WNBA: Liberty’s Fiebich, Aces’ Hayes strong Sixth Player candidates

Who has made the strongest case to be the WNBA’s Sixth Player of the Year for the 2024 season?

Is it a player whose value comes from her versatility, new to the WNBA but capable of fulfilling multiple roles for her championship-chasing team? Is it one whose elite athleticism enhances her championship-proven squad, providing a consistent source of scoring punch? Or, is it someone whose 3-point shooting juices her team’s offense, spacing the floor with her willingness to fire away from behind the arc?

Eric Nemchock details the contributions of the New York Liberty’s Leonie Fiebich, Cat Ariail expounds on the abilities of the Las Vegas Aces’ Tiffany Hayes and Beckett Harrison highlights the impact of the Phoenix Mercury’s Sophie Cunningham.

Leonie Fiebich (New York Liberty)

It’s been quite a rookie season for Leonie Fiebich. Her rights were sent to New York via trade last year, but she did not make her WNBA debut until 2024. At 24 years old, Fiebich has been regarded by international basketball analysts as one of the world’s top up-and-coming players, and while she’s been a household name for the German national team for some time now, she’s just now getting the opportunity to showcase her talents in the United States.

Fiebich has quickly shown that she belongs. On a Liberty team loaded with high-end talent, Fiebich’s skill set makes her the ultimate complementary player. Standing at 6-foot-4, she fits into the Liberty’s philosophy of fielding tall, switchable lineups, and she has one of the sweetest outside shots in the WNBA, knocking down 42.5 percent of her 3-point attempts. Fiebich is a natural scorer, but her off-ball prowess is even more pronounced on New York’s star-studded roster. Not many players at her height also possess her gravity and shooting ability.

Fiebich’s case for Sixth Player of the Year hinges largely on that malleability. The Liberty lose nothing when she enters the game for starting wing Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, and she’s filled in for Laney-Hamilton in the team’s starting lineup on several occasions when the 2023 All-Defense honoree was injured. This is when Fiebich has been at her best, and when she’s truly exemplified a sixth player to be relied upon. — Eric Nemchock

Tiffany Hayes (Las Vegas Aces)

Tiffany Hayes is the WNBA’s most talented off the bench player, with an All-Star, All-Defensive and All-WNBA honor to her name. While those past achievements don’t impact her case for the league’s Sixth Player of the Year award in 2024, the dangerous dynamism that helped her earn those plaudits does.

Coming out of a short-lived retirement from the WNBA to join the Aces approximately two weeks into the WNBA season, Hayes has offered the back-to-back defending champs the two-way athletic pop that defined her days as a starting player and central piece for the Atlanta Dream. With her lightning-quick first step, she remains a constant threat to break down her defender and get to the hoop, often drawing a foul (and ending up on the court) in the process. That same quickness allows her to influence the action on the defensive end, whether by locking down her assignment or creating disruptions off the ball.

Among players who have come off the bench for more than half of their games played, Hayes leads in scoring (8.5 points per game), with a significant chunk of her points coming off turnovers (2.0 per game) and/or in the paint (4.3 per game); she ranks second in both categories for bench players. She also has earned the second-most free throw attempts per game (2.4) among qualified reserves. Hayes thus offers a consistent source of off-the-bench offense, dependent not on her jumper falling but on her proven ability to find a way to the bucket. Her consistency is reflected in her scoring efficiency, as her true shooting percentage (60.8) and effective field goal percentage (58.5) are the highest of her career (disregarding the 2022 season when she only played 11 games).

Twelve years into a WNBA career that she thought was done, Hayes has seamlessly adapted to a new role, equipping the Aces with another weapon in their quest for a third-straight championship. — Cat Ariail

Sophie Cunningham (Phoenix Mercury)