Allisha Gray is in the middle of a career season. She has always been a great player and made her first All-Star team in 2023. This season, she has reached a whole new level. Gray is averaging career highs in points, rebounds, assists, field goal attempts, and minutes per game.
Her emergence as one of the top players in the league has also led to team success. The Atlanta Dream have the third-best record in the league and are closing in on the New York Liberty to sneak into the top two.
Gray has firmly inserted herself into the MVP conversation alongside Napheesa Collier, Alyssa Thomas, and A’ja Wilson. If Gray can continue to play at this level or even kick it up another notch to close out the season, she could finish in the top three in MVP voting—a rare feat for a guard. Since 2015, only one guard has finished in the top three in MVP voting. Kelsey Plum achieved that feat in 2022. Otherwise, the MVP race has consistently been dominated by centers and forwards.
Allisha Gray still has time left to boost her MVP case
Allisha Gray is arguably the most underrated MVP candidate this season, but she checks a lot of the same boxes as the other candidates. She leads one of the best teams, is one of the top scorers in the league, scores efficiently from several levels, and makes plays for her teammates.
What sets Gray apart from the other MVP candidates is that she wasn’t always the best player on her team. In Dallas, she played with Skylar Diggins, Liz Cambage, Arike Ogunbowale, and Satou Sabally. When she came to Atlanta, Rhyne Howard was the face of the franchise. Gray has come a long way, establishing herself as the best player on a team that also features Rhyne Howard, Bri Jones, and Brittney Griner.
Meanwhile, Wilson and Thomas have been established MVP candidates for years, and Collier truly broke into the conversation last year.
Gray still has some time left to boost her MVP case and potentially push for the top three, though. The Dream have thirteen games left in the regular season, including a few matchups with Las Vegas, Minnesota, and New York that will offer Gray a chance to show out against other contenders.
Napheesa Collier is currently out with an ankle injury, and her absence opens the door for other players to push their MVP cases. Gray has done that so far, exceeding the 20-point mark on at least 60 percent shooting from the field in three of her last four games, which were all wins. Other players are heating up as well, though. Thomas just ended a stretch of three consecutive triple-doubles, and Wilson became the first player in league history to record a game with at least 30 points and 20 rebounds.