DiJonai Carrington, a player who truly launched her WNBA career from Connecticut, is openly reflecting on a gut-wrenching moment: the team’s final game in Uncasville this past Thursday evening before an offseason relocation to Houston. For Carrington, who rose from a scarcely used second-round pick to the league’s Most Improved Player in four seasons with the Sun, that move hits different.
The End of an Era and Unforgettable Bonds
“It’s so sad,” Carrington told reporters Friday, and you can feel it in those words. She was talking with people about how in those days, before charter flights were common, they’d travel and stay on the road after games. Imagine all that time spent together on road trips, in hotels postgame, in airports. “It was so much fun,” she said. Those moments, the grind, the travel, they forged serious bonds. Carrington met some of her absolute best friends during her time in Connecticut, people who will be at her wedding, even godmothers to her children. That kind of connection? You just can’t replicate it. It’s clear she’s incredibly grateful for that organization and what it gave her. She even watched the current rise of women’s basketball from the Nutmeg State, leaving the team only one season before the WNBPA agreed to that historic collective bargaining agreement.
From Unheralded Rookie to WNBA Star, Now What’s Next?
Carrington came into the WNBA in 2021 as a relatively unheralded prospect, only starting 49 games across five seasons split between Stanford and Baylor. As a rookie with the Sun, she averaged just 2.8 points per game. But she put in the work! Her production spiked in each of the next two seasons, culminating in 2024 when she scooped up WNBA Most Improved Player honors and landed on the first-team All-Defense squad. That year, she was averaging nearly 13 points, five rebounds, and 1.6 assists per night. The last two years have seen her bouncing around the WNBA; she started last season alongside Paige Bueckers with the Dallas Wings before a midseason trade to Minnesota. This past offseason, Carrington inked a one-year deal with Chicago, but a foot injury, sustained while playing for the Lynx, limited her to just 11 games. Now, her future with the Sky is as hazy as the Seattle fog. “I honestly don’t have many thoughts,” Carrington admitted about her time there. “I played a handful of games, and even those games were more just each game was just trying to get the dust off a little bit more. So I don’t know how to gauge this past season.” She’s got a lot to consider moving forward, like the roster, her health, and everything else. While she enjoyed her time, she’s on a one-year deal. What does that mean for a player who has given so much to the league and her teams? We’re all watching to see where this talented guard lands next.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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