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Gray to Represent the U.S. at Olympics in Tokyo
6/21/2021 10:18:00 AM | Women's Basketball
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – In front of a nationally televised audience on NBC's TODAY show Monday morning, Duke University alumna Chelsea Gray was one of 12 selections to the 2020 U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team, which will take the floor July 26 through Aug. 8 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
Gray, a 2014 Duke graduate, will become the first women's basketball player from Duke to represent the United States in the Olympics. Â
"USA Basketball has never been in a better place," said U.S. Olympic Team head coach Dawn Staley. "I'm honored to be the coach of such an amazing collection of talented women, both those named to the team and those who gave their all the last few years but won't be with us in Tokyo. The fact that some of the players who won't suit up this summer would start for any other country is a testament to their talent and to what USA Basketball has done to build a program that lifts our female athletes every single day. I'm so proud to be the coach of Team USA and like all of the coaches, support staff, and our players, I can't wait to make America proud this summer."
Known as one of the top point guards in the WNBA, Gray is currently averaging 11.8 points, a career-best 6.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals for the Las Vegas Aces. Her 6.4 assists a game ranks second in the WNBA. Gray has appeared in 204 games in the WNBA over the last seven seasons with Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Connecticut. Â
"USA Basketball is proud to announce the athletes who have been selected to play on our USA Women's National Team at the Tokyo Olympics," said retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the USA Basketball Board of Directors. "These young women are elite athletes. Just as important, they are women of character who will represent our country on the world stage with honor, dignity, and respect on and off the court. They include women with many years of experience playing at the international level. Two of them, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, will compete to bring home their fifth consecutive gold medal, while Sylvia Fowles is attempting to claim a fourth-straight Olympic gold medal. We are fortunate indeed to have this group representing us."
All 12 athletes took part in the 2019-20 USA Basketball National Team expanded training program which saw the USA post a 17-1 record, including 5-1 against NCAA Division I teams in exhibition games and 12-0 versus international teams in FIBA-sanctioned competitions.
Gray, a two-time All-American at Duke, had her junior and senior campaigns cut short due to knee injuries. As a junior, Gray played in 25 contests before suffering a dislocated kneecap against Wake Forest on Feb. 17, 2013. She averaged 12.6 points, 5.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 steals on the season, but was still named Co-ACC Player of the Year, Associated Press and WBCA Coaches All-America. In 2013-14, Gray was averaging 10.8 points, 7.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 steals through 17 games. Her 7.2 assists ranked sixth nationally and needed only 35 more dishes to become Duke's all-time assist leader. Â
The American women will open Olympic preliminary round play July 27 against 2019 FIBA Africa champion Nigeria at 12:40 a.m. (all game times listed are EDT), face host and 2019 FIBA Asia gold medalist Japan July 30 at 12:40 a.m., and will cap the first round against 2019 FIBA Europe silver medalist France Aug. 2 at 12:30 a.m.
Teams will be seeded following the preliminary round, and the top two teams from each of the three groups and the two best third-place teams, according to FIBA's placement rules, will qualify for the medal round. In the medal round, teams will compete in a knockout bracket with winners advancing from the Aug. 4 quarterfinals to the Aug. 6 semifinals. The bronze medal game will be played Aug. 7 (3:30 a.m.), and the gold medal game will be played Aug. 8 (Aug. 7 at 10:30 p.m. EDT), on the morning of the 2020 closing ceremony.
The USA, which owns an all-time record of 66-3 in Olympic play, enters the Tokyo Olympics riding a 49-game winning streak in Olympic competition. The streak began with the 1992 bronze medal game and includes a record six-straight gold medals.
In 2016, the most recent Olympic Games, the U.S. took the gold medal, while Spain captured silver and Serbia won bronze.
  Â
#GoDuke
Gray, a 2014 Duke graduate, will become the first women's basketball player from Duke to represent the United States in the Olympics. Â
"USA Basketball has never been in a better place," said U.S. Olympic Team head coach Dawn Staley. "I'm honored to be the coach of such an amazing collection of talented women, both those named to the team and those who gave their all the last few years but won't be with us in Tokyo. The fact that some of the players who won't suit up this summer would start for any other country is a testament to their talent and to what USA Basketball has done to build a program that lifts our female athletes every single day. I'm so proud to be the coach of Team USA and like all of the coaches, support staff, and our players, I can't wait to make America proud this summer."
Known as one of the top point guards in the WNBA, Gray is currently averaging 11.8 points, a career-best 6.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals for the Las Vegas Aces. Her 6.4 assists a game ranks second in the WNBA. Gray has appeared in 204 games in the WNBA over the last seven seasons with Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Connecticut. Â
"USA Basketball is proud to announce the athletes who have been selected to play on our USA Women's National Team at the Tokyo Olympics," said retired Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the USA Basketball Board of Directors. "These young women are elite athletes. Just as important, they are women of character who will represent our country on the world stage with honor, dignity, and respect on and off the court. They include women with many years of experience playing at the international level. Two of them, Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi, will compete to bring home their fifth consecutive gold medal, while Sylvia Fowles is attempting to claim a fourth-straight Olympic gold medal. We are fortunate indeed to have this group representing us."
All 12 athletes took part in the 2019-20 USA Basketball National Team expanded training program which saw the USA post a 17-1 record, including 5-1 against NCAA Division I teams in exhibition games and 12-0 versus international teams in FIBA-sanctioned competitions.
Gray, a two-time All-American at Duke, had her junior and senior campaigns cut short due to knee injuries. As a junior, Gray played in 25 contests before suffering a dislocated kneecap against Wake Forest on Feb. 17, 2013. She averaged 12.6 points, 5.4 assists, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 steals on the season, but was still named Co-ACC Player of the Year, Associated Press and WBCA Coaches All-America. In 2013-14, Gray was averaging 10.8 points, 7.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 steals through 17 games. Her 7.2 assists ranked sixth nationally and needed only 35 more dishes to become Duke's all-time assist leader. Â
The American women will open Olympic preliminary round play July 27 against 2019 FIBA Africa champion Nigeria at 12:40 a.m. (all game times listed are EDT), face host and 2019 FIBA Asia gold medalist Japan July 30 at 12:40 a.m., and will cap the first round against 2019 FIBA Europe silver medalist France Aug. 2 at 12:30 a.m.
Teams will be seeded following the preliminary round, and the top two teams from each of the three groups and the two best third-place teams, according to FIBA's placement rules, will qualify for the medal round. In the medal round, teams will compete in a knockout bracket with winners advancing from the Aug. 4 quarterfinals to the Aug. 6 semifinals. The bronze medal game will be played Aug. 7 (3:30 a.m.), and the gold medal game will be played Aug. 8 (Aug. 7 at 10:30 p.m. EDT), on the morning of the 2020 closing ceremony.
The USA, which owns an all-time record of 66-3 in Olympic play, enters the Tokyo Olympics riding a 49-game winning streak in Olympic competition. The streak began with the 1992 bronze medal game and includes a record six-straight gold medals.
In 2016, the most recent Olympic Games, the U.S. took the gold medal, while Spain captured silver and Serbia won bronze.
  Â
#GoDuke
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