Cleveland native and Gilmour Academy alum Naz Hillmon makes history as the Atlanta Dream’s first player to win the WNBA Sixth Player of the Year Award.

ATLANTA — Atlanta forward Naz Hillmon was named the WNBA’s Sixth Player of the Year on Saturday, making her the first Dream player in franchise history to win the award.

Hillmon, a Cleveland native, averaged 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds for the Dream and made 53 3-pointers after hitting just one across her first three WNBA seasons.

“Naz embodies everything we want the Atlanta Dream to stand for — toughness, consistency and growth,” Dream general manager Dan Padover said. “Her ability to embrace any role and make winning plays has elevated not only her own game, but our entire team. Credit also goes to Karl (Smesko) and our coaching staff for helping take Naz’s game to another level and putting her in positions to thrive.”

Hillmon came off the bench in 27 of the Dream’s 44 games and set a franchise record by appearing in 150 consecutive contests.

Hillmon, who played college basketball at Michigan, was second in the league in plus-minus (+7.6 per game) and helped Atlanta earn the No. 3 seed and win a franchise-record 30 games in its 17th season.

Prior to becoming a two-time All-American for the Wolverines, Hillmon was a star at Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, where she was twice a finalist for Ohio’s prestigious Ms. Basketball award. She led the Lancers to the Division III state championship as a senior.

Hillmon won the AP Sixth Woman of the Year award earlier this month.

Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.