Chelsea Nichelle Gray (born October 8, 1992) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player for the

Las Vegas Aces The Las Vegas Aces are an American professional basketball team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Aces compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team play ...

of the

Women's National Basketball Association The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) is an American professional basketball league. It is composed of twelve teams, all based in the United States. The league was founded on April 22, 1996, as the women's counterpart to the Nati ...

(WNBA). She was the eleventh pick in the

2014 WNBA Draft The 2014 WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 14, 2014 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut at 8:00 pm ...

. She missed the

2014 WNBA season The 2014 WNBA season was the 18th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season started in May and concluded in September to accommodate the 2014 Women's World Championship. Notable occurrences * The New York Liberty returned ...

due to injury, but she made her debut with the

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...

in the

2015 WNBA season The 2015 WNBA season was the 19th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The regular season started on June 5 and playoffs concluded on October 14. The Minnesota Lynx beat the Indiana Fever 69–52 in game five of the Fina ...

. Gray won her first title with the

Los Angeles Sparks The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was fou ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

. She won her second title with the

in the 2022 WNBA Finals, where she was named Finals MVP.

College career

Joanne P. McCallie coached Duke's women's basketball team during the time Gray played for the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...

. In Gray's junior year at Duke (February 2013), she fractured her knee which caused her to be sidelined the rest of her junior year and her whole senior year. Despite this she was drafted to the

Connecticut Sun The Connecticut Sun are an American professional basketball team based in Uncasville, Connecticut that competes in the Eastern Conference of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was established as the Orlando Miracle in ...

in 2014.

WNBA career

Gray was drafted 11th overall by the

in the

2014 WNBA draft The 2014 WNBA draft is the league's annual process for determining which teams receive the rights to negotiate with players entering the league. The draft was held on April 14, 2014 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut at 8:00 pm ...

. She sat out the 2014 season while recovering from a right knee injury that she sustained in January of her senior year while playing at Duke. Gray would come back healthy in time for the 2015 season. Coming off the bench for the Sun, she averaged 6.9 ppg. Gray5-20180520

Prior to the 2016 season, Gray was traded to the

along with two first round picks in the 2016 WNBA draft and a first round pick in the 2017 WNBA draft in exchange for draft rights to

Jonquel Jones Jonquel Orthea Jones (born January 5, 1994) is a Bahamian-Bosnian professional basketball player for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted with the 6th overall pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft. S ...

and the 17th pick in the 2016 WNBA Draft. Joining forces with

Candace Parker Candace Nicole Parker (born April 19, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Sky of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was selected as the first overall pick in the 2008 WNBA draft by the Los An ...

, Kristi Toliver and

Nneka Ogwumike Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike (; born July 2, 1990) is a Nigerian-American basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), after being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2012 WNBA Draft. S ...

, Gray would come off the bench as the back-up point guard on the Sparks roster, playing 33 games with 1 start and averaging 5.9 ppg. The Sparks were a championship contender in the league, finishing 26–8. The Sparks were the number 2 seed in the league with a double-bye to the semi-finals (the last round before the WNBA Finals) facing the

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 20 ...

due to the WNBA's new playoff format. The Sparks defeated the Sky 3–1 in the series, advancing to the WNBA Finals for the first time since 2003. In the Finals, the Sparks were up against the championship-defending Minnesota Lynx. Gray's playing time would be slightly increased in the Finals and was able to provide an offensive spark off the bench for the Sparks. In Game 4 with the Sparks up 2–1, Gray scored a team-high 20 points off the bench in 24 minutes of play, but the Sparks still lost the game. In the decisive Game 5, Gray scored 11 consecutive points for the Sparks in the second half. The Sparks would win Game 5 and the 2016 WNBA Championship. Chelsea Gray-20190608-Lorie Shaull

With Toliver leaving the Sparks in free agency to join the

Washington Mystics The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded pri ...

, Gray would be moved to starting point guard, following her heroic off-the-bench performance in the Finals. Gray would have a breakout season in 2017 as she scored a career-high 25 points on May 27, 2017, in a 75–73 loss to the

Atlanta Dream The Atlanta Dream are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded for the 2008 WNBA season. The team is owned by real ...

