Chelsea Gray Explained

Chelsea Gray
Team:Las Vegas Aces
Number:12
League:WNBA
Position:Point guard
Height Ft:5
Height In:11
Weight Lbs:170
Birth Date:October 8, 1992
Birth Place:Hayward, California, U.S.
Highschool:St. Mary's (Stockton, California)
College:Duke (2010–2014)
Draft League:WNBA
Draft Year:2014
Draft Round:1
Draft Pick:11
Draft Team:Connecticut Sun
Career Start:2014
Team1:Connecticut Sun
Years2:2015
Team2:Hapoel Rishon LeZion
Years3:2015
Team3:Uni Girona
Years4:2015–2017
Team4:Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi
Years5:
Team5:Los Angeles Sparks
Years6:2017–2018
Team6:Botaş SK
Years7:2019
Team7:Çukurova Basketbol
Years8:2020
Team8:Fenerbahçe
Years9:2020–2021
Team9:Uni Girona
Years10:–present
Team10:Las Vegas Aces
Highlights:
Wnba Profile:chelsea_gray

Chelsea Nichelle Gray (born October 8, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).[1] She was the eleventh pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft. She missed the 2014 WNBA season due to injury, but she made her debut with the Sun in the 2015 WNBA season. Gray won her first title with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016. She won her second title with the Las Vegas Aces in the 2022 WNBA Finals, where she was named Finals MVP. She won gold medals for 5x5 basketball at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.

College career

Joanne P. McCallie coached Duke's women's basketball team during the time Gray played for the Duke Blue Devils. In Gray's junior year at Duke (February 2013), she dislocated her knee which caused her to be sidelined the rest of her junior year. Gray injured the same knee again in January 2014, causing her to miss the remainder of her senior year and abruptly ending her college career. Despite this she was drafted to the Connecticut Sun in 2014.[2]

Professional career

WNBA

Gray was drafted 11th overall by the Connecticut Sun in the 2014 WNBA draft. She sat out the 2014 season while recovering from a right knee injury that she sustained in January of her senior year while playing at Duke.[3]

Gray would come back healthy in time for the 2015 season. Coming off the bench for the Sun, she averaged 6.9 ppg.

Prior to the 2016 season, Gray was traded to the Los Angeles Sparks along with two first round picks in the 2016 WNBA draft and a first round pick in the 2017 WNBA draft in exchange for draft rights to Jonquel Jones and the 17th pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft.[4] Joining forces with Candace Parker, Kristi Toliver and Nneka Ogwumike, Gray would come off the bench as the back-up point guard on the Sparks roster, playing 33 games with 1 start and averaging 5.9 ppg. The Sparks were a championship contender in the league, finishing 26–8. The Sparks were the number 2 seed in the league with a double-bye to the semi-finals (the last round before the WNBA Finals) facing the Chicago Sky due to the WNBA's new playoff format. The Sparks defeated the Sky 3–1 in the series, advancing to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2003. In the Finals, the Sparks were up against the championship-defending Minnesota Lynx. Gray's playing time would be slightly increased in the Finals and was able to provide an offensive spark off the bench for the Sparks. In Game 4 with the Sparks up 2–1, Gray scored a team-high 20 points off the bench in 24 minutes of play, but the Sparks still lost the game. In the decisive Game 5, Gray scored 11 consecutive points for the Sparks in the second half. The Sparks would win Game 5 and the 2016 WNBA Championship.[5] With Toliver leaving the Sparks in free agency to join the Washington Mystics, Gray would be moved to starting point guard, following her heroic off-the-bench performance in the Finals. Gray would have a breakout season in 2017 as she scored a career-high 25 points on May 27, 2017, in a 75–73 loss to the Atlanta Dream.[6] Gray would also be voted into the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her first career all-star game appearance.[7] She finished off the season leading the league in three-point field goal percentage and averaged career-highs in scoring, rebounds, assists and minutes as the Sparks finished second place in the league with a 26–8 record, receiving a double-bye to the semi-finals. The Sparks would go on to advance to the Finals for the second season in a row, after defeating the Phoenix Mercury in a 3-game sweep, setting up a rematch with the Lynx. In Game 1 of the 2017 WNBA Finals, Gray scored a new career-high 27 points and hit the game-winning shot with 2 seconds left, sealing an 85–84 victory to give the Sparks a 1–0 series lead.[8] However, the Sparks would lose in five games, failing to win back-to-back championships.

