent her first seven seasons playing for the Chicago Sky and Seattle Storm, where she was a defensive standout but mostly served as a role player.
But her stellar overseas play -- including spearheading the revitalization of the French national team on the international stage -- foreshadowed what she was capable of stateside. That's what Lacob saw that prompted him to personally recruit her this past offseason while she was playing in Turkey -- and that's the version the Valkyries got of her these playoffs and in Game 7 especially.
Offense was difficult to come by for both teams, with the Dream taking a 30-24 edge into the break and the Valkyries' leading scorer struggling with just two points.
But the game changed when Williams found her stride.
"Nat told me to stay patient," Williams said of Nakase. "I trust her. I trust her with my life. ... Just said, 'Stay patient. Stay patient. The game's going to open up for you,' and it did."
Williams singlehandedly outscored the Dream 15-14 in the third quarter, rattling off 15 straight points spanning the third and fourth frames. The stretch included three straight Golden State possessions where Williams -- who made only one 3-pointer in her college career -- made a trey and forced the Ballhalla crowd to its feet.
Per Elias, Williams became the first player in WNBA history to score 15 consecutive points in a Finals game.
"Gabby started to get going a little bit, and I think that made everybody on the Valkyries start to get their confidence and start making the hustle plays," Dream point guard Jordin Canada said. "I think that was the sift in the energy, was Gabby getting going from the 3-point line."
The Dream hung around until the final seconds, with the score tied for a good portion of the fourth. While Williams lit up the Dream offensively, the Valkyries' defense did what it does best, holding Atlanta to just 33% shooting, including 20% from behind the 3-point arc.
But after Williams' spurt, the Valkyries would never trail again. And Williams' fourth and final 3-pointer with 2:18 remaining put Golden State up for good.
"I'm just glad that tonight she showed who she really can be because she's been our leader, she's been our offense, the head of it all season," said Kiah Stokes, who won a national championship at UConn with Williams in 2015. "And for her to just come out tonight, Game 7, do or die, everything on the line, and she showed up and showed out."
Saturday cemented Williams' place in Bay Area lore. And if fans' lasting memory of her from the evening isn't her on-court performance, it'll be from the trophy ceremony.
Earlier in the playoffs, with Oakland's Too $hort in attendance, Williams conducted a call and response with the crowd in which she asked -- quoting lyrics from the rapper's famous song 'Blow the Whistle' -- "What's my favorite word?" prompting them to reply, "b----."
On Saturday, television host Elle Duncan asked Williams, "What's your new favorite word?"
It's now champ.