Courtney Williams admits she ignored Cathy Engelbert’s call after her WNBA All-Star selection: ‘Cathy who?’

Courtney Williams ignored a call from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who was trying to inform the Minnesota Lynx guard of her second All-Star selection.

Williams proved worthy of the selection Sunday with 25 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists in an 80-75 win over the Chicago Sky. Following the game, she told the story about her phone call with the commissioner.

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“Yeah, man, Cathy called me. I actually declined the phone call at first because I [didn’t have] her number,” Williams said, laughing.

“But she called right back, she said, ‘This is Cathy.’ I said, ‘Cathy, who?’ And she said, ‘I have good news for you, you an All-Star,’ man. Yeah, she turned me up, I was super hype. I was so excited to call Cheryl [Reeve]. I called Cheryl and we both went on the phone yelling, ‘Let’s go.’”

The Phoenix Mercury selected Williams with the eighth overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft. After her rookie season, she began bouncing around teams, including the Connecticut Sun, Atlanta Dream and Chicago Sky. She was selected as an All-Star for the first time in 2021 while playing for Atlanta.

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Williams joined the Lynx in 2024 and helped the team to a WNBA Finals appearance before falling to the New York Liberty. This season, Williams is averaging 13.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists as Minnesota is 17-2 atop the WNBA standings.