NATIONWIDE — It’s all smiles for Allisha Gray of the U.S. Women’s Olympic 3x3 Basketball Team after helping to secure the first gold medal in Olympic 3x3 basketball history. Dallas Wings' Gray, Chicago Sky’s Stefanie Dolson and Las Vegas Aces’ Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young defeated the Russian Olympic Committee team 18-15 at Aomi Urban Sports Park in Tokyo to seal their spot in Olympic history.
“In that moment, it was like we finally did it,” said Gray, who goes by ‘Gold Medal Lish’ now. “We’ll forever go down in history and I’m glad, because the only medal I wanted was gold. So, that made it 10 times better, being the highest standing team on the podium.”
Different than 5-on-5 matchups, the 3x3 event was played on a half-court. Buckets made inside the arc counted as one point, while shots outside the line accounted for two points. Each game ended after 10 minutes or when either team reached 21 points — whichever came first.
“I think it’s more apparent, because there's only six players on the court at a time, so you see it more,” said Young, regarding the physicality of 3x3 ball. “And they don't call as many fouls, I guess. We know that playing the game internationally that it's more physical and so with 3x3 it’s more physical... Definitely a lot of contact throughout the game, and they let you just play a little bit more.”
Young was added to the team late as original team member Katie Lou Samuelson of the Seattle Storm was placed under USA Basketball’s health and safety protocols.
“Our hearts are broken for Lou,” tweeted USA Basketball 3x3 following the news. “We thank her for her endless commitment to building up USA Basketball 3x3 and we will miss her dearly in Tokyo.”
Team USA played a total of nine games and only lost one.
“They were really strong,” said Dolson, describing the Russian Olympic Committee. “I mean, we knew going into it that Russia was one of the strongest, physically, teams here. They battled. They doubled. But thankfully, my teammates were able to make a lot of plays. We got them in foul trouble early. But the physicality of 3x3 in general is just unlike any other game, but it kind of makes it fun.”
Plum led all scorers in the tournament, finishing with 55 points during the five-day event.
“It just feels so special,” said Plum on winning a gold medal. “I didn’t think this was going to happen. I thought for me personally this was out of the cards, because of my Achilles, and then COVID.”
For Gray, playing in Tokyo was fun but also difficult. She even admitted that her nerves were “shot” during the entire tournament.
“Every game was tough — very tough, very competitive,” she said. “But, overall, we were able to pull out all of the close ones especially the semifinal game. I think that was the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life. Like, I literally woke up in sweat… that’s how nervous I was before the game.”
In her post-game interview, Gray looked directly at the camera and took time to personally thank her biggest fans— her parents. It’s a moment she said touched her parents deeply, as they watched from her hometown of Sandersville, GA.
“The first people I called and FaceTimed were my parents,” she said. “They talked about how they enjoyed the interview and how they were so proud of me and how they actually cried.”
It was a surreal feeling for Gray, who said her parents rarely get emotional, especially her mother.
“When it hit my mom, I knew it was very special,” she said.
Due to the pandemic, Gray and her teammates were confined most of the time to their hotel rooms.
“We were on lockdown,” she said. “It was strictly COVID-19 protocols. The only sightseeing we got to do was on the ride from the hotel to the venue. So, we got to see some cool stuff and I got to see the Olympic rings out in the water and at the opening ceremony we actually went to the athlete’s village, so I got to take a picture by the Olympic rings.”
And with no sightseeing due to COVID-19, the options to try Tokyo cuisine were limited.
“We had an American chef, so he was able to cook and whip everything up to our liking,” Gray said. “So, it was cool. But, breakfast was my favorite part. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, so breakfast was so good.”
As far as seeing ‘Gold Medal Lish’ compete in the Olympics again, only time will tell. In the meantime, Gray plans to live in the moment with the records she’s already set.
"As of right now, I’m just going to celebrate this gold medal and soak it all in. I have three years to think about it before the next Olympics. So, as of right now, I’m just going to enjoy celebrating this gold medal that I got.”