Chennedy Carter, who missed the entire 2025 WNBA season while playing in China, is the early betting favorite for the league’s Sixth Player of the Year award as she joins the Las Vegas Aces for the 2026 campaign. Bookmakers list the 27-year-old guard at +500 to win the honour this season, a notable turnaround for a player whose professional career has been marked by on- and off-court turbulence.
Carter signed with the Aces in the offseason after spending last year with Wuhan Shengfan in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association. Las Vegas coach Becky Hammon said Carter is “in a great frame of mind,” adding with characteristic bluntness that “she just got done cooking people overseas, so we want her to come over here and cook people over here.” The Aces, defending WNBA champions, will expect Carter to be a high-impact reserve as they chase a fourth title in five seasons.
The Sixth Player of the Year award recognises the league’s most valuable bench contributor and has previously been won by players such as Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby and Jonquel Jones. Early-season markets also list Atlanta Dream forward Naz Hillmon, last season’s winner, at +700; Golden State Valkyries guard Tiffany Hayes at +750; and Los Angeles Sparks centre Cameron Brink and Carter’s new Aces teammate Jewell Loyd both at +800.
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Carter’s route back to the WNBA has been rocky. After being suspended indefinitely by the Atlanta Dream in 2021 for “conduct detrimental to the team,” she was benched by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2022 for “poor conduct,” and was later waived, missing the 2023 season without a team. She resurfaced with the Chicago Sky in 2024, where she drew national attention — and controversy — when she shoulder‑checked rookie Caitlin Clark to the ground on June 1, 2024, an incident that earned a flagrant foul and widespread criticism given Clark’s profile as the league’s breakout star. The Sky did not extend a qualifying offer to Carter after that season, leaving her a free agent before her year overseas.
Carter’s presence on the Aces bench reunites her with the highest stakes in the WNBA and places her squarely in the league’s storylines: the Aces remain title contenders, while Clark — now a marquee figure with heavy MVP buzz — continues to dominate headlines and betting markets. That convergence of star power and rivalry heightens interest in how quickly Carter can adapt to a championship-calibre rotation and whether she can translate her overseas form into consistent bench production at the league’s highest level.
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Las Vegas will manage expectations: a Sixth Player award would hinge not only on Carter’s scoring and energy in limited minutes but also on availability, discipline and fit within Becky Hammon’s rotation. For Carter, the 2026 season represents another chance at stability and redemption — on a team chasing sustained dominance and under the bright lights of renewed scrutiny.
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