Allisha Gray Gives Encouraging Update Ahead of WNBA Finals

Allisha Gray took jump shots at the Atlanta Dream's practice Tuesday, four days before Game 1 of the WNBA Finals against the Golden State Valkyries at Chase Center in San Francisco.

The four-time All-Star has not played since the first half of Game 1 of the semifinals against the New York Liberty on Oct. 4. She hurt her left hand in the first quarter, came back in the second with two fingers taped, and was ruled out before halftime after going down again. She finished with 7 points in 11 minutes.

Atlanta ruled her out of Game 2 and held her out of Game 3 after she went through warmups. The Dream won both. Game 2 went to overtime, 101-98, at State Farm Arena on Oct. 7. Game 3 ended 85-83 at Barclays Center two nights later and finished a 3-0 sweep.

Gray had a minor procedure on the hand and is day-to-day, she told WSB-TV, according to The Associated Press. Dream coach Karl Smesko said there was no word yet on Game 1 but that her status was trending in the right direction, the AP reported.

It is her left hand that she shoots with. The jump shots she put up Tuesday were falling.

"I feel good," Gray said. "I'm just taking it day by day. Progress is good, so that's a good sign. A few jump shots, they're going in, so that's a good sign as well, but right now, just day by day."

Before the injury, Gray scored 22 points in each of Atlanta's two first-round wins over the Washington Mystics and played 35 minutes in both. She averaged 19.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in the regular season. Her scoring average led the team, and she appeared in all 44 games.

Her teammates made her a promise once she was out. Rest, and they would take care of the series.

"I'm very competitive, so it was hard to know you wanted to be out there with your team," Gray explained. "My team told me to rest for this series, like, they got my back. So they kept their promise to handle business, give me more rest time to prepare for the Finals."

Gray still found a way to bring energy from the bench.

"It was cool. I had a ball cheering on the bench," Gray continued. "So I had fun like that, just finding different ways to bring energy to the team. It was hard, but I did have fun cheering on the bench. I ain't gonna lie, I had a ball. I was having so much fun."

Jordin Canada and Angel Reese scored 23 points apiece in Game 2. Rookie Isobel Borlase added 11 off the bench. In Game 3, Reese had 22 points and Rhyne Howard had 21.

Reese said Gray is getting back into the swing of things at practice.

"We were teasing her, telling her she owes us 40 minutes three times," Reese said. "So, yeah, it's really good to have her back out there. And she's getting back in the swing of things, and she looks really good. Same old Leesh, the killer that we know."

Gray is a 6-foot guard out of South Carolina. She is 31.

The Dream reached the Finals in 2010, 2011, and 2013 and are 0-9 in Finals games. Games 3 and 4 are in Atlanta, close enough to where Gray grew up for her family and friends to make the trip.

"It's great, just being able to be back home, playing in front of family and friends, growing up two hours from Atlanta," Gray said. "So I'm in real close proximity of all my family and friends. So it's just exciting, just gotta go out there and handle business, finish the job so we can bring the city its first WNBA championship."

Those two games will be at State Farm Arena, the home of the Atlanta Hawks, which seats more than 17,000. The Dream played most of their regular season at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, which holds 3,500. The league moved Game 3 up a day and Game 4 to an earlier tip-off to clear conflicts at the arena.

Gray compared a Dream home game to a party.

"It's a family, it feels like a big family," Gray said. "You go to other arenas, it's like fans. But then you come to Atlanta, it's very, like, culture, very Black, very Black. But it's cool to, like, we welcome people of all races, and everybody that comes, like, they feel at home. No matter your race, identity, none of that, like, it's a safe space. When you come to an Atlanta game, you're gonna have fun."

Gray said the atmosphere can feel bigger than the game itself.

"It almost feels like sometimes you ain't had a basketball game. Like, you just had a big party," Gray continued. "So I just feel like the Atlanta fan base, like, they welcome everybody. Like, it's a safe space. You can be yourself. So I think that's a really cool thing."

Game 3 is Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 8 p.m. ET on USA Network and Peacock. Game 4 is Saturday, Oct. 24, at 1 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.