Welcome to “Heat Check”, a new column focused on WNBA players who are trending up and down each week of the 2026 season.
At just about the two-week mark of the season, this is our first group of players who fit into one of the two categories. Let’s get started!
▶ Check out this week’s WNBA Power Rankings!
▶ HEATING UP 🔥
Chennedy Carter — G, Las Vegas Aces
The Aces almost always roster a dynamic scorer off the bench — you name ‘em: Kelsey Plum, Dearica Hamby, Riquna Williams, Tiffany Hayes. And now they have the luxury of having Carter as a reserve, who is operating as one of the league’s most efficient scorers at the time of this writing. I provided a little insight in Monday’s column into what type of production she’s provided and how it has benefited the Aces early in her tenure. She’s gotten to the paint at will, whether in the halfcourt setting or in transition, and converted at a high level. Her three-point percentage is also high, albeit on low volume, while averaging a career-high in steals on the other end of the floor. As a result, Carter has tallied at least 20 points in three of the last four games. Dana Evans’ eventual return from injury could add a wrinkle to Las Vegas’ scoring production off the bench. But until then, it’s the Chennedy Carter show.
Kelsey Plum — G, Los Angeles Sparks
Plum’s first season in Los Angeles was as good as any of her previous WNBA seasons, posting career-highs in assists, steals, and rebounds per game, while shouldering the offensive load for the first time since breaking NCAA records as a Washington Husky. In 2026, she’s been a better, more efficient scorer while maintaining her role as a primary facilitator. Her league-leading 26.8 points per game are thanks to a slight uptick in volume, coinciding with extreme precision both inside and outside the arc. The former Sixth Player of the Year is tied for third place in the W in terms of points in the paint averaged per game (13.0). Meanwhile, she’s one of nine players currently averaging at least 2.5 three-pointers per game, doing so on efficient 41.7 percent. Although the Sparks hold just a 1-3 record, Plum’s start to the season has been surgical from an individual standpoint.
Brittney Sykes — G, Toronto Tempo
Serious question: Is there a player in the W currently more worthy of a Heat Check? It’s very difficult to make an argument for anyone not named Brittney Sykes. In Year 10, the well-traveled combo guard just logged back-to-back 30-point performances on the road in victories over veteran teams — 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting against the Mercury after dropping 38 points on 10-of-21 from the field in a second straight matchup against the Sparks (she logged 27 points two days prior in the first game against Los Angeles). The recent scoring surge comes on the heels of two games to open the season in which Sykes combined to shoot 9-of-32 from the field on 16.0 points per game. She’s fluctuated between hot and cold thus far, which may or may not be a trend throughout the season. Regardless, Sykes is producing at a high level at the moment, which has helped the Tempo to an above- .500 record in their debut season.
Brittney Sykes and Marina Mabrey took over in @TempoBasketball's win over the Phoenix Mercury 98-90 🤩
— WNBA (@WNBA) May 20, 2026
They each went OFF for a 30-ball to help Toronto capture their third win of the season!
Brittney Sykes: 31 PTS | 7 REB | 6 AST | 4 3PM
Marina Mabrey: 30 PTS | 6 3PM | 5 REB |… pic.twitter.com/qJjqG7ueiN
▶ Jackie Powell covers trends around the league in this week’s WNBA Notebook
▶ COOLING DOWN ❄️
Saniya Rivers — G, Connecticut Sun
The Year 2 leap hasn’t yet occurred for the athletic guard following an encouraging rookie season. Not fully. The passing and shot creation for others have most certainly improved over the first six games of the season, which is a credit to her. But the extremely inefficient shooting has, in my opinion, overshadowed the improvement in playmaking. Interestingly, Rivers’ shot attempts per game over the first five contests had been fairly similar to last season’s averages, before logging only 13 minutes and one shot attempt in Wednesday’s loss to the Storm. The shots seem to be coming from the same areas but simply aren’t falling, which could be one reason for the Sun’s offensive struggles. It’s been a less-than-ideal start to her sophomore campaign, but Rivers has time to turn things around.
Alanna Smith — F, Dallas Wings
It hasn’t quite been the quick start out of the gate that many had expected for Smith in her debut season with the Wings. The 2025 Co-Defensive Player of the Year’s struggles with fouls over the first five contests likely contributed to the low 19.4 average minutes per game. But even in her time on the floor, uncharacteristically subpar 34.5/16.7/66.7 shooting splits have left the veteran scorer with some of her worst scoring numbers since establishing herself as a full-time starter years ago. The fact that Smith has remained a solid defensive contributor has helped lessen the blow of her offensive struggles thus far. Her track record indicates she’ll return to form as a scorer. Still, the Wings will need one of their prized offseason acquisitions to have figured out her way in this new environment by the time the importance of these regular-season games amplifies later in the year.
Naz Hillmon — F, Atlanta Dream
While Hillmon’s start to the season shouldn’t necessarily be described as disappointing, it’s been relatively slow, considering the momentum she brought into the season as last year’s Sixth Player of the Year award winner. Context is important, though, when dissecting the unspectacular start. 1) She’s currently starting alongside a new frontcourt mate in Angel Reese, with Reese’s proven dominance on the glass perhaps eating into some of Hillmon’s opportunities. 2) Unusually inefficient shooting has hurt her production, albeit on a small, three-game sample size. And 3) this bigger role and more energy spent, now at a career-high 33.0 minutes per game, could possibly be a reason for the reduced efficiency. Perhaps Hillmon returns to the role she thrived in last season off the bench once Brionna Jones returns from injury to likely reclaim her spot in the starting unit. Or maybe Hillmon logs more on-court reps with Reese and finds her way as the season progresses. Nonetheless, it’s early enough in the season that a strong performance could swing averages and percentages drastically.
