Chennedy Carter is making an early push for Sixth Player of the Year

Chennedy Carter is back, and she really never should have left. The fact that no WNBA team was willing to sign her in 2025 remains baffling. Yes, Carter can be a bit hot-headed, but she's also an incredibly gifted basketball player who just needed to find the right structure to play within. Now, she has that.

The Las Vegas Aces signed Carter this offseason and she's immediately been a huge piece for the defending champions, giving them a huge scoring threat off the bench. Assuming there are no rotation changes that make her ineligible, Carter is already staking a firm claim on the Sixth Player of the Year award for 2026.

Chennedy Carter has balled out off the Aces bench

Just watch this clip, okay?

That should say plenty about the value Carter brings to the floor. She's a nightmare to defend on the fast break and is able to maneuver to the basket in a way other guards just can't. Just look at the numbers: in her last full season, Carter ranked 11th in the league in field goals made in the restricted area.

Through three games this year, Carter is averaging 19.7 points per game, good for 11th in the league, and she's done it by being extremely efficent, with her 73 percent shooting mark ranking third in the league. She's also first in 2-pointers made per game.

Carter's not going to outshoot other guards, but she can use her speed, strength and savvy to outdrive other guards, and so far, that's what she's been doing. No player in the entire league is shooting better in the restricted area, as Carter is at 93.8 percent from there. She's missed one shot in the restricted area all season.

The Aces are letting Carter be Carter, but are doing so from a bench role instead of a starting role. It's a smart play, because it lets her face lighter defenses for stretches, and it brings her in fresh when other players are starting to get worn down, making it tougher for the opponent to slow her down. It really feels like Vegas has found the perfect role for Carter.

Can anyone catch Chennedy for 6POY?

Sure. We're working off a very small sample size here, but it's fair to wonder if Carter can keep this up. She might need to add more jumpers to her game when defenses start to double her to prevent drives, and that could pose some issues. Nevertheless, it's hard to view her as anything other than the clear favorite.

Golden State's Janelle Salaün is one player who could battle Carter for the award. Salaün is averaging 15.7 points per game, but her 50 percent shooting mark from beyond the arc is probably not sustainable, right? And if it isn't, it'll be hard for her to keep pace, but she deserves early mention for how well she's played for a surprise contender.

The Liberty could be host to a contender or two once Satou Sabally and Sabrina Ionescu return. That will send Marine Johannes to the bench, but if she can maintain a level of play close to what she's done through the first three games of the season, she could have a shot. Then there's Sabally — if the Liberty want to avoid spacing issues, they could opt to bring the prized offseason addition off the bench. I'm not sure if that will actually happen, though, so I'm not going to give her serious consideration yet.

So yeah — there are potential threats to Carter, but based on her current level of play, Sixth Player of the Year is hers to lose.

More WNBA news and analysis:

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow