2023 WNBA Awards: Chicago Sky’s Elizabeth Williams wins Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award

Congratulations to the Chicago Sky’s Elizabeth Williams, winner of the 2023 Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award. The award, named for the late Kim Perrot who helped the Houston Comets win two WNBA championships before succumbing to cancer in August 1999, honors “a player who exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court, including ethical behavior, fair play and integrity.”

Williams received 15 votes from a panel of 60 media members, with the Washington Mystics’ Ariel Atkins finishing second with eight votes. The Las Vegas Aces’ Alysha Clark was third with seven votes, while the Atlanta Dream’s Monique Billings and the Seattle Storm’s Sami Whitcomb each received five votes. Rounding out the voting was the Minnesota Lynx’s Rachel Banham (four), the Los Angeles Sparks’ Karlie Samuelson (four), the Connecticut Sun’s Rebecca Allen (three), the Dallas Wings’ Natasha Howard (three), the New York Liberty’s Courtney Vandersloot (three), the Indiana Fever’s Aliyah Boston (two) and the Phoenix Mercury’s Megan Gustafson (one).

Williams is honored for her Sky-high character

In her first season with Chicago, Williams is a first time winner of the award, joining Swin Cash as the second winner from the Sky franchise.

Reflecting on the award, Williams shared:

I’m extremely humbled to be named this year’s recipient of the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship award. Kim displayed the highest level of respect for the game with her competitive nature and willingness to impact her local community as well. Her spirit lives on, and I’m grateful to share this honor with past recipients like Sylvia Fowles, Nneka Ogwumike, Swin Cash, and many others. All of these women demonstrated high levels of resilience, leadership, and sportsmanship on and off the court. It is truly an honor.

While honored for high-character contributions that go beyond the court, Williams also had a pretty good season on the court for the Sky, earning All-Defensive Team honors for the second time in her career as her 9.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game helped Chicago reach the playoffs for the fifth-consecutive season.