South Carolina Professional Athletes

Gray Puts Atlanta on Her Back

When the WNBA Finals needed a hero in Game 6, Allisha Gray answered. The South Carolina alum dropped 23 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, dished 3 assists, and swatted 3 shots in Atlanta's 80-69 win over the Golden State Valkyries on Thursday — forcing the first Game 7 in WNBA Finals history. Gray finished a +13 on the night and was the unambiguous engine of a Dream offense that needed every bit of her production to survive.

The contrast from Game 5 was stark. Gray had managed just 10 points in Atlanta's 55-64 loss two nights earlier, finishing a brutal -12. But she recalibrated, and the Dream followed her lead back to San Francisco for a winner-take-all finale.

Fellow Gamecock alums Madina Okot and Te-Hina Paopao are also on Atlanta's roster, though neither logged notable counting stats across the two Finals games this week. On the other side of the court, South Carolina alum Laeticia Amihere suited up for Golden State in Game 6, notching 5 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, a steal, and a block — a solid all-around line on a day her team came up short.

The Finals matchup has put multiple Gamecocks on the biggest stage in women's basketball simultaneously, a testament to how deeply Dawn Staley's program has fed the professional game.

Boston and the Fever's Offseason Storm

While Gray battles for a title, Aliyah Boston is navigating a turbulent offseason in Indianapolis. The former South Carolina star underwent surgery to repair a nagging knee injury, ruling her out of the Unrivaled league's 2027 season — a move multiple reports frame as the right long-term call for a player the Fever are counting on as a cornerstone alongside Caitlin Clark.

But the injury is only one layer of the story. Indiana's front office blew up after a first-round playoff exit, with team president Kelly Krauskopf and general manager Amber Cox both departing the franchise. The fallout has created what multiple reports describe as a genuinely hostile environment: top free agents are reportedly hesitant to join a team whose internal culture has drawn public scrutiny, and a veteran journalist flagged the franchise's silence on racist abuse directed at players — including Boston — as a serious organizational failure.

Boston, for her part, has kept her public posture positive. She commented supportively on a Caitlin Clark social post reflecting on the season, signaling that the on-court partnership remains intact even as the infrastructure around it gets rebuilt from scratch.

Raven Johnson, another Fever Gamecock, generated lighter headlines this week — Clark and Lexie Hull cheered on an Instagram outfit post, and Johnson was spotted courtside at a Seahawks game supporting boyfriend Nick Emmanwori. Low-stakes stuff, but a reminder that the Fever's Gamecock contingent remains one of the more visible alumni clusters in the league.

The Bigger Picture

South Carolina alumni currently span nine WNBA rosters, and this week crystallized the program's range: Gray competing for a championship ring in prime time, Boston rehabbing and weathering organizational chaos, Amihere logging double-digit boards in the Finals. Whether it's a Game 7 spotlight or an offseason soap opera, Gamecocks are rarely out of the story for long.

South Carolina's WNBA alumni have converged on the biggest stage in women's basketball, with four former Gamecocks suiting up in the 2026 WNBA Finals — and one of them already writing the series' defining performance.

Angel Reese Is Running This Series

Angel Reese's Game 2 line reads like something out of a video game: 30 points, 16 rebounds, and a performance so suffocating that her Dream teammate Allisha Gray needed exactly two words to explain the victory. "Angel Reese," Gray told reporters when asked how Atlanta bounced back from a Game 1 loss to beat Golden State 79-65 at Chase Center, evening the series at one game apiece.

Reese's dominance wasn't an isolated moment — it's been a playoff-long pattern. The Dream have built their postseason identity on havoc and theft, racking up 16 steals in the first round, 26 against New York in the semis, and 14 more in Game 2 of the Finals alone. "We always say, 'thieves in the night,'" Reese told Defector ahead of Game 1. She credited Gray with a sharper version: "We'll steal the drawers off you."

Atlanta carried a 2-1 series lead into Game 4, though Golden State responded to claw back in Game 4 on Saturday, winning 67-62 to knot the series at two games apiece.

Gray, Paopao, and Okot Hold the Dream Together

Reese may be the headliner, but this is a Gamecock ensemble. Allisha Gray added 18 points in Game 2 and has been a relentless defensive engine throughout the run. She was back at practice ahead of Game 4, telling reporters she's focused on the Finals and nothing else — a pointed message amid outside noise surrounding the series. In Saturday's Game 4, Gray finished with 5 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks in a narrow loss.

Te-Hina Paopao and Madina Okot are also on Atlanta's roster for the championship run, giving the Dream three additional South Carolina products alongside Gray as the club fights for a title.

Amihere on the Other Side

The South Carolina presence isn't one-sided. Laeticia Amihere is suiting up for the Golden State Valkyries, making her Finals appearance all the more unlikely given she had recorded five straight DNPs heading into the series. When her number was called in Game 1 — Atlanta's only loss of the postseason — she delivered a performance clutch enough to draw attention leaguewide. The Sporting News flagged her as an unheralded big who came up when it counted most, and Sports Illustrated has already floated her as a potential free-agency target for the Indiana Fever this offseason.

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Four Gamecocks. One Finals series. South Carolina's pipeline to the WNBA has produced contributors at every level for years, but this week it's producing something rarer: alumni on both benches of a championship, with the sport's spotlight pointed directly at Columbia's recruiting legacy. The series now sits at 2-2, and however it ends, a former Gamecock will be raising a trophy.

South Carolina's WNBA alumni are impossible to ignore this offseason — whether it's a star forward going under the knife, a rookie collecting hardware, or a Finals contender racing the clock to get healthy.

