WNBA: Why new Fever Sophie Cunningham could be the Sixth Player of the Year

With the 2025 WNBA season beginning on Friday, May 16, it’s time to predict the WNBA award winners. Here’s what the race for Sixth Player of the Year may look like for 2025:

Sophie Cunningham (Indiana Fever)

Sophie Cunningham is the prototype for the Sixth Player of the Year award. The 6-foot-1 wing joined the Fever in a four-team trade, and her experience and passion immediately made her an important member of the roster. She can stretch the floor, shoot from long-distance and steal the ball, which are the qualities generally most valued in bench players. She can play the 3 next to Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell, but also can be moved to the 4 if head coach Stephanie White wants to go small.

Throughout her WNBA career, which has been going on for six seasons, Cunningham averaged 7.7 points and 2.7 rebounds. During the last three seasons, she averaged 5.3 3-point shot attempts per game, and her accuracy actually went up with the increase in shot attempts. Playing next to Clark, she’ll get a ton of opportunities to fire away.

Sami Whitcomb (Phoenix Mercury)

Coming off an incredible season in the WNBL, Sami Whitcomb is another player made for this award. For the Bendigo Spirit, in a campaign that culminated with the championship, Whitcomb averaged 21 points, 6.6 boards and 4.8 dimes.

Playing behind Kahleah Copper, the two-time WNBA champ will get a chance to lead the second unit, possibly enjoying the freedom to organize the offense around her. At 35, Whitcomb looks as good as ever, and Mercury can go far by relying on her experience.

Megan Gustafson (Las Vegas Aces)

At 28 years old with six seasons in the WNBA on four different teams, this is probably the last chance for Megan Gustafson to get back to the level of play she was capable of in college. Back at Iowa, she was a double-double machine, and in her senior year was considered one of the best players in the country, yet couldn’t quite find her footing in the W.

In 2023, she finally got more playing time and responded with the best season of her pro career, only to take a step back after joining the Aces. Last year, she was good for 3.7 points and 1.9 boards, playing just 11 minutes per game. Those aren’t Sixth Player of the Year numbers, and she’s also beginning the season sidelined with a leg injury. But this season, on a retooled Aces team and with the potential for more minutes next to A’ja Wilson, Gustafson may finally live up to her potential.