As the July 22 WNBA All-Star Game approaches, voting is starting to heat up, as the game's biggest stars look to secure their trips to Seattle.
Among them are former Gamecocks Allisha Gray, Kaela Davis and Tiffany Mitchell, all of whom have enjoyed strong starts to the season. Davis, who plays with Gray on the Dallas Wings, has had a rough stretch offensively over the last handful of games, which has lowered her averages and will likely keep her from getting recognized in Seattle. Gray, however, has been the consistent wing that she proved to be at South Carolina, which inspired Dallas to select her with the fourth pick in the draft.
Gray has yet to reach 20 points in a game this season, something Davis did in the Wings' opener, but she's reached double-figures in all but four of the team's 16 contests, only scoring fewer than eight points once while starting every game.
Just like she was in Columbia, Gray, the league's Rookie of the Month in May, has been a jack of all trades in Dallas, averaging 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game as well, while playing stifling perimeter defense on the other end. She's struggled a bit as a shooter, hitting just 42 percent from the field and a below average 27 percent from beyond the arc. The unusually low shooting percentages could hurt Gray's all-star chances, but they also represent room for growth throughout the season.
Mitchell, now in her second season with the Indiana Fever, has seen a minutes increase, which has jump-started her offense. Now averaging 11.6 points per game, good for second on the team, Mitchell has even cracked the lineup at times this year, rather than playing in her normal role as the sixth woman. Like Gray, Mitchell has also struggled as a shooter, except at the free throw line, where the Charlotte native has been phenomenal, missing just one of her 45 attempts.
For a comparison, 2015 All-Star Plenette Pierson averaged 12.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game during the season, joined by Danielle Robinson, who got the honor with 9.5 points and 5.0 assists per game. The league didn't hold the event in 2016 due to conflicts with the Summer Olympics.