Image Credit: © Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Naz Hillmon of Atlanta Dream Named 2025 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year

Hillmon earned a total of 44 votes.

Image Credit: © Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Atlanta Dream forward Naz Hillmon has been named the 2025 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year. With this, Hillmon created history by becoming the first Dream player to win the award in franchise’s history. She earned 44 of 72 votes, while Minnesota Lynx guard Natisha Hiedeman came in second with 22 votes.

Apart from them, Lynx forward Jessica Shepard earned four votes, while Seattle Storm center Dominique Malonga, and Sami Whitcomb finished with one vote each. For one to be eligible for the award, a player needs to play more games as a reserve than as a starter.

STAYED READY SO SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO GET READY 🫡

Naz Hillmon embraced her role off the bench and impacted the game to help put together a special szn.

She became the first player in @AtlantaDream franchise history to be named the 2025 @Kia Sixth Player of the Year#KiaSixth |… pic.twitter.com/zosNdhjZa9
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 20, 2025

Hillmon recorded a career-high season with 8.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 25.5 minutes of action per game in 44 games. She has had 17 starts this season, and helped her team go from 15 wins in 2024 to 30 wins in 2025. Before this season, she had a total of six attempts from the three-point range along with one made basket. However, in this season, the number jumped to more than 50 three-point shots on 165 attempts.

Naz Hillmon Reveals What the 2025 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Award Means to Her

During a recent interview with USA TODAY, the 25-year-old opened up on what the award means to her. She said that one cannot be named a sixth player without the other five players. “You don’t win Sixth Player of the Year without your teammates being as incredible as they are, allowing me to be who I am this year,” Hillmon said.

“Staying confident in me. It’s my team. It’s Sixth Player of the Year for a reason — there’s five others. For me, it’s the eleven others we have on the bench, as well as our coaching staff,” she continued.

The 6’2” forward revealed that while she was always confident, this year she worked on shooting rather than solely focusing on defense, rebounding, and overall effort. She further revealed that shooting was something her teammates were asking her to do for years. Hillmon also went on to credit her teammates for her increased confidence in herself. She said that their encouragement helped her grow significantly in the area.

Talking about her post-season campaign, Hillmon averaged 11.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 2.3 assists across three clashes of the first-round series. The Dream, who finished third on standings, were knocked out of the playoffs by the Indiana Fever with a 1-2 series loss.

2025 Kia WNBA Sixth Player of the Year

Naz Hillmon

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.