Gray Takes Home the Gold, and She’s Not Letting Go

First a national champion, now an Olympic gold medalist. Former South Carolina women’s basketball standout Allisha Gray and the U.S. women’s basketball 3×3 team took home the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo on Wednesday. For Gray, who has starred with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings since being a first-round draft pick after helping the Gamecocks win the 2017 National Championship, it was yet another dream come true.

“Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate my National Championship, but winning the gold medal is on a different level of accomplishments and happiness,” said Gray, who was named to the NCAA Final Four All-Tournament Team in South Carolina’s championship run. “It’s something that not everybody gets to do. It’s been a fun experience, and I’ve enjoyed all of it.”

Gray and teammates Stefanie Dolson, Kelsey Plum, and Jackie Young defeated the Russian Olympic Committee 18-15 in the first-ever Olympic gold medal game for the sport, which is played on a half court with made shots from inside the arc counting as one point, and shots beyond the arc counting as two points. The former Gamecock scored four points with five rebounds in the gold medal victory.

“(Our gameplan) was just to be aggressive,” Gray said. “You always want to punch the opponents in the mouth first. The biggest thing was just continuing to be aggressive and putting the game to our pace.”

“I hope I can be an inspiration to all the young girls and boys back home that you can follow your dreams and also make it to the big Olympic stage like I have.”

Competing in the Olympics has been a lifelong dream for Gray, and she hopes to influence youngsters to pursue their greatest dreams as well.

“I come from a very small town in Sandersville, Georgia,” Gray said. “Everybody knows everybody. I hope I can be an inspiration to all the young girls and boys back home that you can follow your dreams and also make it to the big Olympic stage like I have.”

The U.S. team went 8-1 at the Olympics while Gray averaged 5.3 points per game in Tokyo and ranked second on the glass with 4.7 rebounds per game. She also led the team with nine blocks in nine games. Now that she has fulfilled that dream, she has a simple plan for her gold medal.

“I’ll keep it around my neck,” Gray giggled. “It’s going with me everywhere!”

Gray has been part of USA basketball since 2018 when she was selected as part of the USA Basketball Women’s National Team pool. She has excelled on the 3×3 court and was the MVP at the 2021 Big Twelve International in Voiron, France, where she led USA to a first-place finish. She also led the team in scoring at the FIBA 3×3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Austria in May.

As she heads back to the United States, she’ll be cheering on the U.S. women’s 5×5 team, led by her former head coach Dawn Staley and former Gamecock teammate A’ja Wilson, as it tries to take home gold as well.