Tag: dijonai carrington

DiJonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey’s enemies to friends redemption arc is the best

This is the BEST plot twist.

Given the history, it’s still hard to comprehend Marina Mabrey and DiJonai Carrington on the same team. But their redemption arc is fantastic, and I’m totally here for it.

Marina and DiJonai weren’t exactly friends before her trade to the Connecticut Sun. They have a well-documented history of jawing at one another and getting very spicy — so spicy that fans created hysterical memes about them having to get along. But on Wednesday, we saw why Marina and DiJonai have worked so well together.

For context, DiJonai was doing everything that earned her Most Improved Player honors (steals, deflections, big shots), and when the Sun needed it most, Marina showed why the Sun traded for her. As Connecticut and the Indiana Fever were in a down-to-the-wire playoff game, she launched the COLDEST dagger 3-point shot, ending the Fever’s season.

Marina’s clutch shot had DiJonai totally hyped, and the pair pulled out Carmelo Anthony’s famous 3-point celebration on the sideline.

After the game, Marina and DiJonai were still hyping each other up, and it was actually pretty fantastic. This is wholesome activity, and I love it.

Fans were all in on Marina and DiJonai as well. Here’s what they said:

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DiJonai Carrington wins 2024 WNBA Most Improved Player honors after stellar season

DiJonai Carrington’s stellar season continues with Most Improved Player honors.

DiJonai Carrington is the 2024 WNBA Most Improved Player, and she deserves every bit of praise that comes with that honor.

Carrington was inserted into the Connecticut Sun’s starting lineup, and the rest is history. All season long, she’s been a pest on both sides of the ball, daring opponents to ask her to shoot 3-point buckets, get downhill to the basket or get caught sleeping so she could block a shot into oblivion and pick a pocket faster than lightning.

The 5-foot-11 guard averaged career highs in points, rebounds and assists and had a career-high in 25 games with 10 or more points. On defense, her career-high numbers in steals per game elevated her to ninth in the WNBA and pushed Connecticut’s defense to third in steals per contest. With DiJonai as one of the Sun’s driving forces, the team lead the league in fewest points allowed (73.6 per game) and defensive rating (94.1). Simply put, her signature seat belt celebration is WELL-EARNED.

https://twitter.com/WNBA/status/1838994851305504899

Here’s DiJonai’s reaction to winning her award:

https://twitter.com/DijonaiVictoria/status/1838993249203012055

 

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Caitlin Clark adamantly dismissed that there was any intent behind DiJonai Carrington poking her in the eye

She refused to blame Carrington for it.

Caitlin Clark’s first WNBA playoff appearance obviously didn’t go the way she would have hoped. The Fever dropped Game 1 against the Sun in a 24-point blowout, but on top of that, Clark struggled after taking an accidental poke to the eye from DiJonai Carrington.

Yet, given the narrative that has surrounded Clark and her treatment from WNBA players for much of the season, bad-faith arguments were made that Carrington intentionally poked Clark in the eye.

But you have to give Clark credit: She wasn’t willing to entertain that notion at all. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, she refused to blame Carrington for an accident that happens occasionally in basketball.

https://twitter.com/MatthewByrne1/status/1838636207338668466

Clark said:

“It wasn’t intentional by any means. You just watched the play. It wasn’t intentional.”

Carrington also told reporters that she was just trying to make a play on the ball.

https://twitter.com/MatthewByrne1/status/1838631673124261930

That should really be the end of it, and hopefully that proves true in Wednesday’s Game 2.

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Caitlin Clark refused to blame underwhelming game on DiJonai Carrington’s accidental eye poke

“I felt like we just played a crappy game.”

Caitlin Clark had the most Caitlin Clark response ever to accidentally being poked in the eye by DiJonai Carrington.

As playoff basketball goes, things get intense and physical. That includes Clark accidentally knocking out Carrington’s contact lens during a first-round Fever-Sun playoff matchup and Carrington accidentally hitting Clark in the eye during the same game.

But Caitlin knows that it’s part of basketball and postgame, she didn’t make any excuses when asked about it. (Clark finished the game with just 11 points and eight rebounds on 23 percent shooting and 2-of-13 from distance.) This is what she told the media about the accidental eye poke:

“Obviously, got me pretty good in the eye. I don’t think it affected me. I felt like I got good shots; they just didn’t go down. Obviously, a tough time for that to happen…”

“I felt like we just played a crappy game. The flow of the game was really bad…Overall, it didn’t bother me. Obviously, it didn’t feel too good when it happened. But it is what it is.”

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DiJonai Carrington grossly put her dirty contact lens back in after accidental Caitlin Clark smack

This was SO GROSS. I think I’m gonna hurl.

Caitlin Clark and DiJonai Carrington matchups have become must-see television. But fans probably DON’T want to see either of them do something gross — like put a contact lens back in after it fell on the floor.

During Sunday’s opening round of the playoffs, the Sun and the Fever were locked in a tense battle. Part of that matchup included DiJonai Carrington guarding Caitlin Clark. As previous history has shown, the two go at each other, often trading buckets and being physical.

During the first quarter, DiJonai inadvertently hit Caitlin in the eye while attempting to defend a made shot. In the fourth quarter, DiJonai was defending Caitlin again when Caitlin accidentally hit DiJonai in the head, knocking out a contact. Most fans assumed she would get some saline solution on the sideline and return to the game. However, DiJonai did not. She popped the contact lens back in, grossing out everyone.

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DiJonai Carrington correctly predicted (in April!) Caitlin Clark would set the WNBA assist record

DiJonai Carrington knew Caitlin Clark was going to be good before she ever hit the WNBA.

