Las Vegas Aces guard Tiffany Hayes made an impressive comeback this season in the WNBA, earning the 2024 Sixth Player of the Year award, the league announced Friday. Hayes, who initially retired from the WNBA in December 2023, returned to the league in May and played a crucial role off the bench for the Aces this season.

Hayes averaged 9.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in her 2024 regular season campaign, helping the Aces through some key moments during the season. Of the 67 total votes cast for the award, Hayes received 38, beating New York Liberty forward Leonie Fiebich, who finished second with 21 votes, according to WNBA reporter Khristina Williams.

Her journey back to the WNBA came after a successful decade with the Atlanta Dream, where she spent 10 seasons before her brief retirement. Hayes was initially drafted to the Dream in 2012, earned All-Star honors in 2017 and made the All-WNBA First Team in 2018.

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“When I think of a sixth player, I think of somebody that comes in and makes an instant impact,” Alysha Clark said previously, as reported by Callie Fin of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “(Hayes) is somebody that shows up on both the things that don’t show up on the box score and then on things that do.”

Hayes' tenacious play in her 12th WNBA season has been so crucial that coach Becky Hammon has repeatedly said she’s unsure how the Aces' season would have unfolded if the front office hadn’t decided to bring Hayes out of her brief retirement.

This season’s award also marks the second year in a row that an Aces player has won the Sixth Player of the Year award, with Clark earning the accolade in 2023.

The Aces are currently down 2-0 in their playoff series against the New York Liberty and face a do-or-die Game 3 on Friday. As the team battles to stay alive in the semifinals, Hayes’ experience will be key to the Aces’ attempt to mount a comeback.