LAS VEGAS (Sept. 18, 2023)—The WNBA announced today that Aces forward Alysha Clark is the 2023 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year. Clark came off the bench for the Aces in 38 of 39 games played and averaged 6.7 points and 3.4 rebounds, while shooting 44.4% from the field, 54.8% from 2-point range, 38.6% from beyond the arc (which ranked 23rd in the league), 81.8% from the line and finished with an effective field goal percentage of 56.8%.
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The two-time WNBA Champion played in 22.5 minutes per game in helping the Aces to a 34-6 record and the number one overall seed in the 2023 Playoffs. Clark’s play became even more important for Las Vegas in the second half of the year as starting center Candace Parker missed the final 22 games of the year with a foot injury, shrinking the size of the Aces’ bench.
Clark scored in double figures 10 times, including a season-high 16 points in a win over Seattle on Sept. 2. She also shot a perfect 4 of 4 from afar for 12 points against Dallas on July 30.
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.
An 11-year WNBA veteran, Clark was a starter in each of the 8 years prior to signing with Las Vegas ahead of the 2023 season. She won championships with Seattle in 2018 and 2020 and was named to the 2020 WNBA All-Defensive First Team and 2019 WNBA All-Defensive Second Team while playing for the Storm.
Clark averaged 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game off the bench in the Aces First Round sweep of the Chicago Sky.
Members of the Aces have won 4 of the last 5 Sixth Player of the Year Awards—Clark in 2023, Kelsey Plum in 2021, and Dearica Hamby in 2019 and 2020. No other WNBA franchise has earned it more than three times.