No growth and development in the WNBA comes easily. It is always the result of hard work and dedication. Still, some jumps are more difficult to make than others. One of the most difficult leaps a WNBA player can make is to go from an All-Star-level player to an MVP candidate, especially as a veteran player.
Allisha Gray made that jump this season with the Atlanta Dream. Averaging 19.4 points on very efficient shooting, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.1 assists, Gray is a quiet but legitimate MVP candidate.
Allisha Gray is having a career season
Allisha Gray was already an All-Star in 2023 and 2024 before being named a starter this season. She is averaging career highs all across the board and leading the Atlanta Dream to plenty of success. Atlanta currently has the fourth-best record in the league, with twelve wins and seven losses.
Gray is also one of only seven players averaging over nineteen points per game, has one of the best 3-point shots in the league, and has taken her playmaking to another level. She is converting 41.6 percent of her 5.9 attempts from three per game. Both numbers are career highs. So is the 4.1 assists Gray is dishing out per game.
After a successful offseason, the Dream went into the 2025 season with a stacked roster. Between Rhyne Howard, Brionna Jones, Brittney Griner, and Allisha Gray, few likely expected the latter to be the team’s best player and brightest star this season.
And yet, Gray is thriving this season, making an MVP case alongside Napheesa Collier, A’ja Wilson, and Alyssa Thomas—the best in the league.
Gray is the key to the Dream’s playoff success this season
Atlanta has not made it past the first round of the playoffs since 2018. Back then, the team was led by Tiffany Hayes, Angel McCoughtry, and Renee Montgomery, and coached by Nicki Collen. A lot has changed in the meantime, and it is time for Atlanta to end its drought of playoff success.
With how successful the Dream have been this season, the goal for the season should be to enter the playoffs with home-court advantage and to win a playoff series. Gray is the key to achieving that goal. While the Dream will need big contributions from Rhyne Howard, Brionna Jones, Brittney Griner, Jordin Canada, and Naz Hillmon, Gray has established herself as the team’s leader and best player this season. She will have to continue producing MVP-caliber numbers so the Dream can compete with other teams that feature great players.