Cheryl Reeve’s team finished the season as the league’s top team, and yet the league rewarded only one player from the Lynx roster in the year-end awards. Alana Smith was even the co-defensive player of the year, sharing the award with A’ja Wilson. But the most shocking snub was Naz Hillmon winning the Sixth Player of the Year award ahead of Natisha Hiedeman.
Hillmon set the franchise record, winning the Sixth Player of the Year award, but many felt that the Lynx guard deserved it more than the Dream forward. Although both played vital roles in their team’s success, the 28-year-old guard was more impactful and had better stats than the 25-year-old forward.
Naz Hillmon Wins Sixth Player Of the Year Award Ahead Of Natisha Hiedeman
The 2025 WNBA season-ending award races were very close except for the Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player accolades. Paige Bueckers won the Rookie of the Year award, while Burton won the Most Improved Player of the Year award by a massive margin (68 votes out of 72).
But other awards were close contests. Alana Smith and A’ja Wilson even shared the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Similarly, the Sixth Player of the Year award was a close race between Naz Hillmon and Natisha Hiedeman.
The Lynx star was better in every stat with multiple 20+ point games and a 9.1 points average. She didn’t even start a game for the Lynx, making her a perfect sixth player for the side. Hillmon, on the other hand, started in 17 games (39% of games played) and averaged 8.6 points.
Many considered that the studbuz member would be the outright winner of the award, but Hillmon received 44 of 72 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. In comparison, Minnesota Lynx guard finished second with 22 votes.
Scroll to continue reading
Trending WNBA News
Naz Hillmon named Sixth Player of the Year.
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) September 20, 2025
Fans were not happy with the decision and reacted on social media. Jessica Shepard finished third with four votes, while Dominique Malonga and Sami Whitcomb each received one vote, completing the 72-vote panel.
Fans React to Natisha Hiedeman Losing The Sixth Player Of The Year Accolade
While the panelists decided the winner based on the overall impact on the game and standings, fans were more shocked by the former Marquette player’s loss. The fan favorite star also performed well on the league’s top team, contributing heavily to the stats.
One fan declared, “hiedeman was robbed”
hiedeman was robbed….
— f (@lesbygambino) September 20, 2025
Another fan wrote, “they robbed Stud Bud”.
Wow….they robbed Stud Bud
— Frieza’s Burner (@King_Cold_Son) September 20, 2025
A fan questioned, “isn’t Naz a starter?”
Wait isn't Naz a starter?
— Str8vegas (@JimStr8vegas) September 20, 2025
One Fan pointed out the stat difference and wrote, “she had multiple 20 point games”.
Hiedeman got snubbed, she had multiple 20 point games off the bench. Hillmon was literally a starter for half the season. Istg it’s rigged af
— Jazzy (@better_jazzy) September 20, 2025
Another fan simply wrote, “T got robbed”.
T got robbed
— Trained in the art of Kaioken (@ERRBBEE) September 20, 2025
One fan complained, “Lynx getting robbed again”.
Lynx getting robbed again
— Elscorpion14 (@elscorpioon14) September 20, 2025
As for Hillmon, the Dream player also had a strong claim with career highs of 8.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 25.5 minutes in 44 games. While the Lynx had multiple superstars carrying the team, Hillmon became the key member of the surging Atlanta team, which might have impacted the decision in her favor.