Chennedy Carter’s debut with the Las Vegas Aces marked one of the most anticipated WNBA returns of the season. After a one-year break from the W, the controversial scoring threat was finally back in action. After she scored 20 or more points in four of her first six games in an Aces jersey, she was firmly established as one of the best bench scorers in the league.
But, even early on, Carter had an obvious rival for Sixth Player of the Year: the Golden State Valkyries’ Janelle Salaün. After an outstanding rookie season as a starter, Natalie Nakase moved the French sharpshooter to the bench, starting Gabby Wiliams, Cecilia Zandalasini, and Kayla Thornton alongside point guard Veronica Burton and center Kiah Stokes instead.
Salaün kicked the season off with two twenty-point games on 45.5 and 80% shooting from three. The Sixth Player of the Year race quickly became hers and Carter’s to lose.
Carter has missed a few games with an illness, which has heavily impacted the Sixth Player of the Year race. Salaün now leads the league in bench points by a huge margin with 220—76 more than Carter’s 144—and Sophie Cunningham has entered the conversation with four big games and hot 3-point shooting off the Fever’s bench. Moreover, Satou Sabally is finding her stride off the bench for New York. Zia Cooke and Natasha Cloud could have solid cases as well, if the Storm and Sky weren’t struggling so much.
Sophie Cunningham has been playing well lately
Cunningham struggled to start the season, shooting just 29.4% from three in May. She recently revealed that she got a PRP shot in her elbow to help with some pain she had been playing through. Since then, she’s been on a heater from long range, sinking 19 of her 30 3-point attempts over the last four games and scoring between 11 and 24 points in each game.
Unfortunately, her efforts have only helped the Fever to two wins against the Connecticut Sun and Toronto Tempo. They lost back-to-back games against the Atlanta Dream afterward. Still, Indiana is a playoff team—seventh at the moment. If Cunningham continues to play as well as she has these last few games and the Fever stay firmly established in the playoff picture, she has a great case to be considered Sixth Player of the Year.
Salaün currently has an edge scoring-wise and record-wise, as she has scored significantly more than Cunningham, who ranks fourth in total bench points with 134, and the Valkyries have a slightly better record than the Fever. Plus, when Carter returns, she will probably make another push as well.
Satou Sabally is catching her stride in New York
Sabally’s early Liberty days were defined by injury and absences, but she is back now and has played at least 14 minutes in seven consecutive games now, coming off the bench to solve a logjam of talent in the Liberty’s rotation. She has scored in double digits in five of those seven games, the Liberty won six, and she ranks second in total bench points for June with 90, trailing only Salaün.
If she continues to come off the bench, she will definitely receive Sixth Player of the Year votes as one of the most productive bench players in the league and the best reserve on one of the W’s top teams.
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