On May 20, 2018, in the Sparks' season opener against the Lynx, Gray scored 18 points along with a game-winning layup at the buzzer in a 77–76 victory.[9] Later on in the season, Gray would be voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game, for her second career all-star appearance. Gray finished off the season averaging a new career-highs in scoring, steals, assists and rebounds. The Sparks finished as the number 6 seed in the league with a 19–15 record. In the first round elimination game they would defeat the Lynx 75–68 in which Gray Gray scored a season-high 26 points. The Sparks would advance to the second round elimination game where they would lose 96–64 to the Washington Mystics.

On April 30, 2019, Gray re-signed with the Sparks.[10] On July 7, 2019, Gray recorded her first triple-double with 13 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds in a 98–81 win against the Washington Mystics, becoming both the ninth player in league history and the third player in Sparks' franchise history to record a triple-double.[11] Gray would also be voted into the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her third all-star appearance. On August 29, 2019, Gray scored a career-high 30 points in a 87–83 win against the Indiana Fever. By the end of the season, the Sparks finished as the number 3 seed with a 22–12 record, receiving a bye to the second round. In the second round elimination game, the Sparks defeated the defending champions Seattle Storm 92–69. In the semi-finals, the Sparks were defeated in a three-game sweep by the Connecticut Sun.

In the 2020 WNBA season, Gray started all 22 games played for the Sparks, the season was shortened in a bubble at IMG Academy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On August 28, 2020, Gray scored a season-high 27 points in a 80–76 victory over the Connecticut Sun.[12] The Sparks finished 15–7 with the number 3 seed, receiving a bye to the second round but were eliminated by the seventh seeded Connecticut Sun in the second round elimination game, making it the second year a row that they've been eliminated by the same team.

In 2021 free agency, Gray signed a multi-year deal with the Las Vegas Aces.[13]

Overseas

Before her first WNBA season, Gray played in Israel for Hapoel Rishon Le-Zion in the 2014–15 off-season. In the 2015–16 off-season, Gray played in Spain for Uni Girona CB for the first portion of the off-season and spent the second portion of the off-season playing in Turkey for Abdullah Gul University.[14] [15] In June 2016, Gray re-signed with Abdullah Gul University for the 2016–17 off-season.[16] In July 2017, Gray signed with Botaş SK for the 2017–18 off-season.[17] In July 2020, Gray signed with Fenerbahçe of the Turkish league.[18]

National team career

2020 Summer Olympics

In late March 2020, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government postponed the 2020 Summer Olympics until the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] In June 2021, Gray was named to the 12-player roster for Team USA for the 2020 summer Olympics.[20] She and Team USA went on to win the gold medal in the tournament, defeating Japan 90–75 in the final.[21]

2024 Summer Olympics

In June 2024, Gray was again named to the US women's Olympic team to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in France, alongside fellow Aces teammates, Kelsey Plum, A'ja Wilson, and Jackie Young.[22] Gray and the United States defeated France 67–66 in the final, earning Gray her second consecutive gold medal and the United States’ eighth consecutive gold medal.[23]

Career statistics

College

Year[24] TeamGPPointsFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2010–11Duke3429743.239.880.53.32.51.90.28.7
2011–12Duke3341345.837.782.14.96.12.80.412.5
2012–13Duke2531642.140.785.15.35.43.60.112.6
2013–14Duke1718450.433.374.54.27.22.90.210.8
CareerDuke109121044.938.581.44.45.02.70.211.1

