{"id":1026156,"date":"2026-08-26T22:23:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-26T22:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1026156\/"},"modified":"2026-08-26T22:23:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-26T22:23:20","slug":"just-a-kid-from-sandersville-becoming-allisha-gray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1026156\/","title":{"rendered":"Just a kid from Sandersville: Becoming Allisha Gray"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two weeks before the opening of WNBA training camp, Allisha Gray<\/a> was relaxing in her happy place.<\/p>\n

She was out on a lake on a Saturday afternoon, knowing that she was going to be in the public eye soon enough as a star of the Atlanta Dream.<\/p>\n

And that April 11 day on the lake was much needed.<\/p>\n

Once Season 2 of the Unrivaled season ended, the realization hit for many WNBA players as it did for fans, workers, and media members alike: there may not be a season if a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) wasn\u2019t reached.<\/p>\n

When word came in during late March that a deal had been reached, players could relax. They could negotiate new deals and get ready for the season, even with an expedited timeline.<\/p>\n

For Gray, that\u2019s either being with her family, on the golf course, building Legos, or on the lake.<\/p>\n

When you see her around town in Atlanta, she\u2019s superstar Allisha Gray.<\/p>\n

But on the lake in solitude, she\u2019s just Lish.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s spent a lot of time outdoors growing up, and that includes time on the lake, fishing with her mom.<\/p>\n

On this day in April, Gray wrapped up the day just before 3 p.m., exiting the boat and showing off her haul.<\/p>\n

She stands proudly, dressed head to toe in a Nike and Jordan jumpsuit, holding somewhere between 20 and 30 fish on two fish hooks.<\/p>\n

\"\"Allisha Gray holding up fish after a day on the lake. (Photo credit: KK Hansbrough)<\/p>\n

It\u2019s her comfort zone. Her safe place. The place where she can just be herself.<\/p>\n

Because while you may see the player who shoots lights out from behind the arc, wearing goggles, giving interviews in her natural southern drawl, you only see the person that she wants you to see.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t see the person who went through the journey to get to the WNBA, to the Dream. You don\u2019t see the competitor who found her home in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t see the girl from Sandersville, Ga.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t see how Lish became Lish.<\/p>\n

Just a kid from Sandersville<\/p>\n

During the second Saturday of October each year, Sandersville, the County Seat of Washington County, Ga., comes together for its annual Kaolin Festival. For more than 60 years, the 5,800 residents lined the sidewalks of Haynes Street with floats, vendors, and more, celebrating the history of the small Georgia town.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s known as the Kaolin Capital of the World, due to its expansive deposit of kaolin clay.<\/p>\n

Kaolin is everywhere you look. There\u2019s Thiele Kaolin LLC, the mining company in the town, whose office is located on Kaolin Road.<\/p>\n

For the outsiders, they may not appreciate \u2013 or even know \u2013 what Kaolin is, but those from Sandersville know what it is and appreciate it as their own.<\/p>\n

Just like they do with Gray.<\/p>\n

Gray is one of four children born to Allen and Annie Gray in Sandersville.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the town where she grew up, played basketball, and had the experience of, well, having her dad nearby at all times.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a blessing, a wonderful child, and she was always like she is now,\u201d Allen Gray told The IX Sports. \u201cShe\u2019s always done what she\u2019s supposed to do, be where she\u2019s supposed to be when she\u2019s supposed to be there. There were just no issues as a parent. I was her high school principal, and the only time she came to my office was to say \u2018hello.\u2019 She\u2019s just always been a wonderful young lady. We\u2019re very blessed.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Allisha Gray, who is the second oldest of her siblings Marlo East, A.J., and Ashley, her dad was more than her principal, but he and her mom were her Day 1s since she picked up a basketball.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents have been my support system ever since I started dribbling the basketball. No matter where I\u2019m in the world, they always make time to come see me,\u201d she told The IX Sports. \u201cMy parents have sacrificed so much for me. I remember back in the AAU days, we would have practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I actually played for an AAU team in Atlanta, and my parents literally drove two hours up, two hours back on Tuesday and Thursday, and then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday we had an AAU tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s just things like that when my parents sacrificed their time and their summer, their summer vacations just to allow me to follow my dreams.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

