NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2017 – Dallas Wings guard Allisha Gray has been named the 2017 WNBA Rookie of the Year, the WNBA announced today.  She becomes the second player in franchise history to earn the honor, joining Cheryl Ford, who won the award in 2003 with the Detroit Shock.

Gray received 30 votes from a national panel of 40 sportswriters and broadcasters.  Atlanta Dream guard Brittney Sykes received the other 10 votes.

The fourth overall pick in the WNBA Draft 2017 presented by State Farm, Gray finished second among rookies in scoring (13.0 ppg) and rebounding (3.9 rpg).  She also led first-year players in steals with 1.53 per game, which ranked seventh in the WNBA.  The 6-foot Gray started all 34 games for Dallas and averaged a rookie-high 27.2 minutes per game.

Gray helped the Wings (16-18) improve by five games from last season and advance to the WNBA Playoffs 2017 presented by Verizon as the seventh seed.  In the postseason, Dallas lost its first-round game to the Washington Mystics.

A former University of South Carolina standout, Gray tipped off her professional career by winning WNBA Rookie of the Month honors in May and June.  She scored in double figures in five of her first six games and grabbed a season-high nine rebounds twice in her first 12 games.

Gray recorded two games with at least 20 points this season, including a career-high 21-point performance against the Connecticut Sun on Aug. 12.  Two days earlier, she scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and matched a career high with four steals against the Phoenix Mercury.

In honor of being named the 2017 WNBA Rookie of the Year, Gray will receive $5,000 and a specially designed trophy by Tiffany & Co.  Fanatics Branded is commemorating Gray’s Rookie of the Year victory with exclusive T-shirts available tomorrow on WNBAStore.com.

Below are the complete results of the 2017 WNBA Rookie of the Year, followed by a list of all-time winners:

2017 WNBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR VOTING RESULTS

30                 Allisha Gray                            Dallas Wings

10                 Brittney Sykes                        Atlanta Dream

WNBA ROOKIE OF THE YEAR ALL-TIME WINNERS

2017                  Allisha Gray                            Dallas Wings

2016                  Breanna Stewart                         Seattle Storm

2015                   Jewell Loyd                                 Seattle Storm

2014                  Chiney Ogwumike                      Connecticut Sun

2013                  Elena Delle Donne                     Chicago Sky

2012                  Nneka Ogwumike                       Los Angeles Sparks

2011                  Maya Moore                                 Minnesota Lynx

2010                 Tina Charles                                 Connecticut Sun

2009                Angel McCoughtry                      Atlanta Dream

2008                Candace Parker                           Los Angeles Sparks

2007                Armintie Price                             Chicago Sky

2006                Seimone Augustus                     Minnesota Lynx

2005                Temeka Johnson                        Washington Mystics

2004                Diana Taurasi                              Phoenix Mercury

2003                Cheryl Ford                                 Detroit Shock

2002                Tamika Catchings                      Indiana Fever

2001                Jackie Stiles                                 Portland Fire

2000               Betty Lennox                               Minnesota Lynx

1999                Chamique Holdsclaw                Washington Mystics

1998                Tracy Reid                                   Charlotte Sting