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INDIANAPOLIS – It took seven years before Allisha Gray was selected to the WNBA All-Star Game, and it happened during her first season with the Atlanta Dream in 2023. Since then, Gray has made three straight All-Star teams and was voted in as a starter this year.
Since joining the Dream, Gray’s career has really exploded, but she’s enjoying career numbers this season in new head coach Karl Smesko’s system. In fact, earlier this season Smesko suggested that Gray is the among the very best in the league right now.
While Gray’s play this season has been garnering national attention, it hasn’t always been that way. Despite putting up strong numbers her entire career, Gray hasn’t always received the type of recognition she is now. It’s something she’s noticed this season in particular, and it’s something that means a lot to her.
“It means a lot. I feel like I’ve deserved it for a long time. I feel like I’ve been labeled an underrated player for the majority of my career,” Gray told ClutchPoints during a media availability session over All-Star Weekened. “For me, I just stay patient and continue to work hard, and when my time comes I’ll be ready. And I feel like my time is finally coming up. I’m ready to accept it.”
Last season was almost like the beginning of the coming out party for Gray. She won both the 3-Point Contest and the Skills Challenge becoming the first player in WNBA history to win both events at the same All-Star Weekend. And that momentum has carried over to this season.
Allisha Gray has helped lead the Dream to one of the best records in the WNBA at 13-9, and her play was rewarded with her first All-Star starter selection. She’s appeared in all 22 games so far this season at a little over 35 minutes per game. She’s been averaging 18.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.0 assists with splits of 43.8 percent shooting from the field, 38.1 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Her points, rebounds and assists are all career-highs.
“This year I’m starting so that feels amazing. I think that’s the most exiting part is being an All-Star starter,” Gray said.
And Gray put on a solid performance as part of Team Collier in getting the win. She was the team’s second leading scorer with 18 points and all of her shots coming from the three-point line, including a couple of four-point shots.
She also made it to the final round of the 3-Point Contest after tying Sabrina Ionescu with a score of 25 in the opening round. And as the second half of the season is set to get underway, Gray will be crucial to whatever success the Dream hope to have.
