Congratulations to the Las Vegas Aces’ Alysha Clark, who was voted the 2023 KIA WNBA Sixth Player of the Year.
Clark received 35 of 60 votes from a panel of media members, capturing the award over the Connecticut Sun’s DiJonai Carrington, who finished second with 13 votes, and the Chicago Sky’s Dana Evans, who was third with nine votes. The Dallas Wings’ Kalani Brown, New York Liberty’s Marine Johannés and Seattle Storm’s Sami Whitcomb all received one vote.
An 11-year veteran who joined Vegas last offseason as a free agent, Clark came off the bench in 38 of the 39 games she played, averaging 6.7 points per game as she shot 38.6 percent from 3. With Clark’s win, a member of the Aces has won four of the past five Sixth Player of the Year Awards, with Dearica Hamby (now with the Los Angeles Sparks) winning back-to-back honors in 2019 and 2020 and Kelsey Plum winning in 2021.
The significance of Clark’s Sixth Player of the Year win
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Clark represents a departure from the typical Sixth Player of the Year archetype. Oftentimes, the Sixth Player of the Year Award has been stepping stone on a player’s path to increased opportunity, if not stardom. Plum, for example, followed this trajectory, blossoming into an All-Star and All-WNBA First Team member in 2022 after winning the award in 2021.
Clark, however, downshifted into a reserve role in 2023, as this was the first season since 2013 in which she was not a regular starter. In contrast to a younger player who likely feels constrained by coming off the bench, Clark willing took a step back, realizing that occupying a narrower niche would allow her to continue to contribute to her team. The wizened vet was rewarded for doing so, becoming the first player over age 30 to be voted Sixth Player of the Year.
That Clark received the majority of votes also suggests a premium was placed on playing winning basketball. Surrounded by the Aces’ suite of All-Stars, Clark seemingly had a simple job this season: hit 3s and play D. Yet, such a depiction of Clark’s role undersells her season-long impact. Her effectiveness as a 3-and-D wing also made things easier for her star teammates, as she served as a threatening floor spacer on one end of the floor while playing consistent defense on the other.
As I wrote when making Clark’s case for Sixth Player of the Year, “There’s no thrills or flash to her case, just reliability and dependability.”
And with that reliability and dependability, Clark can help the Aces win a second-straight championship, and add a third title, in addition to the Sixth Player of the Year Award, to her personal trophy case.
