Chelsea Gray Is A Star Among Stars | 2022 WNBA Playoffs
In a series littered with stars and future Hall of Famers, Chelsea Gray stood above the rest
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The Star among stars
After the Las Vegas Aces punched their ticket to the WNBA Finals, Chelsea Gray spoke with Holly Rowe about how her team reached this height for the first time with her on roster. Gray told Rowe “I got stronger, I got tighter, I got meaner, I got leaner,” like she was doing a Muhammed Ali impression. All the while, Sue Bird was tearfully saying goodbye to the adoring Seattle faithful.
It was unfortunate that Gray’s interview had to go on as Bird had her moment. But it was also fitting that Gray still held court during Bird’s goodbye because that’s exactly what happened during the game. The moments of triumph and legend didn’t belong to Bird and the Storm in Game 4. Gray snatched up those moments with a jaw-dropping performance and a continuation of her stunning playoff run. In a series of stars, none shone brighter than Chelsea Gray.
Gray became the first player in WNBA Playoff history to put up 30 points and 10 assists in a single game. She’s also setting records for effective field goal percentage with an absurd 74.7% mark and her 23.6 points per game at that efficiency is unmatched across the sport. According to Synergy Sports, she is putting up 1.308 points per possession in the playoffs. That’s the best mark in the 2022 postseason by leaps and bounds. The difference between Gray’s points per possession and second place (Breanna Stewart) is greater than the difference between second and eighth (Brionna Jones).
"I don't think anyone on planet Earth can guard her," Seattle Head Coach Noelle Quinn said after Game 4. "She was unconscious. We did a lot of things this series to try to slow her down. You limit her scoring, she has the ability to pass and [be a] playmaker. She's an incredible player.”
The statistics and the video that I’ll talk about in a second are truly astonishing. But Gray’s preeminence over some of the game’s greatest stars is what stands out to me. Think about who played in this series. A’ja Wilson just won her 2nd MVP as the franchise player. Breanna Stewart finished 2nd in MVP voting, Kelsey Plum finished 3rd, and Jackie Young won the Most Improved award. Jewell Loyd and Tina Charles are future hall of famers who had massive games in this postseason. Becky Hammon won Coach of the Year and is probably the league’s most famous non-player. You know about Sue Bird.
Yet, Gray truly outshone all of them. She’s not only dominated the game but she’s dominated the post-game discussion. The first questions of the press conferences were about Gray. Twitter couldn’t stop talking about her. Ryan Ruocco might pop into this article to say that Google searches for “Chelsea Gray destroyer of worlds” has quintupled. But really, listen to how A’ja Wilson described Gray’s performance.
“My biggest thing is to get the hell out of her way… She’s the head of our snake… I've never, ever seen someone, honestly live [in person] do that and dictate the game and just stay composed in all moments.”
That’s the MVP of the league saying that about her teammate and not just as a platitude. According to PBP stats, Gray scored or assisted on 53.6% of Vegas’s points in Games 3 and 4. When Vegas needed to make a play whether they had the lead or trailed, they turned to Gray. It’s infuriating crazy to think that she was the only Aces starter to not make the All-Star Game this year. But Gray has been underrated for a long time. In fact, WNBA GMs voted her most underrated in 2018 and 2019. Then, those same people voted for Sue Bird, Courtney Vandersloot, and Diana Taurasi as the best point guards in the league ahead of the 2021 season. She has played with MVPs or MVP candidates for most of her career and has been viewed as a “third star.” As we’ll see below, Gray has simply outworked that narrative and is playing some of the best basketball we’ve ever seen.
Analysis: Wow
I usually dive right into the video here. But I felt the need to write a lot before that because there’s not that much I can add to what Gray put on tape. I just kept saying wow every time she made a shot when I watched it live. Then, I did the same thing watching her tape. The first thing to note is how much attention Seattle is giving her to start the game. Becky Hammon deploys a STS/Spain pick-and-roll with Gray, Kiah Stokes, and Plum. Screening the screener’s defender creates confusion on the defense. But here, three Storm players stare at Gray regardless of the screens as Stokes runs free to the basket for an easy layup.
The problem for Seattle was that Tina Charles got switched onto Gray. Charles played some possessions of solid defense against Gray in this series, but the shots still fell and giving Gray a mismatch is madness right now. So, Gabby Williams has to give nail help and leave Stokes for the helpers, who don’t get there in time.
Gray demolished Seattle’s nail help all game. But she also killed the Storm’s switches with incredible shots over Stewart and Ezi Magbegor. As Mark Schindler detailed here, Seattle could come up with 1,000 possible solutions for Gray and Gray would come up with 1,001 ways around them. On this play, Seattle gives the switch and Magbegor stays with Gray as Stewart stunts to Gray’s left hand at the nail. Gray stays cool, crossovers, steps back, and hits an incredible fadeaway over Ezi.
She hit that shot as Seattle started to put a run together and the crowd was going crazy. Gray and the Aces silenced the crowd at every turn in the second quarter to keep the game close. Then, it was time for Gray to take over. Watch this desperation three with the shot clock expiring to tie the game.
That three came after a Stokes offensive rebound and put Vegas in control of the game early in the 3rd quarter. The Aces would lead for all but 11 seconds of the rest of the game. After 7 points and 7 assists in the first half, Gray looked for her own shot in the second half and poured in 24 points.
Gray’s biggest target was Stephanie Talbot, who was having a great series on both ends. The Storm were comfortable enough with Gray isolating Talbot that Gray had plenty of space to operate. Talbot tried to force Gray to her right and she nailed two very tough jumpers going to her right. Then, Hammon had Gray screen for Wilson and pop to attack Talbot toward the emptier side of the floor. She cooked Talbot twice and kept landing punches that would eventually sink Seattle.
The dagger came against Gabby Williams, the Storm’s other capable wing defender. Gray runs a pick-and-roll with Riquna Williams to get Sue Bird involved. Williams has to chase Gray over the screen to avoid a mismatch with Bird, so Gray bolts to the empty side. Talbot sprints from the other side of the court to get in front of Gray and prevent her from getting to her spot. Gray calmly crosses over and gets to where help normally is at the nail. It was a beautiful cherry on top of Gray’s sundae.
Maybe Gray cools off in the Finals and I’ll blame myself for writing about her. However, it’s foolish to bet against her at this point. If her shot making falls off a bit, she’ll still find ways to contribute as a playmaker. With all of Vegas’s talent, she can regress and still push this team to a championship. Regardless of what happens next, Gray took her Hall of Fame status that she already had and pushed herself into the Legendary category during these playoffs.