Natalie Williams, the general manager of the Las Vegas Aces, will not have her contract renewed as part of a restructuring of the team’s front office, per a statement released by the Aces on Oct. 26.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the 53-year-old Williams took the position in April 2022, three months after the team hired head coach Becky Hammon. The move follows the Aces semi-finals exit from the WNBA playoffs as the franchise was attempting to chase a three-peat.
Williams had previously indicated that she looked forward to getting the team’s franchise player A’ja Wilson help via free agency, but instead, the team will look for a new person to fill the team’s needs. In a statement, Williams said she is looking forward to what’s next for her and her career.
“It has been a joy and honor to serve as General Manager of the Las Vegas Aces,” Williams said. “Winning two WNBA Championships with this incredible group of players and staff has been a dream come true. I want to thank Mark Davis and the Aces Organization for the incredible opportunity to help lead this franchise. I love the WNBA, and it has been wonderful watching the growth of the game. I’m looking forward to what lies ahead.”
According to the Review-Journal, there are some indications that the dismissal of Williams could be related to the federal lawsuit against the Aces brought by the team’s former player Dearica Hamby.
Williams, Hammon, and Aces team president Nikki Fargas are all named in Hamby’s litigation as she appears to be dissatisfied by the WNBA’s investigation which only cost the Aces head coach a two-game suspension and the forfeiture of the team’s 2025 first-round draft pick.
Hamby’s federal lawsuit claims that the organization did not honor portions of her contract and then traded her to the Los Angeles Sparks once she told team officials she was pregnant, NBC reports..
In Fargas’ statement, she alluded to Williams’ service of the organization, going back to when the franchise was known as the Utah Starzz.
“We are incredibly grateful for Natalie’s invaluable efforts in helping build the Aces into the premier franchise in the WNBA,” Fargas said. “Her time with the organization extends back to the league’s formative years in Utah, and she will forever be a part of our history, having left an indelible mark as both a player and an executive. We wish the best for Natalie and her family.”
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