She showed the promise of having a future on the hardwood at a young age. She was a three-time Class 3A Player of the Year by the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association, and in her junior season she averaged 32 points, 3.4 assists, and 5.2 steals.<\/p>\n

That was the high-water mark for her in high school because after being named Georgia\u2019s Gatorade Player of the Year and leading her team to a state championship, Gray had to sit out her senior season with injuries to her MCL, ACL, and meniscus.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I can go back to my old self when I\u2019m playing. Maybe a new me, because when you come back, they say your knee is even stronger,\u201d Gray told local reporters<\/a> when she recovered.<\/p>\n

Despite not playing in her senior season, that junior season performance was enough to catch the eye of the top coaches around the country \u2013 including South Carolina\u2019s Dawn Staley<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first time that I saw her was her junior or sophomore year in high school,\u201d Staley told The IX Sports. \u201cShe came to our Elite Camp. We were familiar with her and her family, and she played very similar to how she plays today. Lish is always working and never takes plays off. It\u2019s been fun seeing her develop and getting better. With her, the better the competition she faces, the better she plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Staley was familiar with Gray\u2019s game from watching her film and from Camp Elite. She did make one trip to Sandersville but hasn\u2019t been back since.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last time I was down there, I was stopped by the state troopers twice. Once coming in, once leaving,\u201d Staley said with a laugh. \u201cI\u2019ll leave it up to you to imagine why. They were nice, but I had to throw out Lish\u2019s name to get out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It makes sense that they would know her there. Not only is she a multi-time All-Star, a world champion for Unrivaled, and a gold medalist, which would be enough on its own for people to know who she is, but she\u2019s immortalized in the community, too.<\/p>\n

In the middle of downtown Sandersville is a mural of Gray on the side of a building, showcasing her in her Team USA jersey.<\/p>\n

\"\"A photo of the Allisha Gray mural in downtown Sandersville, Ga. (Photo credit: KK Hansbrough)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city came together for me. The owner of the building, their name is Sookie, I believe, and they allowed the town to paint a mural on their building,\u201d Gray said. \u201cIt just shows being a small town kid and how the support of being a hometown kid from all of the people back home. They\u2019re so proud and happy for me, and it\u2019s just cool that I get to make them proud and just being from the small town of Sandersville, it just shows you that if you put in the hard work, you can make it to the big stage as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a moment that, when mentioned to him, brought a big smile to the face of her father.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe appreciate the way that they support her, and the way they turned out for her,\u201d Allen Gray said. \u201cThe way that they put a mural up is a representation of how proud they are of her and all of her accomplishments.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

A trip up north \u2026 and south<\/p>\n

Following her historic high school season, Allisha Gray committed to the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.<\/p>\n

She spent her freshman and sophomore seasons playing for the Tar Heels, averaging 14.7 points and shooting 36 percent from beyond the arc in her two seasons there.<\/p>\n

It was also at Chapel Hill where she met her best friend and future college roommate, A\u2019ja Wilson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI met Lish on my official visit to the University of North Carolina, and she was like my host,\u201d Wilson told The IX Sports. \u201cAnd I remember we went to the North Carolina State Fair, and there was this ride. It was like this gravity ride, it\u2019s like a spaceship, and it doesn\u2019t have any seatbelts or anything because it goes so fast that you\u2019re not supposed to move.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAllisha and I were not having it after that ride. I remember just us looking at each other like \u2018never again.\u2019 And we looked at each other, and we got off that ride, and we instantly just started heading to a trash can, just waiting to see what\u2019s going to happen. Everyone else continued to ride rides, and we\u2019re just like, we\u2019re not just gonna get something to eat. I think that\u2019s when our friendship really started.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Gray was reminded of that story, she flashed that signature smile we\u2019ve become accustomed to seeing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a liking for each other because we both were chill and quiet and laid back, so we didn\u2019t really talk,\u201d Gray recounted. \u201cSo me and A\u2019ja literally just talked to each other, and then we saw this ride. It was like, \u2018you want to try it?\u2019 We were like, \u2018yeah, let\u2019s try it.\u2019 So then we get on the ride, and I kid you not \u2013 me and A\u2019ja were sick that whole state fair ride.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson ultimately ended up going to South Carolina while Gray stayed at North Carolina. Despite the distance, the two stayed in touch, with the idea in their head that it would be cool to play together.<\/p>\n

