WNBA All-Star Leaves Paige Bueckers, Caitlin Clark Behind to Capture First-of-Its-Kind Milestone

It’s easy to forget Caitlin Clark was the MVP favourite going into the season. Injuries were the death of that dream. And quite possibly her “championship” hopes, but that is still in contention. The Fever point guard has sat on the sidelines as Paige Bueckers and others broke multiple of her records. Now, 3-time All-Star Allisha Gray has gone out and created one of her own.

Gray has bagged the August 2025 Player of the Month award, as the league announced. It was thoroughly deserved as the Dream star averaged 19.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game on 48.5 per cent shooting while leading Atlanta to a 9-3 record. It was a record third honour for the point guard, achieving something unprecedented for a guard. 

“Gray now stands alone in league history as the only guard in either conference to capture the award three times in a single season. She joins the elite class of Lauren Jackson, Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles, Maya Moore, Tina Charles, Elena Delle Donne, Jonquel Jones, Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson, and Naphessa Collier as the only players to ever accomplish the feat.” Wrote Atlanta Dream in their press release. For more context, Caitlin has only one from 2024. Coincidentally, that was in August too, when she averaged 24.0 points, 8.5 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game, leading the Fever to a playoff charge in 2024. Gray is doing the same with the Dream but with even more poise than Clark. 

Bueckers, on the other hand, is yet to receive a Player Of The Month Honour, but she did get her third consecutive Rookie Of The Month. She became the 10th player in WNBA history and first in Wings franchise history to earn the distinction thrice. Bueckers averaged 20.3 points and 5 assists over 10 games. She led all rookies in scoring and assists in August and set the single-game rookie scoring record with her 44-point game against the Sparks. Looking at these metrics, she was even in the Player Of The Month contention, but the Wings went 1-9 as opposed to Gray’s postseason charge.

Is Allisha Gray The Dark Horse In The MVP Race?

Napheesa Collier is leading Minnesota to an undisputable No.1 seed while being the torchbearer of the team. According to Polymarket, Collier has an 84% chance of getting the MVP. Then you have A’ja Wilson, who is having an incredible second half of the season for the red-hot Aces. Then there is Alyssa Thomas, having a historic season, leading the league in assists. Gray has less than negligible odds for the MVP if the betting market is concerned, but her on-court metrics match up to the top prospects. 

At 18.6 points,3.6 assists, and 4.5 rebounds per game, she is leading the Dream to their best finish since 2018. They currently have a 26-14 record at 0.650 and a relatively easier schedule awaits them with a 0.316 SOS according to Tankathon. So they have the best chance to be the No.2, which could get Gray a leg up in the MVP race. 

In addition to her major metrics, she has shot 44.6% from the field while shooting 37.8% from downtown. Gray has shot 2.3 three-pointers per game with that efficiency, which is among the top 5 in the league. Her net rating stands at +8.9, which is among the top players in the leagues playing atleast 30 minutes per game. Another thing favouring Gray is that she has remained fit throughout the season as opposed to her competitors. Wilson missed time with a right wrist sprain and concussion protocol, while Collier missed 7 games through an ankle issue. Thomas had a calf injury that forced her to sit out 5 games in 2025. 

Gray has played 1410 minutes this season, which is the most in the league. While some of the numbers fall short of Collier and the others, her underlying numbers tell us that she is one of the reasons Dream and Karl Smesko are thriving. If they manage to make a run in the 2025 Playoffs, Gray could turn into a prime contender, especially if one of the others falters.