‘Dinner on me’: How Allisha Gray swept WNBA 3-Point Contest, Skills Challenge

Atlanta Dream guard Allisha Gray won both competitions on Friday night, becoming the first player in league history to do so in the same season. She is also only the third player to win both contests at any point in their career, joining then-San Antonio Silver Stars guard Becky Hammon and New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu.

“It’s very cool,” Gray told reporters afterward. “Now I’m glad I accepted the call when they asked me to participate in both of them.”

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WNBA All-Star Weekend began with the Skills Challenge. The late-arriving crowd did not bring the best energy for the competition but showed decent enthusiasm for Phoenix Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham and center Brittney Griner.

Gray and Cunningham posted the top times in the first round, beating out Griner, Connecticut Sun guard Marina Mabrey and Indiana Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell. Mitchell was replacing and wearing the jersey of teammate Erica Wheeler, who was unable to make it to Phoenix due to flight issues.

Cunningham went first in the final round, posting a respectable time of 34.5 seconds. Gray’s turn came down to the wire, but she edged Cunningham in 32.1 seconds to win the competition.

The arena vibes started to improve as the night went on and the building filled up. Rousing ovations occurred when Team WNBA head coach Cheryl Miller and fellow women’s basketball legend Ann Meyers Drysdale, Mercury star Diana Taurasi and Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark were shown on the videoboard.

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During the 3-Point Contest, which followed the Skills Challenge and a 3-on-3 showcase, fans were especially rowdy as New York Liberty center Jonquel Jones drilled all five of her money balls en route to a first-round score of 25 points. The money balls were worth two points instead of the usual one point in the scoring.

Jones and Gray, who posted a first-round score of 23, beat out Washington Mystics center Stefanie Dolson, Minnesota Lynx guard Kayla McBride and Mabrey to advance to the final.

In the final round, Gray shot first and finished with 22 points. Jones followed, coming up just short with a final-round 21. She missed her final shot, a money ball that would’ve won the contest.

“When [Jones] got to that last one and the score was kind of close and she missed it, it was like a sigh of relief because she’s a great shooter,” Gray said.

Related reading: Clark, Taurasi and Copper explain why they opted out of WNBA 3-Point Contest

This was the second straight year history has been made on WNBA All-Star Friday. Last year in Las Vegas, Ionescu participated in the 3-Point Contest and set the single-round record of 37 in the final round.

Gray will make $55,000 from Aflac for each victory. She said she will invest the money as well as take her teammates out to dinner.

“Dinner on me,” Gray said. “I got them. They just got to let me know early … because I’m still a very cheap person. … They got to plan. I’ll just pay the bill.”