For the past five seasons, the winner of the WNBA’s Sixth Player of the Year Award arguably has been a starter-quality player who just so happens to come off the bench. More specifically, they’ve been a starter-quality player who just so happens to come off the bench for the Connecticut Sun or Las Vegas Aces, as the last five winners are:
- 2018: Jonquel Jones (Connecticut Sun)
- 2019: Dearica Hamby (Las Vegas Aces)
- 2020: Dearica Hamby (Las Vegas Aces)
- 2021: Kelsey Plum (Las Vegas Aces)
- 2022: Brionna Jones (Connecticut Sun)
This season, no player fits the starter-disguised-as-reserve archetype, which makes identifying the field of candidates—much less a favorite—a tough task.
Below, we do our best, with Eric Nemchock making the case for the Chicago Sky’s Dana Evans, Cat Ariail lobbying for the Las Vegas Aces’ Alysha Clark and Edwin Garcia giving credit to the Connecticut Sun’s DiJonai Carrington.
Dana Evans (Chicago Sky)
When you think of the ideal winner of Sixth Player of the Year, what typically comes to mind? Someone who brings a spark off the bench, obviously. A player who…
