Before the Atlanta Dream levelled the series against the Golden State Valkyries in Game 6 of the WNBA Finals, the Dream held a players-only meeting for their do-or-die clash. The objective? Reminding every player on the roster of their talent after losing two consecutive games to the Valkyries. That included Dream guard Allisha Gray, who has also been dealing with a separate issue: a left-hand injury. But even though Gray was at a disadvantage, her performance on Saturday afternoon suggested otherwise. With a team-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting and five shots from outside the arc, Gray was arguably the Dream’s best player. Recently, legendary UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma acknowledged Gray’s performance and revealed an interesting analogy about Gray’s injury actually working in her and the Dream’s favor.
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“Playing hurt and playing with some kind of discomfort, it’s either going to not bother you, and you’re going to play through it, or you’re going to use it as an excuse why you play. And there are a lot of players, that go around, ‘Listen, I got a broken finger. I just want you to know that, but I’m going to try it anyway. But if I play bad, it’s because I got a broken finger. You know that.’ I call it leaving the back door open,” Auriemma said on an episode of the Ringer NBA on YouTube.
“So, she’s (Allisha) chosen to just ignore it. I’m sure it hurts, it’s uncomfortable, and I’m sure it’s an issue, but she’s chosen to focus on this is what I need to do if I want to win, you know, like what are you willing to do to win? And she’s willing to just look past it and play,” the Huskies’ head coach added.
Before the WNBA Finals, Gray underwent a minor procedure on her left hand and was considered “day-to-day” ahead of Game 1. She suffered this injury in Game 1 of the semifinals against the New York Liberty. With just under four minutes to play in the first quarter, Gray exited the court holding her left wrist and hand before returning to the bench at the 9:09 mark of the second quarter with her ring finger and pinky taped. But about six minutes later, the Dream guard appeared to injure the same hand after diving for a loose ball. Gray was ruled out before halftime. Gray subsequently did not play in Games 2 and 3 of the semifinals, but the Dream swept the Liberty anyway.
But since returning to the Finals, Gray had not been her usual self. Through the first five games, Gray shot 16-of-57 (28%) from the field and 4-of-26 (15.3%) from outside the arc. Moreover, Gray’s highest field goal percentage was 36.4. Her drop in performance was especially visible in Games 4 and 5, when the Dream guard scored only 15 points combined. In the regular season, Gray averaged 19.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 44 games, according to StatMuse.
But as we all know, Game 6 flipped the script. Gray stepped up big time and shot 66.7% in the Dream’s 80-69 victory, including a 22-foot dagger with 56 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to end the Valkyries’ 14-3 run. Additionally, Gray’s five shots from outside the arc helped the Dream tie the record for the most made three-pointers by a team facing elimination in WNBA Finals history (13).
According to Auriemma, since Gray knew she was not 100%, she was able to take the pressure off herself and go all out.
“We’re all super proud of Lish… Everything we talked about that we wanted to see, she did exactly. The execution from film and practice to the floor was flawless on her part. Obviously, these are as big games as anybody’s been a part of. And to just take what she saw and just implement it to that level, I mean, it was the first thing we said in the locker room how proud we are of (Gray).” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said about Allisha Gray.
The Dream would consider themselves lucky as Gray got back in form on time. Having forced the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history, the Dream would hope to finish on the right side of history and win their first championship in a fourth Finals appearance. For that, Allisha Gray’s involvement in both ends of the floor will be key, and the Dream guard does not need to be told twice.
“The coaches and my teammates did challenge me, and I think I stepped up to the challenge… I know going into Game 7 not to take the foot off the gas, and I feel like I can take it to even another level,” Gray said in the postgame press conference.