What’s His Name?
Josh Gray.
Where Is He From?
Josh Gray was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, but spent his junior and senior seasons of high school in schools in Houston. He began his college career at Texas Tech before transferring to Odessa College. He then transferred to LSU for his junior and senior years of college.
A few fun facts about Lake Charles:
- Contraband Days, a 12-day festival of Cajun food, parades, a carnival midway and live entertainment held in Lake Charles, is one of the biggest celebrations in Louisiana. Over 200,000 people attend.
- The Sallier oak tree, on the grounds of the Imperial Calcasieu Museum, is over 400 years old.
- Lake Charles has the biggest casino market in Louisiana.
Where Have You Heard Of Him Before?
If you like underdog stories Gray is your guy.
Gray played at LSU for two seasons, and during his senior year was a teammate of eventual No. 1 overall pick Ben Simmons. He’ll be the first to tell you his LSU career was underwhelming, and as a result he went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft.
But Gray wasn’t ready to give up on his NBA dream. He paid his own travel expenses and tryout fees for several G-League tryouts, and eventually landed a contract with the Northern Arizona Suns. He played two stints for the Phoenix Suns on 10-day contracts last February.
Describe Him To Us
Gray is an undersized (5’11) but utra-explosive guard. He’s not a great three-point shooter but he’s effective getting to the rim and he’s got the hustle to back up his athleticism. Gray is a decent distributor as well. He has also had at least one steal in each of the Wolves’ summer league games, and he had three on Monday night against Brooklyn.
Gray’s role in the NBA is probably as a backup guard who can provide energy and hustle off the bench. Due to his size, Gray needs to develop a more consistent three-point shot in order to be effective at the next level, but he’ll definitely find his way onto a G-League team this year, and given the right opportunity, he could be a useful call-up.