Sophie Cunningham Builds Separation from Chennedy Carter in WNBA Award Race
The WNBA’s Sixth Player of the Year award quickly became Chennedy Carter’s and Janelle Salaün’s to lose. Carter scored 20 points off the Las Vegas Aces’ bench in four of her first six games, and Salaün started the season with a couple of 20-point games and incredibly hot 3-point shooting.
Salaün still leads the WNBA in total bench points scored with 263, but Carter missed significant time due to an injury and then an illness. Sophie Cunningham has used that time to break into the Sixth Player of the Year race.
The Indiana Fever’s first meeting with the Aces allowed her to actually create some separation between her and Carter. Carter may be the more electric scorer, but Cunningham outplayed her in the Fever’s win on Sunday and tied her for the third-most total points scored off the bench—Zia Cooke ranks second behind Salaün, but the Storm’s 5-17 record makes it difficult for her to be a true Sixth Player of the Year contender. Salaün may still be the favorite to win the award, but Cunningham is building a very solid case.
However, the season is far from over. Carter could still return to her early-season form, so Cunningham will have to be a consistent contributor off the Fever bench for the rest of the season to retain the momentum she has built in the Sixth Player of the Year race.
Cunningham and Carter put together very different games
Carter was big in the Aces’ Commissioner’s Cup game against the New York Liberty after returning from a lengthy absence. She scored 18 points in 25 minutes while A’ja Wilson had to watch from the sidelines. She only played 11 minutes in the next game and scored just four points. Carter was also quiet against the Fever. With Wilson still sidelined, the Aces really needed her scoring, but Carter only took two shots in 15 minutes and missed both of them. She finished the game with 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal.
Cunningham, meanwhile, led all bench players with nine points, sinking three of her five 3-pointers, and finished with the third-highest +/- in the game behind Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston.
Having such a positive impact on winning, while Carter struggled to help the Aces keep up with the Fever, should definitely impact Cunningham’s place in the Sixth Player of the Year race.
Sophie Cunningham’s hot streak continues
Sophie Cunningham shared in June that she got an elbow injection and credited it with helping her rediscover her 3-point touch. Since an 11-point performance in an 85-75 win against the Connecticut Sun, Cunningham has barely missed from long range.
She shot at least 50% from deep in six of her last eight games. The only games in which she didn’t reach that mark were a 3-8 shooting night in a 113-96 loss to the Atlanta Dream and a 0-5 outing in a win against the Phoenix Mercury.
Salaün is the only player who has scored more points off the bench than Cunningham in June or over the last ten games.
Cunningham’s 3-point shooting and scoring off the bench are huge for the Fever. But it’s not everything she brings to the table. Cunningham also offers good defense and positional versatility. She can handle the ball, play on the wing, or fill minutes in the frontcourt, depending on what the team needs in any given matchup.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.