Chelsea Gray
Gray with the Las Vegas Aces in 2023
No. 12 – Las Vegas Aces
PositionPoint guard
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1992-10-08) October 8, 1992 (age 31)
Hayward, California, U.S.
Listed height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Listed weight170 lb (77 kg)
Career information
High schoolSt. Mary's (Stockton, California)
CollegeDuke (2010–2014)
WNBA draft2014: 1st round, 11th overall pick
Selected by the Connecticut Sun
Playing career2014–present
Career history
2015Connecticut Sun
2015Hapoel Rishon LeZion
2015Uni Girona
2015–2017Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi
2016–2020Los Angeles Sparks
2017–2018Botaş SK
2019Çukurova Basketbol
2020Fenerbahçe
2020–2021Uni Girona
2021–presentLas Vegas Aces
2023–presentÇukurova Basketbol
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Medals
Women's basketball
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2022 Australia

Chelsea Nichelle Gray (born October 8, 1992 in Hayward, California)[1] is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).[2] 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, and a third title the following year.

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 fractured her knee which caused her to be sidelined the rest of her junior year and her whole senior year. Despite this she was drafted to the Connecticut Sun in 2014.[3]

WNBA career

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.[4]

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

Young woman wearing yellow basketball uniform smiling broadly
Gray in 2018

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.[5] 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.[6]

Gray shooting in 2019

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.[7] Gray would also be voted into the 2017 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her first career all-star game appearance.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14]

Overseas career

Prior to 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.[15][16] In June 2016, Gray re-signed with Abdullah Gul University for the 2016–17 off-season.[17] In July 2017, Gray signed with Botaş SK for the 2017–18 off-season.[18] In July 2020, Gray signed with Fenerbahçe of the Turkish league.[19]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader

College

Year[20] Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2010–11 Duke 34 297 43.2 39.8 80.5 3.3 2.5 1.9 0.2 8.7
2011–12 Duke 33 413 45.8 37.7 82.1 4.9 6.1 2.8 0.4 12.5
2012–13 Duke 25 316 42.1 40.7 85.1 5.3 5.4 3.6 0.1 12.6
2013–14 Duke 17 184 50.4 33.3 74.5 4.2 7.2 2.9 0.2 10.8
Career Duke 109 1210 44.9 38.5 81.4 4.4 5.0 2.7 0.2 11.1

WNBA

† Denotes seasons in which Gray won a WNBA championship

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2015 Connecticut 34 0 16.0 .424 .348 .816 2.3 2.7 0.6 0.1 1.7 6.9
2016† Los Angeles 33 1 16.4 .452 .304 .780 1.8 2.8 0.4 0.1 1.2 5.9
2017 Los Angeles 34 34 33.1 .507 .482° .827 3.3 4.4 1.0 0.2 1.9 14.8
2018 Los Angeles 34 34 32.7 .484 .392 .835 3.4 5.1 1.4 0.2 2.3 14.9
2019 Los Angeles 34 34 32.6 .416 .382 .917 3.8 5.9 1.0 0.1 3.1 14.5
2020 Los Angeles 22 22 30.6 .442 .305 .939 3.7 5.3 1.6 0.1 2.7 14.0
2021 Las Vegas 32 32 28.9 .454 .380 .889 2.9 5.9 1.2 0.3 2.8 11.1
2022† Las Vegas 35 35 29.7 .491 .340 .910 3.2 6.1 1.6 0.3 2.3 13.7
Career 8 years, 3 teams 258 192 27.4 .461 .378 .883 3.0 4.7 1.1 0.2 2.2 11.9

Postseason

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2016† Los Angeles 9 0 22.1 .406 .391 .833 1.7 2.8 1.1 0.0 2.4 9.0
2017 Los Angeles 8 8 35.6 .461 .333 .778 3.4 6.8 1.3 0.2 2.7 15.1
2018 Los Angeles 2 2 31.7 .393 .429 .833 4.0 4.5 0.0 0.5 2.0 16.5
2019 Los Angeles 4 4 32.4 .367 .333 .667 3.0 5.3 1.2 0.2 2.7 10.5
2020 Los Angeles 1 1 35.0 .222 .000 .000 2.0 0.0 1.0 0.0 3.0 4.0
2021 Las Vegas 5 5 28.4 .462 .389 1.000 3.2 6.4 1.0 0.0 1.2 15.4
2022† Las Vegas 10 10 34.0 .611 .544 .833 3.8 7.0 1.2 0.6 3.0 21.7
Career 7 years, 2 teams 39 30 30.6 .482 .419 .836 3.0 5.4 1.1 0.3 2.5 14.7

