Reed High School recently honored alum and sports superstar Gabby Williams with a large mural outside of the school.
Gabby Williams graduated from Reed in 2013 and went on to play on championship basketball teams in college at UConn (she now plays on the Seattle Storm in the WNBA) and won a bronze medal in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. While in high school, Williams was also named the Gatorade Nevada Athlete of the Year in track & field for both the 2010-11 and 2011-12 seasons.
Kayla Anderson – Reed High alum Gabby Williams recently signed a contract with Nike to be a brand ambassador for its Jordan Brand and had a mural put up for three weeks at Reed while a commercial was being shot.
This past summer, Williams signed a contract with Nike to be a brand ambassador for its Jordan Brand alongside NBA stars Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, and Zion Williamson. As part of the Jordan Brand marketing campaign, Elite Media- a contractor for Nike that specializes in vinyl murals like you see on casinos in Vegas- reached out to Reed High School to ask if they could put the mural up and film a commercial there. About a month ago, their crew flew out, assessed the building, and launched the two-week campaign. An LED light shown on it when it got dark, and a camera crew was out there with actors (since Williams is playing in Europe) and shot a Jordan Brand commercial. The mural was up October 12-November 5.
“We asked if we could keep it up through the rest of the basketball season, but we couldn’t, only through the duration of the campaign,” Reed High School Athletic Director Ryan Sims says. Elite Media was worried about weather, possible vandalism, or other things that could damage it since it was placed on the exterior of the gym. Her mother Terese watched the mural go up.
“Her mom Terese lives in town, and Gabby grew up just a couple of blocks away from here. Her dad Matt Williams used to play college basketball and is the founder of Jam On It ball in Reno. Her siblings all played basketball here- Kayla, Matt Williams Jr. and Dominic, who is a senior this year.
He adds that while she is an amazing basketball player, not enough credit is given to her track & field skills as well.
“Everyone thinks of Gabby as a basketball player but she’s highly accomplished in track & field, too,” Sims says.
When she was a sophomore at Reed, she broke the state record for high jump, clearing 6 feet, 1.5 inches. In 2012, she cleared 6 feet, .25 inches and finished fifth place, qualifying as an alternate for the 2012 London Olympics despite her being just 15 years old.
After graduating from Reed, Williams went on to the University of Connecticut where she helped win two national championships and two state championships in basketball as well as two state championships in track & field.
“Reed High School is very proud of Gabby; she’s a role model to the athletes here and still talked about until this day. She’s one of the best athletes to come out of Reed, in my opinion, definitely in the top five. To play professionally is an amazing accomplishment,” Reed High School Athletic Director Ryan Sims says.
Ryan Sims also remembers when Williams was in his health class when he was a teacher.
“Gabby was the epitome of a student athlete, high achieving both in the classroom and in athletics. She’s quiet, humble, excels in personality- and in competitiveness, she really shines,” Sims adds.
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