Chicago Sky center Elizabeth Williams earned the 2023 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award, the league announced on Tuesday. This is the first time Williams has won the award in her career and joins Swin Cash (2013) as the only Sky players to win the award.

“I was surprised. I wasn’t expecting it but definitely humbled,” Williams told Marquee Sports Network. “To even be in that category of players and to see the impact [Kim Perrot] had on and off the court is really cool.”

Williams finished first in voting with 15 votes followed by Ariel Atkins (Washington Mystics) and  Alysha Clark (Las Vegas). Williams joins a list of winners including Sylvia Fowles, Sue Bird, Becky Hammon and Dawn Staley. Williams is the second player to earn this award while playing for the Chicago Sky, joining Swin Cash who won the award in 2013.

“It’s big. I think it’s one of those things that you’re reminded that you play in the W but you also have an impact in the W when you’re on lists like this. For me, it’s humbling,” Williams said. 

Williams led the team in blocks (60), steals (50), and offensive rebounds (90) while chipping in an average of 9.8 points per game during the 2023 campaign. 

“I feel like every game, some player will say, ‘Don’t block me, don’t throw it in the stands please’,” Williams said laughing. “It’s an unwritten rule that I can block anybody, and I don’t discriminate. Honestly, it makes me a better sport that I don’t pick on certain people and that I do it to everybody. It worked out for me.”

Williams also serves as the secretary for the WNBA Players Association and has shown vocal support of her teammates and other players across the league. With her years of playing in Turkey, she also joined humanitarian efforts to help those displaced after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck between the borders of Turkey and Syria in February of 2023.