Sure enough, that idea became a reality when Gray transferred to the University of South Carolina after her sophomore year to become a member of the Gamecocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just funny because we were in that moment, and that was like the start of our friendship. Then, when I decided to transfer to South Carolina, it came full circle because A\u2019ja was my host on my official visit to South Carolina, so it was cool,\u201d Gray said. \u201cThen, she chose me to be her roommate and stuff like that. So it was cool just having that familiarity with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson said that the two saw each other since her visit and stayed friends, but it was when Gray stepped foot on the Columbia, South Carolina campus that they really clicked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still kind of just met each other through Final Fours or Elite Eights where we would see each other, and then finally when she got to the University of South Carolina, she became my roommate, and we just instantly clicked,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cI think we are polar opposites, but that\u2019s what makes us like gel so well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staley, the WNBA legend and three-time NCAA championship-winning coach of South Carolina, said that Gray was shy when she first touched down on campus, but she expected that based on prior interactions.<\/p>\n

\u201cLish was always quiet. It didn\u2019t mean she didn\u2019t talk. She talked. Her talking was just very lean,\u201d Staley explained. \u201cShe tells you how she feels, but she\u2019s more of a listener. She initiates convos, fills those up, and exits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women\u2019s Sports Daily<\/strong>
<\/strong>
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women\u2019s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women\u2019s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!<\/p>\n

Gray made sure to make a little noise on her way out too, leading the Gamecocks to a 33-4 record and taking down Mississippi State to win the 2017 title alongside Wilson.<\/p>\n

Staley knew that the team was special. Looking back on it nearly a decade later, she realized just how special that duo of Gray and Wilson was.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was different because Lish was always on the scout team and she had to sit out one year when she transferred,\u201d Staley explained. \u201cBut magic started happening the next year. When we had to slide Lish to the 4 and A\u2019ja to the 5, it created a combo that was hard to beat. Lish was a mismatch for anyone and obviously A\u2019ja was quicker as a big. It created an opportunity for us to win our first title in 2017. They elevated each other. A\u2019ja wouldn\u2019t let her take days off and vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n

The relationship that Staley has with her players extends just beyond college. As those players reach the WNBA, other professional leagues, or other walks of life, Staley makes it clear that once a Gamecock, always a Gamecock.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m proud of all of them. I\u2019m proud of a program that produces pros,\u201d Staley said. \u201cI\u2019m proud to see them on TV all of the time. Any given night, I can put on a WNBA game and see one of my kids. One of my babies. I just really like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staley is trying to pass that on to her current players at South Carolina, too.<\/p>\n

Take, for example, when the entire women\u2019s basketball team made the trip down from South Carolina to Atlanta to watch the Dream take on the Indiana Fever for their Juneteenth game.<\/p>\n

Playing in the game were Gray, Te-Hina Paopao, Madina Okot<\/a>, Aliyah Boston<\/a>, and Raven Johnson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Five former Gamecocks for the current generation of players to see that it\u2019s a sisterhood, a bond, for life.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s an unwritten rule,\u201d Staley said. \u201cYou take care of your sisters no matter how old or young you or they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a mantra that Gray has followed with two other Gamecocks on her team now in Okot and Paopao. Since graduating from South Carolina, Gray will make trips back to her college town to visit her coach, who has turned into more than just a coach, but a part of her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just cool that once I left South Carolina, the relationship stayed,\u201d Gray explained. \u201cTo this day, I can FaceTime Coach Staley, and even when I go down to South Carolina for a visit, I stay at Coach\u2019s house. It\u2019s just little things like that. Just building a lifelong relationship because she\u2019s like a player\u2019s coach. Once you stop dribbling the ball for her, she\u2019s not moving on to the next person. You have a relationship with her for life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The little things matter in the WNBA, too\u00a0<\/p>\n

When you think about Gray in the WNBA, you think about Atlanta. That makes sense since she\u2019s had a number of accolades since joining the Dream.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to forget, though, that she\u2019s played six of her 10 seasons in the league in Dallas after being selected No. 4 overall in the 2017 WNBA Draft. Current and former teammates, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough<\/a>, Nia Coffey<\/a>, and Brionna Jones<\/a>, also went in the first round.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t that Gray struggled in Dallas.<\/p>\n

