SB Nation is introducing each of the 12 members of the US Olympic Women’s Basketball team this week. Here’s what you need to know about Chelsea Gray, who’s consistently been the most prolific point guard in the WNBA.
Everything you need to know about Chelsea Gray, the US Olympic basketball team’s Point Gawd
At her best, Chelsea Gray is the best point guard in the WNBA — get to know one of the key cogs of the 2024 US Olympic basketball team.
Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images
Noa Dalzell is a senior writer covering the WNBA and all of women’s basketball for Breakaway, SB Nation’s women’s sports vertical, as well as the Celtics for CelticsBlog.
Fast Facts
Team: Las Vegas Aces (16-8)
Regular Season Stats: 7.3 points (37.7% FG), 4.7 assists, 2.8 rebounds
Position: Guard
Draft Class: 2014, Pick #11
All-Star Selections: 6 (2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024)
Previous Olympic Appearances: 2020 Olympic gold medalist (5x5)
College: Duke
She’s known as the Point Gawd
Chelsea Gray is known as the WNBA’s Point Gawd, capable of being both a deadly scorer and facilitator. Last year, her 7.3 assists per game marked the third-best clip in the WNBA.
Gray’s playmaking is critical on a talented Aces roster headlined by three former #1 picks: A’ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young. While she is a prolific scorer and shooter, she’s also been key to unlocking the scoring prowess of her teammates.
“She’s a huge part of what we do. She is the extension of the coach out there,” Aces head coach Becky Hammon told SLAM in September. “Hell, I’m her assistant. I tell them all the time, ‘If Chelsea calls something and I call something, you listen to Chelsea. So, when the head coach calls something, you run it.’”
This year, the Aces were 6-6 without Chelsea Gray — and 10-2 with her
Gray injured her foot in Game 3 of the NBA Finals in October, and missed the first 12 games of the WNBA season. Without her, the two-time defending champs struggled, losing six of their first 12 games, and spurring some to wonder if the dynasty was over.
But, since Gray returned the lineup, the Aces have returned to their dominant form, winning 10 of their last 12 games. She’s not putting up spectacular numbers as she looks for her offensive groove — she’s only averaging 7.3 points in 37.7% shooting — but her presence has made an immediate impact.
“When you take out a player like Chelsea Gray, we’ve been constructed like a cake and when you take out the sugar from the cake, it’s like cornbread,” Plum said. “So that’s what everyone saw the first ten games — cornbread that had no honey butter on it. We just needed to get our ingredients back together, that’s really all that was.”
Prior to that injury, Gray was extremely durable, playing in 283 of 284 possible games after missing her first WNBA season recovering from an ACL tear.
At the last Olympics, Gray was Team USA’s most effective guard
At the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Chelsea Gray averaged 7.3 points per game on 58.1% shooting and 3.2 assists, the most amount guards on the team. She started all six games, and is expected to be a starter in these Olympics, despite experiencing some offensive struggles in her return to the Aces.
As a member of the 2020 World Cup, Gray averaged 9.2 points and 5.2 assists per game as Team USA went 8-0 en route their fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal game.
She was the 2022 Finals MVP
A’ja Wilson has been the centerpiece of the Las Vegas Aces Dynasty. But, it was Chelsea Gray who took the reigns to ensure the franchise would win its first-ever championship in 2022.
Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images
The Aces defeated the Sun 3-1 in the finals, and Gray averaged 18.3 points on 58.5% shooting to go along with 6 assists. She also shot 45% from downtown in the series. In the clinching Game 4, Gray finished with 20 points on 9-13 FG.
That postseason run, she was also the overall leading playoff scorer with 213 points, averaging 21.7 points per game and shooting a scorching 61.1% from the field.
The 2022 postseason run marked her second WNBA championship — she won her first title as a bench contributor on the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016.
