Chelsea Gray has proven that when it comes to basketball, she's still one of the athletes to beat.
Gray led the Rose BC to the Unrivaled championship this weekend, something that definitely wasn't a guarantee for the team (her teammates included Azurá Stevens, Angel Reese, Brittney Sykes, Kahleah Copper, and Lexie Hull).
The team's start this season wasn't ideal, Gray acknowledged. "We started off rocky," Gray told High Post Hoops in a phone interview. "I think a lot of people were trying to figure each other out." She pointed out that the Rose was the only team that didn't have WNBA teammates on it, which meant the players had to learn each other quickly.
"Every two-man game action was unfamiliar," she continued. After the squad began to understand one another, "chemistry began to form" and the Rose soon realized they were, frankly, unstoppable. "We were peaking at the right time," Gray added. "The way we compete and how we play together — we're a completely different team than who started [at the beginning] of the year."
Unrivaled gave Chelsea Gray new opportunities
While Gray hesitated to name one Rose teammate she'd want to bring over to the Aces ("Oh, man, I can't say that!" she exclaimed), she had plenty of positive things to say about her Unrivaled teammates as a whole. "I complement a lot of players really well, and I just want them to succeed," she explained. "I want them to get better, because then I can pick their spots and get them the easiest possible shot."
"It was just really cool to be able to play with people that I never thought I would be able to play with for an extended period of time," Gray added. She and Kahleah Copper have previous experience playing together for USA Basketball, but the dynamics were different in Miami and "it was cool to get that experience as well."
A championship is "always" on the line for the Aces
As for the upcoming WNBA season, Gray was clear that a championship is perpetually in the sights of the Aces. The team has "some new people coming into the locker room" (Dana Evans, Jewell Loyd, and Elizabet Kitley all signed with the squad during free agency) and "we're going to start forming chemistry as soon as we touch down" in Las Vegas.
The Aces also said goodbye to a few members of the team, including Kelsey Plum (who signed with the Sparks) and Syd Colson (who signed with the Fever). With all changes considered, Gray added that she's "excited to get things started."
As for the team's goal? "The championship is the best," she said. "That's the goal of Vegas."