Las Vegas Aces guard Tiffany Hayes is the 2024 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year, the league announced Friday. Hayes is having a breakout year in Las Vegas, just months after retiring to join the Aces.
Hayes averaged 9.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game for the Aces this season. The 35-year-old guard averaged 21:27 minutes per game but made a significant impact for the Aces.
Last December, Hayes announced her retirement from the WNBA after 11 years in the league. Hayes spent 10 seasons with the Atlanta Dream after being drafted by the team out of UConn in 2012. She then joined the Connecticut Sun in 2023 and started all 40 games in Connecticut before announcing she was done with the WNBA.
The Aces brought her out of retirement in May, signing the veteran guard in hopes of making a third consecutive title run. Hayes scores the fourth-highest points per game on a stacked Las Vegas team.
Hayes finished first in the sixth Player of the Year award with 38 of 67 votes. New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich finished second with 21 votes.
This marks the fifth time in six seasons that an Aces player has won the sixth player award. Alysha Clark took it home last year, while Kelsey Plum earned the honor in 2021. Dearica Hamby won the award two years in a row, in 2019 and 2020, while playing for Las Vegas.
The Aces will play at home against the Liberty in the semifinals on Friday evening. Las Vegas is currently down 2-0 in the best-of-five series, making Friday’s matchup a win-or-go-home contest.
