Aces' Alysha Clark named WNBA Sixth Player of the Year

BasketballNews.com Staff
Sept 18 2023

Las Vegas Aces forward Alysha Clark has been named the 2023 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year, the WNBA announced today. She has earned the honor as the league’s top reserve for the first time. To be eligible for the award, a player had to play more games as a reserve than as a starter.

Clark received 35 of 60 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Guard-forward DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun finished second with 13 votes, and guard Dana Evans of the Chicago Sky was third with nine votes. Center Kalani Brown of the Dallas Wings, guard Marine Johannès of the New York Liberty and guard Sami Whitcomb of the Seattle Storm each received one vote. 

In her 11th WNBA season and first with the Aces, Clark played in all 39 of Las Vegas’ regular-season games, coming off the bench 38 times and starting once.

Overall, she averaged 6.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 22.5 minutes per game. Clark also made 38.6 percent of her three-point shots, ranking 17th in the WNBA in that category. She scored in double figures in 10 games, including a season-high 16 points in a 103-77 win over Seattle on Sept. 2, and recorded five or more rebounds 11 times.

Clark helped Las Vegas post a 34-6 record and earn the No. 1 seed in the 2023 WNBA Playoffs presented by Google. The Aces have since advanced to the WNBA Semifinals and will host the winner of the series between Dallas and the Atlanta Dream beginning on Sunday, Sept. 24 (5 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

The Aces finished with the most victories and the fifth-best winning percentage (.850) in a regular season in league history. Las Vegas also posted the highest offensive rating (113.0) and the most 100-point games (11) ever by a WNBA team.

Clark, a two-time WNBA All-Defensive Team selection, is the third player to win the Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Award as a member of the Aces, joining Kelsey Plum (2021) and Dearica Hamby (2020 and 2019). In honor of her accomplishment, Clark will receive $5,150 and a trophy designed to commemorate the achievement.

Below are the voting results for the 2023 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Award and the list of recipients since the award’s inception in 2007.