Janelle Salaün’s 2026 WNBA Sixth Player of the Year win is another organizational achievement for the Golden State Valkyries

The 2025 WNBA Coach of the Year. The 2025 WNBA Most Improved Player. Two WNBA All-Stars, including one starter.

And now, the first-ever unanimous WNBA Sixth Player of the Year.

Janelle Salaün’s trophy-winning Sixth Player season is latest achievement on the Golden State Valkyries, an additional testament to the uncommon success of the second-year WNBA franchise.

And while the Golden State organization certainly deserves credit for first identifying and then optimizing Salaün, Janelle herself should receive tons of recognition for embracing and excelling in her reserve role.

Last season, Salaün also served as a bench booster for the Valkyries, scoring 11.3 points in her 27 minutes per game, shooting 36.6 percent from 3 on 4.8 attempts per game.

This season, Salaün did more—with less.

In just 22 minutes per game, she got up almost six 3s per game, converting them at over 39.2 percent. That’s a deadly combination of high volume and high efficiency, further enhanced by her high release point, that has allowed her offensive impact to extend beyond her 12.7 points per game.

She also established new WNBA record for points scored and 3-pointers made by a reserve.

Salaün additionally embodies both the tangibles and intangibles that undergird the Valkyries’ success: a tangible offensive strategy that prioritize 3-point shooting and an intangible acceptance of one’s role without complaint.

Golden State now hopes that ethos, as well as Salaün’s sharp shooting, translates to the WNBA semifinals.