Boston's Big Season Ends on the Surgeon's Table

Aliyah Boston had arguably the best statistical year of her career in 2026, posting a career-high in scoring while earning her fourth consecutive WNBA All-Star selection. The Indiana Fever forward did it all apparently playing through significant pain — it's now confirmed she spent the entire season managing a lateral meniscus tear in her right knee.

On Wednesday, Boston underwent a right knee arthroscopy performed by Dr. Corey Kendall at OrthoIndy. The Fever announced a full recovery is expected, though no specific return timeline was given. The procedure has sparked pointed questions about how Indiana managed her injury in-season, with fans and observers noting the Fever carried her through a full schedule without adding frontcourt depth — a point Fever GM Amber Cox acknowledged publicly, saying the team needs to address its frontcourt ahead of 2027.

Caitlin Clark offered a four-word public message of support after the announcement, and teammate Lexie Hull echoed the sentiment on social media. The goodwill is genuine, but so is the pressure: Indiana's offseason is already complicated by free agency questions around Kelsey Mitchell and Sophie Cunningham, and Boston's health is central to everything the Fever want to do next year.

Johnson Takes Rookie of the Year Honors

While Boston recovers, her Fever teammate Raven Johnson is celebrating. The South Carolina point guard was named one of the WNBA's top rookies of 2026 by the league, a formal recognition of what was a strong debut season in Indianapolis. Johnson was one of three players — alongside Olivia Miles and Awa Fam — to earn the distinction.

The honor is a notable milestone for a player the program is already treating as a measuring stick: a five-star recruit, Jezelle "GG" Banks, just committed to South Carolina with the explicit comparison being that she'd be the Gamecocks' first elite point guard since Johnson herself.

Gray's Finals Status Keeps Atlanta on Edge

Meanwhile, Allisha Gray and the Atlanta Dream are in the thick of the WNBA Finals against the Golden State Valkyries, and it hasn't been clean. Gray, Atlanta's leading scorer, was sidelined during the semifinals and underwent surgery that put her availability for the Finals in serious doubt. She was listed as a game-time decision heading into Game 1 at Golden State — a development that forced the Dream to rely on unlikely contributors in the final playoff rounds.

Dream head coach Karl Smesko offered cautious optimism about Gray's return, suggesting she could be back on the court sooner rather than later. But Atlanta's title window is open now, and every game without their top scorer is a gamble. The Valkyries — who themselves feature South Carolina alum Laeticia Amihere — know exactly who they'd prefer to face a limited version of.

Three Gamecocks, three distinct storylines. South Carolina's pipeline to the WNBA has never been more visible — or more consequential to the league's biggest moments.

The GOAT Conversation Has a New Entrant

A'ja Wilson didn't just win another award this week. She rewrote the record books.

The Las Vegas Aces center was named WNBA MVP for the fifth time on Thursday — the most in league history — becoming the first player ever to win the award in three consecutive seasons. She received 65 of 74 votes from a national media panel, a near-unanimous verdict that left little room for debate. Wilson led the league in scoring at 26.2 points per game while shooting nearly 53 percent from the field, finishing ahead of Olivia Miles, Kelsey Mitchell, and Caitlin Clark. The award was announced by former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Wilson's reaction made clear she understood the gravity of the moment.

Fellow South Carolina alumna and Indiana Fever guard Tyasha Harris called the milestone "crazy" — a word that about covers it. An ESPN analyst went further, placing Wilson in a conversation alongside Tom Brady and Michael Jordan, a take that sparked predictable outrage but underscored just how dominant Wilson's run has been.

The hardware, however, came with a bitter backdrop.

Aces Stunned, Wilson's Playoff Run in Jeopardy

Wilson's MVP coronation was followed almost immediately by playoff turbulence. The Aces dropped Game 1 of their semifinal series to the Golden State Valkyries 71-60 on Oct. 4, with Wilson posting 24 points and four rebounds but finishing with a brutal minus-12. The Valkyries — playing in the energy of "Ballhalla" — controlled the game from the jump.

Wilson bounced back with 24 points and seven rebounds in Game 2, a narrow 83-81 Aces loss on Oct. 8 that pushed Las Vegas to the brink. Then on Oct. 10, facing elimination, she put up 21 points and 10 rebounds in an 87-77 defeat that ended the Aces' season. The reigning champions were swept, a stunning exit for the team many had tabbed as a WNBA Finals favorite. Fellow Gamecock Ta'Niya Latson was also on the Las Vegas roster but did not register counting stats in the series.

Laeticia Amihere, the South Carolina forward now playing for the victorious Valkyries, was on the winning side of all three games as Golden State advanced to the Finals.

Gray's Dream Rolls On — With or Without Her

Meanwhile in Atlanta, Allisha Gray's playoff story has been one of grit and injury management. The Dream's leading scorer left Game 1 of the WNBA semifinals against the New York Liberty on Oct. 4 with a hand injury after posting 7 points in Atlanta's 92-82 victory. She was ruled out for Game 2, yet the Dream pulled off a remarkable 101-98 win on Oct. 7 to take a commanding 2-0 series lead — without their best player.

Gray's status remained in flux heading into Game 3 on Oct. 9, a tight 85-83 Atlanta win that closed out the Liberty and sent the Dream to the WNBA Finals. Fellow Gamecocks Te-Hina Paopao and Madina Okot contributed minutes throughout the run — Paopao chipping in 4 points and a plus-4 in Game 2, with both players logging time in Game 3.

The Dream's Finals opponent is confirmed following the Aces' stunning exit. South Carolina will have alumni on both sidelines when the championship series tips off — a remarkable testament to the program Dawn Staley built in Columbia.