Hardly.<\/p>\n

After all, she beat No. 1 pick Kelsey Plum<\/a> for Rookie of the Year in 2017 and finished seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2022.<\/p>\n

It just didn\u2019t feel like it was the right fit for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she was in Dallas, we didn\u2019t get to as many games, but we tried to pick the games where they had two or three in a row at home,\u201d Allen Gray said.<\/p>\n

Those trips became easier after the 2022 season when Dallas traded Allisha Gray to Atlanta in exchange for the No. 3 pick in the 2023 WNBA Draft (Maddy Siegrist<\/a>) and a 2025 first-round pick (acquired by the Washington Mystics, who selected Georgia Amoore<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\u201cI was with Dallas, and I was looking for a change in my career because I needed somewhere to spread my wings,\u201d Gray said. \u201cAnd Atlanta came up on the radar, and it was a no-brainer for me. I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, like I\u2019m back close to home. Like they\u2019re building something like nice here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It also allowed her family to be closer to her and see her not just more often, but each and every game.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor her to come to Atlanta was just exciting because we\u2019re two and a half hours away, so we\u2019re at every home game, and now the organization has it so that families can go on road trips,\u201d Allen Gray said. \u201cWe hadn\u2019t had an opportunity to take advantage of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Allisha Gray loves having her family nearby to watch her play. Not just her parents, either, but her siblings and their children.<\/p>\n

On a 2026 road trip, she brought her nephew on a trip with her to the West Coast. A video went viral when he told her about her ESPY nomination.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy parents saw the hard work that I put in, and it\u2019s just cool that they get to see the success of their sacrifices by being able to see me play in person rather than being on TV,\u201d Gray explained. \u201cI mean, that just makes me so happy because I can never repay my parents back on like how much money they spent on me and stuff. So it\u2019s just like doing little things like this by allowing them to go on like team trips and flying on like the private planes and stuff, and allowing them like to like come watch practice and like come to the game stuff, it\u2019s just little perks like that that I that I enjoy that my parents and my family get to experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coming to Atlanta was just beginning. But little did she know what was in store for her.<\/p>\n

A star is born<\/p>\n

For those who watched her hoop in high school, AAU, college, or in Dallas, it was no secret that Gray was a hooper. A three-level scorer. A lights-out shooter.<\/p>\n

But that wasn\u2019t realized by the basketball community as a whole until the All-Star Game in 2024.<\/p>\n

The event was held in Phoenix, Ariz., and while Gray was an All-Star the season before for the first time, 2024 was the breakout performance for her. Gray played in the game, or course, but also won the Skills Challenge and 3-point contest. She was the first player to accomplish the feat<\/a> at the same event.<\/p>\n

From that moment on, she started to realize something: I\u2019m a star.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always say that changed my life. Like I came in with like a couple of 1,000 followers, and then after All-Star break, I\u2019m looking at like hundreds and hundreds of\u00a0 1000s of followers,\u201d Gray said, with a laugh. \u201cI think from then on, my life changed because I remember even after that weekend, I took a trip to Disney World, and it was like people at Disney World recognizing who I am. I\u2019m like, \u2018Yeah, my life has definitely changed.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t happen overnight, even if it seemed like it did.<\/p>\n

The Dream, as a whole, struggled in 2024, which introduced a new era in Atlanta.<\/p>\n

The team hired Karl Smesko, the long-time head coach at Florida Gulf Coast University, to be its new head coach. Smesko\u2019s fast-paced offense puts a focus on shooting the basketball with players getting the best shot possible.<\/p>\n

For a shooter like Gray, she was excited when he was announced as the hire.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited for this year,\u201d Gray told me with a smile on her face during the first day of practice in 2025. \u201cWe\u2019re going to shoot a lot of threes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

