Connecticut Sun player DiJonai Carrington was named the winner of the 2024 WNBA Most Improved Player award Wednesday.
The 26-year-old, 5-foot-11 shooting guard improved her averages from 8.3 points per game last year to 12.7 this year and 2.9 rebounds per game last year to 5 this season. She improved her assist average from 1.3 to 1.6.
This year was her first as a full-time starter. She started 39 games with a career-high 29.6 minutes per game.
Now, she is in her first playoff run as a starter, and the Sun will look to close out the first round with a win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever Wednesday night.
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Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) shoots over Indiana Fever forward NaLyssa Smith (1) in the first half of a game in Indianapolis Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Carrington has already made headlines in this playoff series for poking Clark in the eye with her fingernail in the first quarter of Game 1 Sunday. Slow-motion footage showed Carrington bending her hand while coming down from a block attempt, pointing her nails in Clark’s face. No foul was called on the play, and Carrington said the hit was not intentional.
“I don’t even know why I would intend to hit anybody in the eye,” Carrington told reporters Tuesday. “That doesn’t even make sense to me. But, no, I didn’t. I didn’t know I hit her, actually. I was trying to make a play on the ball, and I guess I followed through, and I hit her. So, obviously, it’s never intentional. That’s not even like the type of player that I am.”
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Carrington enters Game 2 with her new hardware, the first major league award of her career. A win to end Clark’s rookie season would be the latest victory in her rivalry with Clark.
During a game in June, Carrington fouled Clark after Clark received an inbound pass from teammate Kristy Wallace. Clark caught the pass and started toward the basket. Carrington was late getting to Clark due to a screen by Aliyah Boston, and she bumped Clark.
Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) fouls Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) in the second half of a game in Indianapolis Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Carrington didn’t like the call and thought Clark exaggerated the foul and started mocking the Fever rookie, eliciting boos from her own home crowd while making the gesture.
Later that month, Carrington posted on X, saying Clark should do more to speak out about people using her name for “racism.”
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“Dawg. How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts,” Carrington wrote. “We all see the [s—]. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury.”
On Aug. 28, after the Fever defeated the Sun 84-80 in Indiana, Carrington posted on X, criticizing the Indiana fans.
“The indiana fever have the nastiest fans in the W. ew,” Carrington wrote.
DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun defends against the Indiana Fever during in Game 1 of the first round of the 2024 WNBA playoffs Sept. 22, 2024, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. (Chris Marion/NBAE via Getty Images)
The elimination game matchup between the two teams is likely to be seen before another record TV audience. Game 1 was watched by an average of 1.84 million, even though the game turned into a blowout in the second half. The ratings were in line with most of the record-breaking numbers for the Fever’s games.
Clark said her team can come back in the series and make those fans happy.
“We can win,” Clark said. “It’s not anything about the building. It’s not about the gym. It’s not about the hoops. I have all the confidence in the world in this team, and everybody in the locker room does. And I know we’ll be a lot better on Wednesday.”
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