. Gray would also be voted into the

2017 WNBA All-Star Game The 2017 WNBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on July 22, 2017. The Seattle Storm hosted a WNBA All-Star Game for the first time. Starters for this year's All-Star game were selected by a combination of fan, media, and pla ...

, making it her first career all-star game appearance. She finished off the season leading the league in three-point field goal percentage and averaged career-highs in scoring, rebounds, assists and minutes as the Sparks finished second place in the league with a 26–8 record, receiving a double-bye to the semi-finals. The Sparks would go on to advance to the Finals for the second season in a row, after defeating the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

in a 3-game sweep, setting up a rematch with the Lynx. In Game 1 of the 2017 WNBA Finals, Gray scored a new career-high 27 points and hit the game-winning shot with 2 seconds left, sealing an 85–84 victory to give the Sparks a 1–0 series lead. However, the Sparks would lose in five games, failing to win back-to-back championships. On May 20, 2018, in the Sparks' season opener against the Lynx, Gray scored 18 points along with a game-winning layup at the buzzer in a 77–76 victory. Later on in the season, Gray would be voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game, for her second career all-star appearance. Gray finished off the season averaging a new career-highs in scoring, steals, assists and rebounds. The Sparks finished as the number 6 seed in the league with a 19–15 record. In the first round elimination game they would defeat the Lynx 75–68 in which Gray Gray scored a season-high 26 points. The Sparks would advance to the second round elimination game where they would lose 96–64 to the Washington Mystics. On April 30, 2019, Gray re-signed with the Sparks. On July 7, 2019, Gray recorded her first

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

with 13 points, 13 assists, and 10 rebounds in a 98–81 win against the

, becoming both the ninth player in league history and the third player in Sparks' franchise history to record a triple-double. Gray would also be voted into the 2019 WNBA All-Star Game, making it her third all-star appearance. On August 29, 2019, Gray scored a career-high 30 points in a 87–83 win against the

Indiana Fever The Indiana Fever are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis, playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the 2000 season began. The team is owned ...

. By the end of the season, the Sparks finished as the number 3 seed with a 22–12 record, receiving a bye to the second round. In the second round elimination game, the Sparks defeated the defending champions Seattle Storm 92–69. In the semi-finals, the Sparks were defeated in a three-game sweep by the Connecticut Sun. In the

2020 WNBA season The 2020 WNBA season was the 24th season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Washington Mystics were the defending champions. Planned changes to the league's schedule included an increase from 34 to 36 regular season games f ...

, Gray started all 22 games played for the Sparks, the season was shortened in a bubble at

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On August 28, 2020, Gray scored a season-high 27 points in a 80–76 victory over the Connecticut Sun. The Sparks finished 15–7 with the number 3 seed, receiving a bye to the second round but were eliminated by the seventh seeded Connecticut Sun in the second round elimination game, making it the second year a row that they've been eliminated by the same team. In 2021 free agency, Gray signed a multi-year deal with the

Overseas career

Prior to her first WNBA season, Gray played in Israel for Hapoel Rishon Le-Zion in the 2014–15 off-season. In the 2015–16 off-season, Gray played in Spain for

Uni Girona CB Uni Girona Club de Basquet, also known as Spar Girona (previously Spar Citylift Girona) for sponsorship reasons, is a Spanish women's basketball club from Girona. History Founded in 2005 from the fusion of local clubs CE Santa Eugènia and CB Ve ...

for the first portion of the off-season and spent the second portion of the off-season playing in Turkey for Abdullah Gul University. In June 2016, Gray re-signed with Abdullah Gul University for the 2016–17 off-season. In July 2017, Gray signed with

Botaş SK Botaş SK is a sports club based in Ankara. The major branch of the club is the women's basketball, currently performing at the Turkish Women's Basketball Super League. The club also competes in athletics. Botaş is the first Turkish club to ...

for the 2017–18 off-season. In July 2020, Gray signed with Fenerbahçe of the Turkish league.

