Chelsea Gray Leads the Las Vegas Aces to the W.N.B.A. Finals

Gray’s play style often results in the kind of oh-no-oh-no-oh-yes shots that stun spectators and opposing teams, like the step-back 3 with seven minutes left that she hit over the 6-foot-3 Storm center Tina Charles before the shot clock buzzer sounded. It looked like a heave, but went through the hoop without even touching the rim. Such scores have become normal to her teammates. They watch Gray take ridiculous shots at practice, even some with her feet turned in different directions, that consistently go through the net.

“I know that ball is going in every single time,” Wilson said.

The fascinating part about Gray’s performances is how she scores and finds her teammates. It’s a league where speed is paramount for guards like her teammate Kelsey Plum, who averaged 20 points in the regular season by blowing by defenders for open layups or using quick crossovers for step-back 3s. Or like Chicago’s Kahleah Copper, who runs out on fast breaks and routinely races past guards to score.

Gray is different. She moves downcourt at a somewhat lethargic pace — her feet barely leaving the ground as she commands the offense and keeps defenders at a distance. She creates separation with crossovers that put defenders a step behind her, which is all she needs to use her 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame to muscle them on her way to a crafty finish around the rim. Or she creates a sliver of separation that allows her to get the ball over the arms of a defender.

“She’s super methodical,” Storm guard Jewell Loyd said. “She’s super smart, intelligent, understands her body, what she can do, and what she can’t do. She doesn’t do anything that she can’t do. She understands where her spots are on the floor when her team needs a bucket.”

Gray’s historic night and the Aces’ victory spoiled the final game of guard Sue Bird’s 21-year career in Seattle, where she won four championships. The Storm lost each game in the final minute or seconds and very likely should have won Game 3. But a defensive lapse let Aces guard Jackie Young send the game into overtime, where Las Vegas pulled away. In Game 4 on Tuesday night, Breanna Stewart’s 42 points, tying a playoff record, weren’t enough.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/07/sports/basketball/aces-storm-wnba-chelsea-gray.html