They did \u2013 and she did, too.<\/p>\n

It was the beginning of putting Atlanta basketball back on the map. The Dream made splashes in free agency by bringing in Jones and Brittney Griner<\/a>, and while they were picked to finish No. 7 before the season, the team put together a franchise-record season, finishing as the No. 3 seed in the playoffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just allows me to play free, and allows me to spread my wings and just play my game,\u201d Gray said of Smesko. \u201cI feel like I\u2019ve always been that player. It\u2019s just that sometimes, you gotta find the right fit. And me coming to Atlanta was like that fit for me, where I was really able to take over and really score it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It meant a lot to Smesko to have a veteran like Gray believe in him and his vision from Day 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s really important that players believe in what you\u2019re doing if you want to get anything accomplished. Because I don\u2019t care how good your ideas are, it is the players who execute them, and they\u2019re going to make it work,\u201d Smesko explained. \u201cLish was one of the people that was willing to try anything right away. We do things a little differently, and we have a different language, and they\u2019ve been in the league a long time. They could have taken it a different way, but they were excited about it, and they wanted to give it a go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team broke records. Gray was elevated to the top of the opposition\u2019s scouting report. She was getting more interview requests last year from local and national media than she did in her previous eight seasons in the league combined.<\/p>\n

She was a household name.<\/p>\n

But then, the playoffs began, and the Dream lost to the Indiana Fever in three games despite the Fever being without Caitlin Clark<\/a> for the entire series.<\/p>\n

Gray finished in the top four in MVP voting and was selected to the All-WNBA first team, but the loss still left a sour taste in her mouth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never want to experience that feeling again,\u201d Gray said, in reflection.<\/p>\n

Bring in the reinforcements<\/p>\n

Remember the trade that brought her to Atlanta? Well, it wasn\u2019t just the organization that wanted her here \u2013 and to be clear, they 100 percent did \u2013 but it was also at the behest of one specific person: Rhyne Howard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found out that Rhy actually requested me, so that made it even more cool for me,\u201d Gray said.<\/p>\n

The two \u2013 along with Naz Hillmon<\/a>, who was part of the foundation of the Dream from 2022 \u2013 have become inseparable.<\/p>\n

They are professionals, yes, but they are also best friends off the court.<\/p>\n

Gray and Howard can often be found on the golf course during days off \u2013 those look a little bit different now due to the growing eyes on the team \u2013 as well as filming several food reviews and other TikToks together.<\/p>\n

After that loss to Indiana last year in the playoffs, Howard went to the front office and asked them to get them more help to make a championship run with this squad.<\/p>\n

They listened.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing here and being a part of the group that set the foundation, we didn\u2019t want to continue to feel like the franchise was nothing,\u201d Howard said during the team\u2019s season-opening press conference. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want it to feel like what we came into. Basketball is what we do to make our money and business, but you still need the support around you to feel supported and have fun and what we are doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

And like with Lish, Howard had a specific player in mind to join the team: Angel Reese<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Rhy sends for you, you better get in the car and come,\u201d Gray said. \u201cWhen she sends for you in that car, you better get in that car because she ain\u2019t circling the block for you again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team pushed their chips all-in with the acquisition of Reese, trading multiple first-round picks for her.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s more than lived up to the expectations, breaking the single-season rebound record and single-game rebound record, while elevating her offense and defense.<\/p>\n

This is where she wanted to be, too.<\/p>\n

She wanted to be in Atlanta, but she wanted to be with Gray and Howard.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re great vets,\u201d Reese told The IX Sports. \u201cOutside of the basketball stuff, they always are making sure that I\u2019m good. Like they\u2019re the first people to check on me with anything that\u2019s going on. Basketball-wise, you don\u2019t have to do it once the game is done, they don\u2019t have to talk, because this is a business, honestly. But they genuinely care about me and the sisterhood in the locker room has been amazing. It\u2019s something that I really needed, so I\u2019m really grateful for them.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while they are teaching Reese how to win \u2013 she\u2019ll be making her first playoff appearance in her three-year career with Atlanta \u2013 she\u2019s teaching Gray how to be what she is off of the court.<\/p>\n

A superstar.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was telling Lish that you\u2019re a superstar, and she doesn\u2019t realize that all the time. When we go places, they want to meet certain people,\u201d Reese told The IX Sports. \u201cShe loves T.I., so I\u2019m like, \u2018You\u2019re a superstar.\u2019 Like, you go through the back entrance, you don\u2019t go through the front.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to show her that you\u2019re a star. All of those chants are for you, because you\u2019re a superstar, and you belong here.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something that Gray has taken time to adjust to \u2013 even with that All-Star performance a couple of years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess it\u2019s just like that humble nature of me. But yeah, Angel like she reiterates over and over that, \u2018I am Atlanta. There are no rules. We are Atlanta. We are superstars, and we need to start acting like it.\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m like, you know what? Yeah, you\u2019re right. I am a superstar. Like I do need to take advantage of my perks.\u201d<\/p>\n

