Napheesa Collier’s injury opened the door for a competitive Unrivaled MVP race. Several players are making strong cases for the award. Aliyah Boston, Marina Mabrey, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum, Allisha Gray, and a few others are putting together very strong seasons. For Lisa Leslie, Brittney Sykes is a clear favorite.
When the Laces took on the Hive, Leslie said on the broadcast late in the second quarter, “You talked about Brittney Sykes being sort of a sleeper for MVP, but she’s not a sleeper to me. In all honesty, I think she should be top one or two in the running for MVP.”
Brittney Sykes is in the middle of a very strong season
Hearing Leslie pick Sykes as one of the favorites for MVP isn’t very surprising. Sykes is playing extremely well, and her performances have translated to team success. Between Sykes, Jackie Young, Alyssa Thomas, Naz Hillmon, Maddy Siegrist, and Jordin Canada, the Laces have one of the deepest rosters in Unrivaled.
Sykes leads that stacked roster in scoring with 19.6 points per game. She already exceeded the 20-point mark five times and flirted with 30-point performances on several occasions. She is getting her points efficiently, too, shooting close to 50% from the floor and 42.1% from three. Sykes isn’t just a scorer either. She also averages 3.8 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
The Laces sit comfortably at the top of the standings with a 9-2 record and have already clinched a playoff spot. You can’t talk about the MVP race without including players from the best team in the league in the conversation, and, out of the Laces’ big three, Sykes has the best case.
She may not put together mind-blowing scoring games like Marina Mabrey, Aaliyah Edwards, or Kelsey Plum, but she still ranks ninth in points per game and her team is winning. Sykes also plays a lot fewer minutes than most of the other top scorers in the league. Chelsea Gray, Marina Mabrey, Paige Bueckers, and Aaliyah Edwards all average at least 19 minutes per game. The Laces have a deep bench and don’t need to play their starters heavy minutes every night. So, Sykes averages only 15.6 minutes per game.
The Laces are actually living up to their potential this season
Last season’s Laces roster featured Jackie Young, Alyssa Thomas, Kate Martin, Stefanie Dolson, Tiffany Hayes, and Kayla McBride. The club looked like a championship contender before the season even started, but injuries kept it from fulfilling its potential.
Injuries haven’t been much of an issue this season, and the Laces look primed for a deep playoff run that could very well end in a championship. The Mist and the Phantom could have something to say about that, though. Led by Breanna Stewart and Allisha Gray, the Mist took down the Laces in their second game of the season. The Phantom only lost by one point on January 16.