On a weekend when all the stars of the WNBA descended on Phoenix, none shined brighter than Georgia’s finest, Allisha Gray.
Gray was named an All-Star for the second consecutive year, an honor that’s become regular since she was traded to the Atlanta Dream two seasons ago. When Gray received the news, she was ecstatic. “I was playing video games when I first got the call that Dallas was trading me to Atlanta, but I just remember being super happy,” she tells ESSENCE.
That joy was for good reason, because Gray was finally going home—well as close to home as possible. She grew up in Sandersville, a small town in Washington County located about two hours south of Atlanta. The opportunity to play in front of her friends and family was the thing Gray was looking forward to the most.
“Playing in my home state has been a blessing,” she explained. “I get to see my parents every home game. That’s super exciting because I didn’t have that opportunity in Texas.”
Gray took full advantage of being back at home. In her first season with the Atlanta Dream, she averaged 17 points and nearly five rebounds, which got her named to her first WNBA All-Star team. This season, she followed it up with another stellar performance. Allisha came home and wasted no time getting comfortable.
“My consistency is why I have excelled here in Atlanta,” Gray says. “I have stayed at this level of play by continuing to be myself and working hard.” But to those who grew up with Allisha, her reaching All-Star levels is no surprise. She was always destined to be here. She was ranked as the seventh-highest women’s basketball player in the country in 2013. In her three years of high school, she only lost four games; and in 2011 she won a state championship, going undefeated in the process. By the time her senior year came around, even though she missed most of it with a knee injury, she had offers from every school in the country.
Gray achieved her dream—no pun intended—a rare accomplishment considering the visibility coming out of such a small city in south Georgia, and she gives all the praise to her parents. “Sandersville is such a small town with so much talent, people just don’t know about it,” she states. “But I think my parents being able to drive me two hours to Atlanta back and forth for practices, AAU games, multiple times a week helped me get that visibility in front of D1 coaches that was needed. They sacrificed so much for me.”
After committing to the University of North Carolina, she ended up transferring and playing for Dawn Staley and the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. There, she would form a dynamic duo with A’ja Wilson, and they would go on to win the 2017 National Championship. Later that year, she would go fourth in the WNBA draft and eventually win the WNBA Rookie Of The Year, one of her biggest accomplishments.
“You don’t know what to expect your rookie year, it’s like you are a deer in headlights,” says Gray. “Once I got in a groove during my rookie year, I realized I could hang with these players and that I belong out here.”
The 29-year-old has established herself as one of the premier two-way players in The W, and her 2022 Defensive Player Of The Year cements that. Still, Gray stays humble as ever. On All-Star Friday night, The WNBA hosted the Skills Challenge and the Three-Point Shootout, with Gray being a participant in both. Heading into the event, the only thing on her mind was redemption.
“I’m equally looking forward to both competitions because I need my redemption in the Skills Challenge from last year, not my best showing,” admits Gray. “And when it comes to the Three-Point shootout, anything new is always something to look forward to.”
Gray did more than redeem herself, she made history. She won the Skills Challenge by beating Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham. In the Three-Point Contest, the Dream guard defeated New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones in the final round. What was special about her wins was that Gray became the first WNBA player to win both competitions on the same night.
Amidst all of the success, she still wasn’t done. During the WNBA All-Star game, she dropped 16 points on Team USA to help lead her squad over the Olympic team. That mark was the second highest on her team behind Arike Ogunbowale, who won MVP.
Gray dominated WNBA All-Star weekend and made over $110K in total winnings. As she raised her trophies Friday night, the world fell in love with her modest Southern charm. Whether it was her country accent, her bubbly personality, or just her competitive nature, Gray won over a ton of new fans this past weekend. But what Gray is most happy about is the legacy she built for her hometown.
“I feel like I’m a great role model,” she says. “I proved if you can work hard, you too can make it out of a small town. For the girls in my city, especially the hoopers, if you can see me, you can be me. Don’t let a small town hinder you from your goals, you can make it out too.”