That came to fruition during Atlanta\u2019s Birthday Bash in May, when she got to see T.I. in concert.<\/p>\n

When asked about her favorite song, Gray said, \u201cBig Things Poppin\u2019,\u201d which was fitting for the play of the Dream this year.<\/p>\n

Gray even got to meet The Rubber Band Man after the show. <\/p>\n

A superstar, indeed.<\/p>\n

Quiet no longer<\/p>\n

After each game, win or lose, the Dream huddle in front of their bench. Hillmon traditionally addressed the group first, serving as Atlanta\u2019s vocal leader.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a role that Gray takes on, but that doesn\u2019t mean that she is the quiet person that everyone thinks she is.<\/p>\n

Take, for instance, an in-arena, mid-timeout video package that played in Gateway Center Arena.<\/p>\n

Over the beat of Glorilla\u2019s \u201cWHATCHU KNO ABOUT ME,\u201d Gray and Howard were rapping the lines to Dr. Suess\u2019 Green Eggs and Ham over the beat.<\/p>\n

Players like Jones, Paopao, and Indya Nivar<\/a> had to cover their mouths to stifle their laughter. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s an example of the personality that sometimes shines through from Gray, despite the quiet, shy demeanor.<\/p>\n

When asked about her quiet demeanor, Staley interrupted the question.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s not quiet anymore,\u201d she said, with a laugh. \u201cShe\u2019s incredibly funny.\u201d<\/p>\n

And she\u2019s not afraid to be the butt of the joke, either. During a video series called \u201cRewind the Tape,\u201d I asked Gray to go over her high school scouting report.<\/p>\n

In the report, it said that she had \u201csprings in her legs\u201d for her ability to jump.<\/p>\n

She made a joke about needing some WD-40 for her knees now.<\/p>\n

Likewise, during the team\u2019s first preseason game, there was a Spanish player on the Dream\u2019s training camp roster named Maite Cazorla<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During a pre-game media session, Gray was asked if she could speak Spanish or would learn how to from her teammate.<\/p>\n

She said, \u201cMe llamo Lish. Adios,\u201d before ending the interview with a laugh.<\/p>\n

Despite claiming that she doesn\u2019t block shots, Gray blocks a fair number, especially for a guard.<\/p>\n

But for her, she denies it and says, \u201cThat\u2019s not me. That\u2019s AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is a joy to be around. She\u2019s someone that is, once you get her out of her comfort zone, she\u2019s just so much fun,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cShe\u2019s always down to do whatever, however, whenever. And I remember we would just take random road trips to go do Chick-fil-A, knowing that they\u2019re gonna upset our stomachs. But it\u2019s just something we would do. I think we bring the kid out of each other, but she\u2019s definitely just a big kid.\u201d<\/p>\n

That big kid is on full display \u2013 except when it\u2019s time to hoop.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s a competitive person. If she\u2019s participating in an event, she wants to win.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer brother, A.J., they are about a year apart,\u201d her dad explained. \u201cThey grew up being very, very competitive with each other, so she\u2019s always been very, very competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s perhaps no more competitive than when the Dream take on the Aces \u2013 her best friend\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

The Aces hold the head-to-head with them, and it\u2019s a matchup that Gray takes to heart each time the two teams play.<\/p>\n

When both Wilson and Gray entered the league, they each had a specific goal in mind. For Wilson, it was to block one of Gray\u2019s shots. For Gray, to knock down a three over Wilson.<\/p>\n

