The aim of this paper is to construct a new numerical scheme for the nonlinear gray radiative transfer (GRT) equations, namely, the asymptotic-preserving (AP) -based unified gas kinetic scheme (UGKS). The constructed scheme is obtained by combing the UGKS for spatial discretization with the hybrid method for angular discretization. Since the is a hybrid angular discrete method of both and methods, the current -based UGKS can not only mitigate the ray effects of the method largely, but also suppress the oscillations of the original method. Furthermore, we show that the current -based UGKS also inherits the AP property of UGKS. A number of one-dimensional and two-dimensional numerical experiments are presented that validate the performance of the current scheme in both optically thin and thick regimes, as well as in mitigating the ray effects. Moreover, it can capture the initial layer solution without requiring additional treatments.