Janelle Salaün accepted bench role, won WNBA Sixth Player of the Year

Golden State Valkyries forward Janelle Salaün has been unanimously named the WNBA Sixth Player of the Year, the league announced Sunday, Oct. 4.

Salaün is the first in league history to receive the honor unanimously. She earned all 74 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Dearica Hamby came closest to this previously, winning the award with 41 out of 43 votes in 2019.

After starting 33 of 36 games last season, Salaün accepted a new role coming off the bench in all 40 games this year. She averaged a career-high 12.7 points for the Valkyries, which led all reserve players this season and ranked seventh all-time in league history.

Salaün set the single-season WNBA record by a reserve player for total points (509), 3-pointers (93), and 3-pointers per game (2.3). This is her second WNBA end-of-season award after she was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team last season.

The 25-year-old forward from France went undrafted in 2021 but built a decorated professional career overseas in Europe that led to her signing a training camp contract with the Valkyries in February 2025.

She was informed of the news that she’s the organization’s first sixth player of the year while surrounded by her teammates in the locker room, who lifted her out of her seat in excitement.

A moment worth celebrating 🥹

Janelle Salaün gets the special news that she’s the 2026 WNBA @Kia Sixth Player of the Year!#KiaSixth | #WNBASeason30pic.twitter.com/d6J8vEweT0

— WNBA (@WNBA) October 4, 2026

Golden State, which has relied on balanced scoring, has the best bench in the league. With Salaün’s help, the reserves combined to average 36 points per game. Salaün shot 41.6% from the field and 38.4% from 3-point line, both career highs. Salaün also came close to becoming the first player in WNBA history to make 100 3-pointers in a season off the bench. She finished the season with 93.

Golden State finished with the No. 2 seed and is playing the defending champion Las Vegas Aces after defeating the No. 7 Dallas Wings in the first round of the playoffs.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Janelle Salaün accepted bench role, won WNBA Sixth Player of the Year