Gray hit her shot first, and while Wilson had to wait, she eventually met Gray at the rim and got her block, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really shit talk to Lish because she already knows. She knows just by my looks. She\u2019s like, \u2018OK, I don\u2019t want to mess with A\u2019ja today,\u2019\u201d Wilson said. \u201cBut yeah, definitely, we had that rivalry just between us. Obviously, it\u2019s friends, it\u2019s competitors, and I\u2019m really trying to block her shot. She does the same for me, and I think it\u2019s a healthy rivalry that we have. But most definitely, I don\u2019t really talk a lot of shit because she already knows.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prior to the block, Wilson said that, \u201cWhenever I get her, they\u2019re gonna have to fetch it out of the stands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gray loves the fire that Wilson plays with, and she wants to bring it right back to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe both know it\u2019s no friends on the court. I\u2019m trying to beat her, and she\u2019s trying to beat me, and she won\u2019t let me win because if I win, I\u2019m talking trash until I meet you again,\u201d Gray said, with a laugh. \u201cWe know when to turn on and when to turn off. People know us as being best friends, but I know that once I step on the court, at that moment, A\u2019ja is not my best friend. She\u2019s my opponent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut off the court, like once the clock goes to double zeros and the game\u2019s over, and then we return to our normal selves. The respect that we have for each other, and we know the goals we\u2019re trying to accomplish, and we know how to put things to the side and compete. And then once it\u2019s over, we\u2019re back friends again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Big brand Lish<\/p>\n

As she continues to embrace being a superstar, Gray is attracting attention from big sports brands, too. <\/p>\n

In August 2026, the Dream hosted \u201cGoggle Lish\u201d night to celebrate the release of her signature Nike goggles that are a staple of her getup on the court.<\/p>\n

Each fan in attendance received a pair of replica goggles to mark the occasion.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something that made her dad, decked out in his own authentic goggles and an Allisha Gray goggle T-shirt, smile from ear to ear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is amazing,\u201d Allen Gray told The IX Sports on the night of the event. \u201cAnd it\u2019s funny because this is the T-shirt that was handed out two years ago, and I was going to take it and frame it, so it was still in the pack. And then when this happened, I had to pull it out. I love it, and I\u2019m so proud of her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone was in on the act \u2013 even Smesko, who was decked out in his own goggles and t-shirt \u2013 one game after wearing his Barbie merchandise to support Reese on Barbie Night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to show support for Lish. I mean, she\u2019s just been so great to work with for these two years,\u201d Smesko said. \u201cHer energy and wanting to listen and buy into things right from the very start has made this transition for me a lot easier. Just having her around, and she\u2019s been such a remarkable player these last two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I don\u2019t know. I never would have thought that I\u2019d have sunglasses on my head as a coach in a game and stuff like that, but you know anything for Lish. We think the world of her.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nike deal came through, as did getting her own signature pair of A\u2019Two A\u2019ja Wilson shoes.<\/p>\n

As of publication, there is one pair that is available for purchase for fans, but Gray has worn Iron Man-themed player exclusives (PEs), as well as Fortnite PEs.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t tell you. I cannot tell you,\u201d Wilson told The IX Sports in June when trying to get her to spill the news about a potential PE coming for her friend. \u201cThat\u2019s her news to break for if she is, or if she\u2019s not, but I can\u2019t tell you that. But it\u2019s definitely something special. And I always beam with so much more when she wears my shoes because she doesn\u2019t have to, but she chooses to, and I\u2019m glad that she likes it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also doesn\u2019t hurt that the league signed a new CBA, which allowed players to be paid fairly.<\/p>\n

Last year, during the final season of the previous CBA, Gray made $190,000. After the new agreement was reached, when the overwhelming majority of players were free agents, Gray inked a new deal worth $1,190,000 in 2026 that increases over the next two seasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so crazy because like you\u2019re young and you just remember like being in the backyard playing, and then you get to high school, and then you get to college, and then you get to the pros, and it\u2019s just like I just sit back and I\u2019ll be like, I be like, \u2018wow, I made it,\u2019\u201d Gray reflected. <\/p>\n

\u201cThen, with the new CBA money, I\u2019m like, \u2018whoa, I really made it,\u2019 because then it\u2019s just like it allows me to throw a couple extra bucks to my parents and get them nice things that I wasn\u2019t able to do in the past. So it\u2019s just like I wake up looking at that bank account, and you know, just being able to realize that, wow. Like, I did it! I really made it!\u201d<\/p>\n

The added attention isn\u2019t always positive attention. It\u2019s been that way throughout the league over the last few years. With the added eyeballs comes the added trolls.<\/p>\n