WNBA

Denotes seasons in which Gray won a WNBA championship

Regular season

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2015| style="text-align:left;"| Connecticut| 34 || 0 || 16.0 || .424 || .348 || .816 || 2.3 || 2.7 || 0.6 || 0.1 || 1.7 ||6.9|-|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2016| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles| 33|| 1 || 16.4 || .452|| .304 || .780 || 1.8 || 2.8 || 0.4 || 0.1 || 1.2 || 5.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2017| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles| 34 || 34 || 33.1 || .507|| style="background:#D3D3D3"|.482° || .827 || 3.3 || 4.4 || 1.0 || 0.2 || 1.9 || 14.8|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles| 34|| 34|| 32.7 || .484 || .392 || .835 || 3.4 || 5.1 || 1.4 || 0.2 || 2.3 || 14.9|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles| 34 || 34 || 32.6 || .416 || .382 || .917 || 3.8 || 5.9 || 1.0 || 0.1 || 3.1 || 14.5|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles| 22 || 22 || 30.6 || .442 || .305 || .939 || 3.7 || 5.3 || 1.6 || 0.1 || 2.7 || 14.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021| style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas| 32 || 32 || 28.9 || .454 || .380 || .889 || 2.9 || 5.9 || 1.2 || 0.3 || 2.8 || 11.1|-| style='text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;'|2022| style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas| 35 || 35 || 29.7 || .491 || .340 || .910 || 3.2 || 6.1 || 1.6 || 0.3 || 2.3 || 13.7|-| style='text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;'|2023| style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas| 40 || 40 || 32.2 || .490 || .421 || .897 || 4.0 || 7.3 || 1.4 || 0.6 || 2.5 || 15.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2024| style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas| 12 || 10 || 24.3 || .390 || .240 || .739 || 2.8 || 4.8 || 0.6 || 0.7 || 2.3 || 7.3|-| style="text-align:left;"| Career| style="text-align:left;"| 10 years, 3 teams| 310 || 242 || 27.9 || .463 || .382 || .864 || 3.1 || 5.0 || 1.1 || 0.3 || 2.3 || 12.2

Postseason

|-|style="text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;"| 2016| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles| 9 || 0 || 22.1 || .406 || .391 || .833 || 1.7 || 2.8 || 1.1 || 0.0 || 2.4 || 9.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2017| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles| 8 || 8 || 35.6 || .461 || .333 || .778 || 3.4 || 6.8 || 1.3 || 0.2 || 2.7 || 15.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles| 2 || 2 || 31.7 || .393 || .429 || .833 || 4.0 || 4.5 || 0.0 || 0.5 || 2.0 || 16.5|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles| 4 || 4 || 32.4 || .367 || .333 || .667 || 3.0 || 5.3 || 1.2 || 0.2 || 2.7 || 10.5|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020| style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles| 1 || 1 || 35.0 || .222 || .000 || .000 || 2.0 || 0.0 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 3.0 || 4.0|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021| style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas| 5 || 5 || 28.4 || .462 || .389 || 1.000 || 3.2 || 6.4 || 1.0 || 0.0 || 1.2 || 15.4|-| style='text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;' |2022| style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas| 10 || 10 || 34.0 || .611 || .544 || .833 || 3.8 || 7.0 || 1.2 || 0.6 || 3.0 || 21.7|-| style='text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;' |2023| style="text-align:left;"| Las Vegas| 8 || 8 || 35.9 || .436 || .355 || 100.0 || 4.4 || 6.8 || 1.5 || 1.0 || 3.0 || 15.6|-| style="text-align:left;"| Career| style="text-align:left;"| 8 years, 2 teams| 47 || 38 || 31.5 || .473 || .409 || .868 || 3.1 || 5.6 || 1.2 || 0.4 || 2.6 || 14.9

Overseas

National competition

Regular season
SeasonTeamLeague
2014–15 14 35.4 .500 .351 .812 6.4 5.9 2.8 0.1 4.0 20.6
9 32.4 .477 .400 .889 4.8 4.4 4.0 0.2 4.4 18.4
align=left rowspan=220 30.6 .541 .246 .846 3.8 4.7 1.6 0.1 3.2 13.6
24 33.0 .556 .364 .805 4.0 5.1 1.5 0.1 2.6 14.9
18 33.0 .518 .211 .805 4.9 6.6 1.7 0.0 3.3 16.4
11 25.3 .610 .324 .944 3.3 7.2 1.3 0.1 2.0 13.6
3 18.1 .444 .444 1.000 2.3 6.0 1.0 0.0 1.7 7.3
22 24.4 .514 .162 .841 3.5 3.6 1.0 0.0 2.0 10.6
Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeague
align=left rowspan=27 39.6 .446 .258 .773 3.6 5.0 1.7 0.0 2.7 16.4
3 33.4 .482 .143 1.000 2.3 3.3 2.0 1.0 2.0 11.3
2 35.2 .375 .000 1.000 5.5 7.5 1.5 0.0 5.5 14.5
10 34.1 .538 .400 .909 5.2 6.9 1.4 0.1 2.3 19.4
4 29.4 .563 .167 1.000 2.5 3.5 2.8 0.0 3.0 12.8

