Allisha Gray makes history at WNBA All-Star weekend with 3-point and skills challenge triumphs
Published 05/10/2024 at 05:08 GMT+1
Allisha Gray made history as she became the first player to win both the 3-point and skills challenge events at the WNBA All-Star weekend on Friday. The Atlanta Dream guard earned a payday that almost equals her annual salary. She edged out New York Liberty forward Jonquel Jones in the shooting contest after having already beaten Phoenix Mercury player Sophie Cunningham in the skills challenge.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Allisha Gray had a dream performance as she triumphed at both the skills challenge and the 3-point contest at the WNBA All-Star weekend, where she became the first player to win both events in a single night.
The Atlanta Dream guard beat hometown favourite Sophie Cunningham in the skills challenge by just over two seconds in the final of the competition in Phoenix.
Gray then edged Jonquel Jones by one point in the 3-point shoot-out, with Jones missing her final shot to give Gray a 22-21 win.
Her historic performance sees her take home a payday that nearly equals her annual salary. Gray won $5,150 from the WNBA and $110,000 from insurance company Aflac, who supplemented the league's prize money with $55,000 for each winner. Gray's yearly salary is reportedly $185,000.
Gray knows she will have to treat her team-mates to a nice dinner out, but only if they organise it.
"For my team, yeah, they gotta plan it," Gray said. "I'll just pay the bill."
New York Liberty forward Jones is a formidable shooter from range, and is shooting 40% from beyond the arc this season.
"I was nervous because she went on a shooting streak," Gray said. "JJ's a great 3-point shooter. I even told her before, I was like, 'I'm familiar with your shooting game. I know you going to go out there and kill it.'
"But when she got to that last one and the score was kind of close and she missed it, it was like sigh relief because she's a great shooter."
Gray admitted that having already competed in the skills challenge, her attempt to do both events caught up to her and caused some fatigue.
"I was a fatigued a little bit from the skills challenge, but I was there to lock in," she said.
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Gray is the third WNBA player to win both events overall, joining Becky Hammon and Sabina Ionescu, but became the first to win both events in the same year.
The skills event includes seven elements. Players throw three bounce passes into a net, throw a chest pass into a net, shoot a 3-pointer from the top of the key, shoot a shot from the elbow, shoot a 3 from the corner over a windmill, complete a chest pass and make a layup.
The night also showcased a 3x3 exhibition ahead of the Paris Olympics as the national side took on the U23 national team.
The national team beat the U23 team 19-16 thanks to 10 points from Atlanta's Rhyne Howard.
The USA are the defending gold medallists at this year's Games.
discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
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