Overseas

National competition

Regular season
Season Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2014–15 Hapoel Rishon LeZion Israel Ligat ha'Al 14 35.4 .500 .351 .812 6.4 5.9 2.8 0.1 4.0 20.6
2015–16 Spar Citylift Girona Spain LFB 9 32.4 .477 .400 .889 4.8 4.4 4.0 0.2 4.4 18.4
2015–16 Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi Turkey KBSL 20 30.6 .541 .246 .846 3.8 4.7 1.6 0.1 3.2 13.6
2016–17 24 33.0 .556 .364 .805 4.0 5.1 1.5 0.1 2.6 14.9
2017–18 Botaş 18 33.0 .518 .211 .805 4.9 6.6 1.7 0.0 3.3 16.4
2018–19 Çukurova 11 25.3 .610 .324 .944 3.3 7.2 1.3 0.1 2.0 13.6
2019–20 Fenerbahçe 3 18.1 .444 .444 1.000 2.3 6.0 1.0 0.0 1.7 7.3
2020–21 Spar Girona Spain LFB 22 24.4 .514 .162 .841 3.5 3.6 1.0 0.0 2.0 10.6
Playoffs
Season Team League GP MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2015–16 Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi Turkey KBSL 7 39.6 .446 .258 .773 3.6 5.0 1.7 0.0 2.7 16.4
2016–17 3 33.4 .482 .143 1.000 2.3 3.3 2.0 1.0 2.0 11.3
2017–18 Botaş 2 35.2 .375 .000 1.000 5.5 7.5 1.5 0.0 5.5 14.5
2018–19 Çukurova 10 34.1 .538 .400 .909 5.2 6.9 1.4 0.1 2.3 19.4
2020–21 Spar Girona Spain LFB 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.[21] She is openly lesbian.[22] She is married to former Long Beach State player Tipesa Moorer, who played on the American Samoan team at the 2015 Pacific Games on 2 November 2019.[23][24]

References

  1. ^ Ingemi, Marisa (2023-07-18). "Year after snub, Bay Area's Chelsea Gray one of WNBA's biggest stars". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
  2. ^ "Chelsea Gray – WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA". WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  3. ^ "Gray, Liston selected in first round of WNBA Draft – The Herald-Sun". Archived from the original on 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2014-08-21.
  4. ^ "Chelsea Gray – WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA".
  5. ^ Los Angeles and Connecticut also trade second round positions in the 2016 WNBA Draft Archived 2016-10-21 at the Wayback Machine/
  6. ^ "Los Angeles Sparks win WNBA title". Associated Press. 4 January 2017.
  7. ^ "05/27/17: Los Angeles Sparks @ Atlanta Dream – WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA".
  8. ^ Record, The. "Local Roundup: Chelsea Gray selected as all-star reserve".
  9. ^ "Gray guides Sparks to Game 1 victory over Lynx". ESPN.com. 2017-09-24. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  10. ^ Chelsea Gray's buzzer beater lifts Sparks past Lynx 77–76 in finals rematch
  11. ^ "Chelsea Gray Re-Signs With Los Angeles Sparks". SLAM. 2019-04-30. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  12. ^ ago, Kurtis Zimmerman 2 years (2019-07-08). "A look at every WNBA triple-double in league history". High Post Hoops. Retrieved 2021-08-08.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Gray scores season-high 27 points as Sparks beat Sun – Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  14. ^ "Free agent Gray, Aces agree to multiyear deal". ESPN.com. 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  15. ^ "WNBA Players Playing Overseas – WNBA.com – Official Site of the WNBA".
  16. ^ "Abdullah Gul University Signs Chelsea Gray – Women's Basketball 24.7". 27 November 2015.
  17. ^ "EUROBASKET NEWS".
  18. ^ "Basketball News, Scores, Stats, Analysis, Standings". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
  19. ^ Fenerbahce transfer news | Contract with Chelsea Gray
  20. ^ "NCAA® Career Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  21. ^ "Gray Matters". Archived from the original on 2014-08-21. Retrieved 2014-08-21.
  22. ^ "Meet The 13 Gay Women Basketball Players of the Tokyo Summer Olympics". Autostraddle. 2021-07-26. Retrieved 2021-08-03.
  23. ^ "WNBA player Chelsea Gray marries girlfriend". www.outsports.com. 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  24. ^ Guardabascio, Mike (2015-07-23). "Long Beach athletes golden at the Pacific Games". www.presstelegram.com. Retrieved 2022-09-24.

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