The story behind the Chronicle's iconic Gabby Williams cover shot

San Francisco Chronicle · Sarah Feldberg · 2026-11-05 19:45 UTC

Before Clara Mokri captured the S.F. Chronicle’s Game 7 cover photo of Gabby Williams, she was a talented basketball player who went up against the Finals MVP.

Before Gabby Williams was a WNBA champion with the Golden State Valkyries and the league’s Finals MVP, before she was captured on the front of Sunday’s San Francisco Chronicle, arm raised in victory, she was a kid from Nevada, playing club basketball in the Bay Area and attending legendary college coach Tara VanDerveer’s girls camp at Stanford University.

And before Clara Mokri was a freelance photographer, working Game 7 of the WNBA finals for the Chronicle and snagging that joyful front-page image, she was a basketball-loving kid from Los Angeles playing against a young Williams at that Stanford camp.

“I just remember her being, like, so quick, so crafty with the ball,” said Mokri.

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