It isn\u2019t new to Gray.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That mural in her hometown? It was vandalized in 2022 with racist comments written on it by three men.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just give my energy to the people who deserve it. I give my energy to people that also reciprocate that same energy back to me,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m not gonna waste my time on negative people and bad thoughts because that can take a toll on your mental health, as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think for me, I\u2019m good at reading a person. Before I intrude on somebody or talk to them, I kind of like to sit back and study you and see how you move and how you talk to people. Are you nice? Are you respectful? And then from there, after my first conversation with you, I know that like, \u2018OK, this is somebody that I can continue to talk to, or like, no, this is a one-time conversation for me, because for me, like I\u2019ve always told, first impressions mean a lot. My spirit is too positive and fun to be wasted on negative people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still one goal to achieve<\/p>\n

During the All-Star break this year, Gray joined her fellow All-Stars at the Barack Obama Presidential Center for a practice before the game.<\/p>\n

The namesake came out and introduced himself to players and took photos \u2013 including with Gray<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Allisha Gray standing with Barack Obama (Photo credit: Allisha Gray on Threads)<\/p>\n

Add that to the list of big-time moments for her to achieve this year, along with meeting T.I. and even having the rapper personalize a message for her during her Goggle Lish game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so happy. That made my night,\u201d Gray told reporters after the game. \u201cI took a picture with Obama, a picture with T.I, and got a personal message video from T.I. Year made.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there is one more thing that could make her year even better.<\/p>\n

Despite all of the hardware. Despite being a multi-millionaire from playing the game that she has loved since she was playing in the backyard as a kid, Gray still has more to accomplish.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t say win the MVP, though she wouldn\u2019t mind it.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t say lead the league in scoring (\u201cthe S in SG stands for shooting,\u201d she said).<\/p>\n

No.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The one goal that she wants to accomplish has nothing to do with her. It has to do with her team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe W Championship. That\u2019s literally like the only thing from my career that is missing is a W Championship, and I feel like that\u2019s something everybody wants to win,\u201d Gray explained. \u201cI really do feel like we have the team to accomplish that goal. We just gotta really lock in and stick to the game plan and really hone down on like the little minor mistakes that we tend to make. But I truly believe that we have the team to accomplish that goal this season.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Even if that doesn\u2019t happen this year, the team is confident in the players they have and the vision that they have for the future.<\/p>\n

And that future, no matter what, includes Gray.<\/p>\n

Something that her friends and family are proud of.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Lish, I think she\u2019s happy in Atlanta. They allowed her to grow up,\u201d Staley said. \u201cShe has a handful of friends who are super competitive and allowed her to grow. They are rising together at the top of their games.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad that she\u2019s seeing pieces surrounding her to be able to help her drive and continue to drive,\u201d Wilson added. \u201cBut, I think she feels really good in Atlanta. I\u2019m just glad that she\u2019s found a home for herself. Because it shouldn\u2019t be like, \u2018no, I\u2019m stable here,\u2019 but it should be \u2018I\u2019m trying to make my footprint here.\u2019 That\u2019s what Lish is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as far as her family goes, they couldn\u2019t be happier to have her nearby.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving her come to Atlanta has been a blessing for us as a family, for her as a player,\u201d Allen Gray said. \u201cThe class and the way that this organization is run is somewhere that she feels at home. She wants to end her career here because of the support and the wraparound services that they offer here in Atlanta. All of her needs are met, all of her requests are met, and the way that they take care of our daughter, we really appreciate it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, all that leaves is Gray.<\/p>\n

Just a kid from Sandersville. A quiet kid who loves the outdoors. Loves her family, her friends, her people.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s as close to her hometown as she can be, but in Atlanta, she is home.<\/p>\n

And that is where she wants to stay.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m loved here in Atlanta. Atlanta has made me like this organization has made me feel so great about myself,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s why when it was time to extend and re-sign, there was no hesitation for me. This is a place I definitely want to retire and finish my career, playing for the Dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just the support here is so amazing. The little kids really like to make me feel good because no matter how I play, I can have an on night, off night; they don\u2019t see that. All they see me as is Allisha the person, and they make me feel good regardless of the game that I have.\u201d<\/p>\n

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