LAS VEGAS — It may not have been obvious to the untrained eye what Chelsea Gray contributed to the Las Vegas Aces’ 85-74 win over Connecticut on Friday night.
Her performance was disappointing – 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 17 minutes – and her shooting wasn’t great either – 1-of-6 from the field and 2-of-4 from the free throw line.
But her presence was key — just ask her teammates.
“I think a lot of people like her fancy passing, but Chelsea keeps the team organized,” said A’ja Wilson, who played in 20 or more consecutive games 19 times, a WNBA record. (She had 26 points and 16 rebounds.) With Gray on the court, “the right person is getting the ball at the right time,” Wilson said.
Opponents agree: Before the game, Connecticut coach Stephanie White said Las Vegas with Gray is “night and day different” compared to Las Vegas without her.
The results certainly back that claim up. The Aces are 2-0 since Gray’s return on Wednesday against Seattle, but those two wins against the Storm and Sun were significant because they came against teams higher than them in the standings. And they weren’t just wins — they were impressive wins. Vegas built 19-point leads in each game, a reminder to the WNBA of who’s led the league the last two years.
The two-time defending champion was completely out of form for the first six weeks of the season, causing panic and stress for the “point girl” who spent most of her time on the bench nursing a foot injury she suffered during the 2023 WNBA Finals.
Then, when Gray returned, it was as if the entire Aces took a deep breath. The five-time All-Star is a calming and stabilizing presence on the bench and on the court. Gray’s energy is infectious, and her IQ is unmatched. And she knows it.
“There’s a sense of security,” Gray says. “When you go outside” — she pauses, breathes an exaggerated sigh of relief, and smiles — “it’s like, ‘Oh, OK, this is what we’ve been used to all these years.'”
Wilson said Gray’s presence on the court allows everyone else to return to their normal, natural positions and “allows them to flourish.” Her presence also takes pressure off other guards, including Jackie Young (8 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds) and Kelsey Plum (18 points, 4 assists), who filled in as point guard in her absence.
But Gray being healthy isn’t just good news for Las Vegas, it’s good news for the nation as a whole.
When USA Basketball officially released its 12-player roster for Paris on June 11, many questioned the status of Gray and Brittney Griner, who had been sidelined with extended injuries. (Grinner played her first game of the 2024 season on June 7; she is averaging 24 points over her past four games and looks perfectly fine.) In particular, it was controversial to some that Indiana Fever rookie Caitlin Clark, viewed as the USA point guard of the future, was left off the roster despite questions about Gray’s health.
But Jennifer Rizzotti, chair of the USA Basketball selection committee, had been in contact with the Aces and Gray’s camp and was confident Gray would be available for Paris. And with five-time gold medalist Sue Bird retiring, Rizzotti and the committee felt Gray’s “extensive USA Basketball experience,” who won a gold medal in Tokyo and led the U.S. to victory at the 2022 FIBA World Cup in Australia, would be key in her selection.
Gray was far from his usual self. In the first half against Connecticut, he was 0-for-3 from the field, throwing his head back in frustration when his shots missed the rim or missed completely. But there were also glimpses of the old Gray who would go on to be the 2022 Finals MVP. In the second half, with the shot clock running out and Connecticut chipping away at the lead, Gray finally made his signature pull-up fadeaway jump shot with 2:51 left in the third quarter. The crowd roared, and the Aces’ lead was back in double digits.
In Paris, Gray will be surrounded by other All-Stars, including three of her Las Vegas teammates: Wilson, Young and Plum. Her job will be, first and foremost, to pass the ball. She probably won’t have to score. But she can and will get her shooting rhythm back (she averaged 15.3 points and shot 49 percent from the field last season). She’ll rack up assists again (her 7.3 assists per game in 2023 is third-best in the WNBA). At times on Friday night, it seemed as if the Aces had forgotten what it was like to play with a player with extraordinary court vision, as passes that only Gray could see and throw slipped through her teammates’ fingers.
Gray said the chemistry “will come back naturally. It’s about picking your spot in the flow of the game. Everybody will get back together. We’re feeling great, we’re in good form.”
She’s comfortable on the court and finally healthy, and it’s clear she’s happy about both, and her joy will likely increase as her playing time and performance improve.
And, as is usual for arguably the best point guard in the world, her timing couldn’t have been better.
Email Lindsay Schnell at lschnell@usatoday.com and follow her on social media. Lindsay Schnell
