Yesterday, the 2022 WNBA All-Star game was held in Chicago. While it was fun to watch the league’s best players dazzle in transition and light it up from deep, I couldn’t stop thinking about one thing— where’s Allisha Gray?
Gray’s team, the Dallas Wings, aren’t having a particularly good season. They’re hanging on by a thread for the eighth seed, currently one game ahead of the Phoenix Mercury. Now I get it. Voters tend to shy away from selecting players on teams that are lower in the standings, but why are we faulting the players? Basketball isn’t an individual game, but the All-Star game kind of is. Teams don’t get voted in. Players do.
It’s time to put some respect on Allisha Gray’s name.
Year to Remember
There’s no other way to look at it. Gray has had a fantastic year. In fact, it’s been the best of her career. She’s currently posting career highs in points per game (14.2), rebounds per game (5.6), blocks per game (0.9), three point percentage (41%), and effective field goal percentage (54.7%).
And yeah, the Wings only got one All-Star selection this year because of their record, but Gray is leading the team in player efficiency rating (PER) and win shares. With all due respect to Arike Ogunbowale, I think Gray might’ve deserved All-Star recognition more than any other Dallas player.
In Great Company
Although advanced statistics are disappointingly underdeveloped for the WNBA compared to the NBA, Gray is right up there with many of this year’s All-Stars at the top of the leaderboards. In Kevin Pelton’s most recent wins above replacement metric (WARP), Gray sits at 10th in the league. Ahead of the Dallas guard are six All-Star starters and three All-Star reserves. That means that Gray is above four All-Star starters and nine All-Star reserves. She wasn’t an All-Star. Make that make sense.
Latest updated of my wins above replacement player (WARP) metric for the current WNBA season. pic.twitter.com/YHdLh0yfBQ
— Kevin Pelton (@kpeltonWBB) July 5, 2022
Her Time is Coming
Allisha Gray may not have been on the court for Sunday afternoon’s clash in Chicago, featuring Team Wilson and Team Stewart, but you better believe she’s ready to prove all the doubters wrong during the second half of the season.
As arguably the most underrated player in the WNBA, Gray deserves more recognition. Just watch her ball if you don’t believe me.