Alanna Smith is not afraid of doing the Sky’s dirty work, and she has the scars to prove it.
She earned two fresh ones this year, the first on the left side of her forehead and the other under her right eyebrow. Both came courtesy of opponents’ elbows in the paint within a week of each other. After each, Smith returned to the court bandaged and bruised but no less assertive.
Smith certainly doesn’t need the scars to tell the story of her first season with the Sky. But there’s no denying the bruises exemplify the mark she has made in her fifth WNBA season that has her in the conversation for the league’s most improved player.
“I think for me to get an opportunity, especially on this team, that’s how I have to play,” Smith said. “That’s the role I have to assume. I’ve always been aggressive and almost, I don’t want to say reckless, but I do put my body on the line for my team. That’s just how I play and I’ve had to key into that more.”
Since being drafted by the Mercury with the eighth overall pick in the 2019 draft, Smith has worked each season to solidify her role. She spent three years coming off the bench in Phoenix, playing just under 20 games each season. In 2022, Smith appeared in nine games for the Fever.
Ahead of the 2023 season, Smith contemplated not playing in the WNBA, but a preseason conversation with former coach/general manager James Wade reassured her.
“The risk of being cut and having to travel all the way back home to Australia, at this point in my career, it felt like I needed to choose my well-being over that,” Smith said.
The reality for foreign players who get cut is a state of limbo. While they wait to potentially get picked up by another team or sign a hardship contract, they are thousands of miles away from home, answering questions like, “Where will I live while I wait?”
After the Sky were dealt multiple injury blows to start the season, their need for Smith has only intensified.
Smith leads the Sky in rebounds per game, averaging 6.8, to go with her 9.5 points and 1.6 blocks. In the Sky’s road victory against the Storm, Smith had 14 rebounds in the first half and finished with 17, tying Sun forward Alyssa Thomas for most rebounds by any player in a game this season.
She has displayed an ability to take over games on the offensive end, but defensively is where interim coach/general manager Emre Vatansever has seen the most growth.
“We have a belt and kryptonite that we reward players after every game,” Vatansever said. “She is one that gets the belt most because of her disruptiveness on the defensive end.”
The most improved player award is one of the league’s hardest to predict because it is so subjective.
Last year’s recipient was the Aces’ Jackie Young, whose stats improved substantially despite playing the same number of minutes.
It was a similar circumstance for 2021 winner Brionna Jones. In 2020, the award went to Betnijah Laney, who averaged career highs starting all 22 games for the Dream after being waived by the Fever in June.
This year, the Wings’ Satou Sabally is the clear front-runner as she is averaging career highs across the board. Other names in the conversation include Storm center Ezi Magbegor, Sparks guard Jordin Canada and Dream guard Allisha Gray.
What separates Smith from the others is that this is her first real opportunity getting considerable minutes. While she has some work to do to improve her scoring consistency, Smith has made the most of the adverse circumstances in Chicago.
“I’ve known all along that I could make an impact in this league,” Smith said. “It’s really nice to see it coming to fruition.”