DiJonai Carrington correctly predicted Caitlin Clark would set the WNBA single-season assist record when Caitlin was still in college.

It’s no secret that DiJonai and Caitlin’s matchups have been intense. Early in the season, DiJonai was a locked-down defender on the rookie and even trolled Caitlin for flopping. As the season progressed and both players got better, they eventually exchanged 3-point shots in a later matchup.

But, it seems the two have even more history than many previously thought. Some craft internet sleuths uncovered a DiJonai tweet — from April 2024 — that correctly predicted Caitlin would break the WNBA single-season assists record when she entered the league.

Of course, many fans think DiJonai was likely trolling Caitlin before she even stepped foot on a WNBA court.

But DiJonai’s past tweets suggest that’s likely not the case. She tweeted complimentary things about Caitlin well before she became a pro.

However, in the comment section of Carrington’s April tweet, fans noticed her teammate Alyssa Thomas — who set the WNBA single-season assist record in 2023 — telling DiJonai, “Don’t play with me.”

To put some context on the situation, Thomas was saying to respect her name for leading the league in assists as a center. Essentially, it was very ironic that AT’s teammate didn’t choose her, and AT responded by seemingly laughing and telling her not to play about her skills. (For what it’s worth, Thomas is currently second in assists this season.)

Of course, fans also noticed that Sheryl Swoopes, who has had alleged beef with Caitlin in the past, was in the comment section as well. It is unclear whether Swoopes was seemingly laughing about Caitlin possibly leading the league in assists or Alyssa Thomas’s response to DiJonai.

DiJonai Carrington rips Fever fanbase for being the WNBA’s ‘nastiest fans’

DiJonai Carrington made it clear how she feels about Fever fans.

DiJonai Carrington has never been shy about how she feels and isn’t going to start now.

After the first-ever WNBA game in Boston’s TD Garden — a sold-out Los Angeles Sparks-Connecticut Sun matchup — wasn’t televised, Carrington came down hard on the WNBA. She wasn’t pleased with the marketing surrounding the event.

Following a tense back-and-forth matchup with the Indiana Fever Wednesday night, during which she traded buckets with Caitlin Clark, Carrington took to X (Formerly Twitter) to share some apparent frustrations. She ripped the Fever fanbase, calling them the WNBA’s “nastiest” fans. It’s unclear what the tweet may be referencing.

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Caitlin Clark quickly responded to Dijonai Carrington’s taunt to Fever fans as the pair exchanged 3s

Somebody break out the popcorn!

The Indiana Fever picked up a gigantic win against the Connecticut Sun at home on Wednesday night, further cementing a 2024 WNBA playoff spot.

During the thrilling contest, Sun star guard Dijonai Carrington matched a 3-pointer from Fever rookie guard Caitlin Clark with one of her own and proceeded to shush the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd afterward.

Well, Clark immediately got one over on Carrington right after her attempt to quiet the Fever fans as the rookie glided past the Sun veteran and went in for a contested layup.

Back-and-forth like this is exactly why the Fever playing the WNBA’s top teams has turned into such a regular delight, particularly when Indiana can do it in front of the home crowd.

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DiJonai Carrington rips WNBA over lack of promotion for historic Sparks-Sun matchup in Boston

“I feel like Connecticut as a franchise is historically disrespected.”

The WNBA might have missed an enormous opportunity to promote the league’s growth by not televising a historic Sparks-Sun matchup in Boston’s TD Garden. Unsurprisingly, DiJonai Carrington promptly ripped them for it.

For context, Tuesday’s Sparks-Sun game was the first time a WNBA game was held in the Boston Celtics’ home arena. That’s awesome by itself, but what’s even better is playing in front of a sold-out crowd of 19,125 fans. Earlier in the day, Carrington seemed shocked that so many people would come out to see the Sparks take on the Sun, but she welcomed the moment.

Per Noa Dalzell of SB Nation, DiJonai shared these thoughts with the media:

“We don’t have any…media superstars, and we’re still able to garner this type of attention… It really just shows how much this city loves sports, and it doesn’t matter what sport, what gender — they’re going to show up and show out for sports teams.”

But Carrington seemingly had more feelings about the moment.

Hours before the game, she called out the WNBA for not promoting the event to larger audiences — it was only available on X (formerly Twitter) and League Pass.

Still, she wasn’t done. Following the Sun’s win, Carrington doubled down on her frustrations. Here’s what she said:

“I’mma keep it real all the time, and I feel like Connecticut as a franchise is historically disrespected. So, sometimes…if you want something, you gotta go out there and do it yourself. So, that’s what I did for us.”

“I think that there could have been a lot more publicity or promo from the top…The game should have been on the national television broadcast. You shouldn’t have to pay for any type of subscription to see a game that’s this historic, in my opinion.”

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Marina Mabrey’s surprising trade to the Sun inspired so many DiJonai Carrington memes

Marina Mabrey and DiJonai Carrington on the same team? ABSOLUTE CINEMA.

Marina Mabrey is officially a member of the Connecticut Sun, which means she’ll have to play on the same team as her assumed nemesis, DiJonai Carrington.

On Wednesday, Mabrey was shipped out of Chicago to join Connecticut in a trade that surprised many hoops fans. Nevertheless, it didn’t stop them from thinking of the possibilities that Marina could bring to the team, including potentially having to swallow whatever beef she has with DiJonai Carrington.

It’s a horribly kept secret that DiJonai and Marina do not exactly get along and have previously exchanged words numerous times on the court. (Warning: NSFW language).

The thought of them having to play together had hoops fans making hysterical memes. Here are some of the best we’ve found.

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