Career statistics

College

WNBA

Regular season

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2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

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Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

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2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

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Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, 33, , 1 , , 16.4 , , .452, , .304 , , .780 , , 1.8 , , 2.8 , , 0.4 , , 0.1 , , 1.2 , , 5.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

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, 34 , , 34 , , 33.1 , , .507, , style="background:#D3D3D3", .482° , , .827 , , 3.3 , , 4.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.2 , , 1.9 , , 14.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

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, 34, , 34, , 32.7 , , .484 , , .392 , , .835 , , 3.4 , , 5.1 , , 1.4 , , 0.2 , , 2.3 , , 14.9 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

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, 34 , , 34 , , 32.6 , , .416 , , .382 , , .917 , , 3.8 , , 5.9 , , 1.0 , , 0.1 , , 3.1 , , 14.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

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, 22 , , 22 , , 30.6 , , .442 , , .305 , , .939 , , 3.7 , , 5.3 , , 1.6 , , 0.1 , , 2.7 , , 14.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, style="text-align:left;",

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, 32 , , 32 , , 28.9 , , .454 , , .380 , , .889 , , 2.9 , , 5.9 , , 1.2 , , 0.3 , , 2.8 , , 11.1 , - , style='text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;',

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

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, 35 , , 35 , , 29.7 , , .491 , , .340 , , .910 , , 3.2 , , 6.1 , , 1.6 , , 0.3 , , 2.3 , , 13.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 8 years, 3 teams , 258 , , 192 , , 27.4 , , .461 , , .378 , , .883 , , 3.0 , , 4.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.2 , , 2.2 , , 11.9

Postseason

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, 9 , , 0 , , 22.1 , , .406 , , .391 , , .833 , , 1.7 , , 2.8 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 2.4 , , 9.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , 8 , , 35.6 , , .461 , , .333 , , .778 , , 3.4 , , 6.8 , , 1.3 , , 0.2 , , 2.7 , , 15.1 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 2 , , 2 , , 31.7 , , .393 , , .429 , , .833 , , 4.0 , , 4.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 2.0 , , 16.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 4 , , 4 , , 32.4 , , .367 , , .333 , , .667 , , 3.0 , , 5.3 , , 1.2 , , 0.2 , , 2.7 , , 10.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 1 , , 1 , , 35.0 , , .222 , , .000 , , .000 , , 2.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0 , , 4.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 28.4 , , .462 , , .389 , , 1.000 , , 3.2 , , 6.4 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.2 , , 15.4 , - , style='text-align:left;background:#afe6ba;' ,

^† , style="text-align:left;",

, 10 , , 10 , , 34.0 , , .611 , , .544 , , .833 , , 3.8 , , 7.0 , , 1.2 , , 0.6 , , 3.0 , , 21.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", Career , style="text-align:left;", 7 years, 2 teams , 39 , , 30 , , 30.6 , , .482 , , .419 , , .836 , , 3.0 , , 5.4 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 2.5 , , 14.7

Overseas

National competition

=Regular season

=Playoffs

Personal life

Gray has participated in

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It has ...

(AAU). In her free time, she has helped work out and train younger kids in AAU to become better athletes. She is openly lesbian. She married with former

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a public research university in Long Beach, California. The 322-acre campus is the second largest of the 23-school California State University system (CSU) and one of the largest universities i ...

player Tipesa Moorer who played part of the American Samoan team at the

2015 Pacific Games The 2015 Pacific Games, also known as Port Moresby 2015 or POM 2015, was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, from 4 to 18 July 2015. It was the fifteenth staging of the Pacific Games as well as the third to be hosted in Port Moresby. More tha ...

on 2 November 2019.

References

External links

Duke Blue Devils bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gray, Chelsea 1992 births Living people All-American college women's basketball players American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American women's basketball players Basketball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Basketball players from California Connecticut Sun draft picks Connecticut Sun players Duke Blue Devils women's basketball players Fenerbahçe women's basketball players Las Vegas Aces players American LGBT sportspeople LGBT basketball players LGBT people from California Lesbian sportswomen Los Angeles Sparks players McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in basketball Parade High School All-Americans (girls' basketball) People from Manteca, California Point guards 21st-century LGBT people United States women's national basketball team players Women's National Basketball Association All-Stars