Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) puts up a shot during a WNBA basketball game against the Connecticut Sun at the Michelob Ultra Arena Thursday, June 2, 2022.
Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022 | 2 a.m.
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Chelsea Gray is still not sure how she makes these shots.
The best way the Las Vegas Aces’ point guard can sum it up is practice, preparation and the confidence each time she releases the ball.
“It’s just certain moments where I know it’s a rhythm for me,” Gray said. “It’s natural. It feels nice.”
What Gray has done during the playoffs, though, has been unnatural. It’s one thing for a taller player to dominate in the post and shoot 60% during a postseason.
An argument can be made that if not for the 5-11 Gray, the Aces would not be within three wins of their first championship in franchise history. Las Vegas, in the finals for the second time in three years, will host the Connecticut Sun in the best-of-5 series with Game 1 set for Sunday (Noon, ABC).
Both the Aces and Sun are looking for their first title. Gray is going for her second after winning with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016.
“It’s super special for both franchises to be here,” she said. “That’s why I came here: to bring Vegas its first championship.”
In a year that’s been highlighted by A’ja Wilson winning her second league MVP award and Kelsey Plum emerging as one of the best guards in the WNBA, the Aces’ run to their second WNBA Finals in three years might not have happened if not for Gray.
The four-time all-star has been electric offensively during Las Vegas’ playoff run. She’s shooting 62.6% from the field — which would be the highest percentage ever in a postseason for a player with at least 40 attempts if it stays at that pace — and 59.5% from 3-point range. Her 22 3-pointers are tied for most in franchise history and 12 away from tying Diana Taurasi's mark from last year.
In short, whenever the Aces have needed a basket, Gray has provided it.
She’s also become the one who gets the ball with the game on the line. Look no further than the series-clinching Game 4 against Seattle on Tuesday.
Gray scored 15 of her team-high 31 points in the fourth quarter, including the tie-breaking 3-pointer from the top of the key with a minute to go. The next possession, Gray drove to the free-throw line, rose up and hit a fadeaway in All-Defense guard Gabby Williams’ face to ice the game and win 97-92.
That capped off a career night for Gray with 31 points and 10 assists on 13 of 22 shooting, as she became the first player in WNBA playoff history to top the 30-10 mark.
The fadeaway has become one of Gray’s favorite tools in her arsenal. When studying how to go about it, she learned from the best.
“I’ve always loved the fadeaway shot,” Gray said. “When Kobe [Bryant] used to do it all the time, back down with the fade, I’m like, ‘how does he get that off?’ You always appreciate that.”
That killer instinct, the Mamba Mentality, as coined by late NBA superstar Bryant, is instilled in Gray. She may be the calm in the storm, as coach Becky Hammon calls her, but Gray is a different player with the clock running down.
“I told her she’s going to be on a milk carton soon. She’s just deadly,” Hammon said. "She likes the moment, she’s been in those moments. You can’t teach that. You’re born with that.”
Gray was drafted 11th overall by the Sun in 2015. Connecticut traded her the next year to Los Angeles for the sixth overall pick in 2016, Jonquel Jones, last season's league MVP.
After five years in Los Angeles, Gray signed with the Aces for one reason: to play with an MVP of her own.
Wilson, the league MVP this year and for the second time in three years, closed the Seattle series in superstar fashion by averaging 30 points and 12 rebounds in Games 2-4 while shooting 64.2%.
Wilson and guard Jackie Young are the only healthy holdovers from the 2020 team that played in the finals in a pandemic bubble in Florida. Plum tore her Achilles that year, and all-star forward Dearica Hamby didn’t play against Seattle due to injury.
“In the bubble, it was ‘we’re happy to be here,’” Wilson said. “I think this time, we deserve to be here. We fought our way here. We understand what it means to be here.”
The basketball world was four minutes away Thursday night from getting the finals matchup that seemed fitting for this season between Las Vegas and the defending champion Chicago Sky. Chicago was up 63-54 in the fourth quarter of Game 5 and closing in on another trip to the finals.
But the Sun, on the road, went on an 18-0 run in the final minutes and stunned Chicago 72-63 to reach the finals for the fourth time in team history.
“That’s why you have to play the entire game,” Hammon said. “If there’s anything we learned from these playoffs, it’s that every second and every moment matters and you have to be present for all of it.”
The Sun are a balanced team with a deep bench, led by the former MVP Jones. Connecticut also has this year’s Sixth Player of the Year, guard Brionna Jones, and are anchored by multitime all-stars DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas.
The Aces took the season series 2-1.
The length of Connecticut’s perimeter players might make it difficult for the Aces to go with a small-ball lineup that ultimately flipped the Seattle series in their favor. Las Vegas got Hamby back in the semifinals after missing nearly a month with a right knee contusion.
Hammon said that she’ll talk with Hamby prior to Game 1 and see how she’s feeling before committing to more minutes.
It’ll be a classic offense-versus-defense matchup. The Aces led the regular season with 90.4 points per game, while the Sun's defense allowed the second fewest points per game at 77.8.
The Aces of last year, or even two years ago, might not have been ready for this series. Gray's presence against a tough defense like Connecticut's might be the X-factor the Aces have needed.
The ace in the hole, if you will.
“When you’re so focused on the result, you forget the process and what it takes to get there,” Gray said. “It’s the little things. It’s not just the hero shots. You see that at the end, but it’s those little plays that get you the win.”
WNBA Finals Schedule
Game 1: Sept. 11, Connecticut at Las Vegas (Noon, ABC)
Game 2: Sept. 13, Connecticut at Las Vegas (6 p.m., ESPN)
Game 3: Sept. 15, Las Vegas at Connecticut (6 p.m., ESPN)
*Game 4: Sept. 18, Las Vegas at Connecticut (1 p.m., ESPN)
*Game 5: Sept. 20, Connecticut at Las Vegas (6 p.m., ESPN)
*if necessary
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
