Phoenix Suns' Josh Gray parlays $150 workout-registration fee into his NBA dream

It was the best $150 Josh Gray ever spent.

In the summer of 2016, Gray, an undrafted prospect out of Louisiana State University, was trying out with G League teams, hoping an NBA team, any team, would notice him.

The NAZ Suns, the Phoenix Suns’ G League affiliate, were holding an open tryout in Phoenix so Gray paid for a flight from Atlanta, where he was working out, and then shelled out the $150 registration fee to participate in the tryout.

The NAZ Suns liked what they saw, and Gray was one of three tryouts to make their roster. On Thursday, more than 16 months after the tryout, Gray got a phone call from Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough.

Phoenix, in need of a third point guard because of the fractured ankle suffered by Isaiah Canaan, was signing Gray to a 10-day NBA contract. And so, on Friday morning, Gray took the court with his new teammates, finally an NBA player.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Gray said. “I kind of still don’t believe it that I’m actually in the NBA right now.”

The 6-foot-1 Gray, who averaged 17.9 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 2.3 steals in 31 games with the NAZ Suns this season, could play in Friday’s game against Utah if backup point guard Tyler Ulis continues to be bothered by back spasms.

“They run some of the same things (we do) so he’s already got half the playbook,” interim coach Jay Triano said. “But our plays are designed and set up to be run for specific people so understanding our personnel, who’s going to be in different situations, is going to be key for him.”

Circuitous doesn’t begin to explain Gray’s route to the Suns. After playing at three high schools, Gray, now 24, initially committed to Mississippi State but de-committed when the coach left. He played at Texas Tech as a freshman but after head coach Billy Gillispie resigned, he transferred to Odessa Junior College in Odessa, Texas, and led the nation in scoring at 34.7 points per game.

He signed with LSU before the 2014-15 season but his two seasons at LSU were, as he put it, “terrible.” He averaged 5.4 points as a junior and 7.1 points as a senior - one of his teammates that year was Ben Simmons - and then wasn’t selected in the 2016 NBA draft.

“It just didn’t work out,” Gray said. “I don’t really know where it went wrong. Sometimes it’s like that.”

All but forgotten, Gray decided his best route to the NBA - if there was a route – was to go to as many G League tryouts as he could.

“Most people kind of closed the door and counted me out,” he said. “That’s why I did the open tryouts, just to prove I’m still this player. Just because I had some ups and downs at LSU and it didn’t work out for me, I’m still a pro and I still believe in myself. That was my message.”

In two seasons with the NAZ Suns Gray became the franchise’s all-time leader in points, assists and steals.

“It is a neat story,” Triano said. “He’s deserving (with) the hard work that he’s put in. It’s one of the things that’s great about our organization ... having Prescott Valley and that team so close so that in an emergency, like, in two days we can have him here, signed and ready to play for us.”

That $150 was well spent.

“This was the goal, this was the vision,” Gray said. “I prayed so much. I worked so hard; and I’ve been through a lot and that’s why it’s, like, more rewarding to me and my fan base. It was a long journey for me but it was rewarding. It paid off.”

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How much money?

Here are the parameters of an NBA 10-day contract, via hoopshype.com

Ten-day deals are almost always for a prorated portion of the minimum salary, though they can be worth more. A minimum-salary 10-day contract for a rookie this season is worth $46,080, or 10/177ths of the full-season rookie minimum salary. A one-year veteran would earn $74,159. A minimum-salary 10-day deal for any veteran of two or more seasons would represent a cost of $83,129 to the team.