Personal life

Gray has participated in Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). In her free time, she has helped work out and train younger kids in AAU to become better athletes.[25] She is openly lesbian.[26] She married former Long Beach State player Tipesa Moorer who played part of the American Samoan team at the 2015 Pacific Games on 2 November 2019.[27] [28]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Chelsea Gray – WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA. WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA. 2017-08-23. en-US.
  2. Web site: Gray, Liston selected in first round of WNBA Draft – The Herald-Sun. 2014-08-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20140821101212/http://www.heraldsun.com/sports/x27233738/Gray-Liston-selected-in-first-round-of-WNBA-Draft. 2014-08-21. dead.
  3. Web site: Chelsea Gray – WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA.
  4. http://sparks.wnba.com/sparks-acquire-chelsea-gray-connecticut-sun-exchange-draft-rights-guard-jonquel-jones-2017-first-round-pick Los Angeles and Connecticut also trade second round positions in the 2016 WNBA Draft
  5. Web site: Los Angeles Sparks win WNBA title. Associated Press. 4 January 2017.
  6. Web site: 05/27/17: Los Angeles Sparks @ Atlanta Dream – WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA.
  7. Web site: Local Roundup: Chelsea Gray selected as all-star reserve. The. Record.
  8. Web site: 2017-09-24. Gray guides Sparks to Game 1 victory over Lynx. 2021-08-08. ESPN.com. en.
  9. http://www.latimes.com/sports/sportsnow/la-sp-sparks-20180520-story.html Chelsea Gray's buzzer beater lifts Sparks past Lynx 77–76 in finals rematch
  10. Web site: 2019-04-30. Chelsea Gray Re-Signs With Los Angeles Sparks. 2021-08-08. SLAM. en.
  11. Web site: ago. Kurtis Zimmerman 2 years. 2019-07-08. A look at every WNBA triple-double in league history. 2021-08-08. High Post Hoops. en-US.
  12. Web site: Gray scores season-high 27 points as Sparks beat Sun – Sportsnet.ca. 2021-08-08. www.sportsnet.ca.
  13. Web site: 2021-01-28. Free agent Gray, Aces agree to multiyear deal. 2021-08-08. ESPN.com. en.
  14. Web site: WNBA Players Playing Overseas – WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA .
  15. Web site: 27 November 2015 . Abdullah Gul University Signs Chelsea Gray – Women's Basketball 24.7 .
  16. Web site: EUROBASKET NEWS .
  17. Web site: Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings . 2021-08-08 . www.eurobasket.com.
  18. https://www.milliyet.com.tr/skorer/fenerbahce-transfer-haberleri-chelsea-grayle-sozlesme-imzalandi-6134630 Fenerbahce transfer news | Contract with Chelsea Gray
  19. Web site: IOC, IPC, Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Tokyo Metropolitan Government Announce New Dates for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 . March 30, 2020 . Olympic.org.
  20. News: Jasmyn . Wimbish . Team USA women's basketball roster announced for 2020 Olympics, headlined by Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi . . June 21, 2021 . June 8, 2024.
  21. News: Ava . Wallace . Dawn Staley and Sue Bird make sure their final USA Basketball moment is golden . . August 8, 2021. June 8, 2024.
  22. News: Cydney . Henderson . USA basketball Olympic women's team roster: Who made the cut for Paris Olympics . . June 17, 2024. July 6, 2024.
  23. News: Juana . Summers . U.S. women's basketball team defeats France to win eighth straight Olympic gold medal . NPR . August 11, 2024 . August 11, 2024.
  24. Web site: NCAA® Career Statistics . 2016-05-03 . web1.ncaa.org.
  25. Web site: Gray Matters. 2014-08-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20140821100301/http://www.wnba.com/sun/gray_matters_2014_05_23.html. 2014-08-21. dead.
  26. Web site: 2021-07-26. Meet The 13 Gay Women Basketball Players of the Tokyo Summer Olympics. 2021-08-03. Autostraddle. en-US.
  27. Web site: 2019-11-04. WNBA player Chelsea Gray marries girlfriend. 2022-09-24. www.outsports.com. en-US.
  28. Web site: 2015-07-23. Long Beach athletes golden at the Pacific Games. Mike. Guardabascio. 2022-09-24. www.presstelegram.com. en-US.