DiJonai Carrington’s WNBA Most Improved Player case, explained

In her fourth year with the Connecticut Sun, Carrington solidified herself one of the WNBA’s top defenders — while shouldering an increased offensive load for one of the league’s best teams.

UNCASVILLE, CONNECTICUT — DiJonai Carrington has been through it. She’s suffered two ACL tears and one ruptured patellar tendon — undergoing six knee surgeries before she even turned 25. Now, in her fourth WNBA season, she’s emerged as leading candidate for Most Improved Player.

The kind of adversity Carrington experienced would have been the end for many players’ basketball careers. But, from watching Carrington play, you’d never be able to guess how many times she’s heard a pop in her leg and known she had to go through rehab and recovery all over again.

The fiery guard who grew up playing football is typically tasked with guarding opponents’ top scorers, chasing them around screens, and pressuring them up the court. And, this season, any elite guard that sees the Connecticut Sun coming up in the schedule knows they’re in for a long night.

“I’m a competitor, you know?” Carrington told SB Nation. “I’ve been through injuries, I’ve been through stuff before in life. I know what it’s like to play two minutes, I know what it’s like to have a DNP, I know what it’s like to play 30 minutes. As a competitor, you just know that you have to do all the things that you can control to put yourself in the best position.”

Sometimes, that’s meant forcing All-Star guards into inefficient shooting nights. Other times, it’s simply limiting the number of attempts they can even get off. At the same time, she’s managed to to be one of the Connecticut Sun’s leading scorers, averaging 12.7 points per game this season.

In her fourth year, Carrington has made an undeniable leap, going from a spark off the bench scoring 8 points in 17 minutes per night, to playing 29.7 minutes and making key plays down the stretch.

That growth — which has squarely placed her in the conversation for Most Improved Player — hasn’t surprised Sun head coach Stephanie White.

“The natural progression is typically between year three and four, when players make that jump,” White said in June. “She’s played behind some really good players on teams here, she’s been that spark off the bench that we’ve needed, and now she’s called upon to do more and do it consistently.”

At points, that’s impacted her offense. Her shooting percentage of 40.2% is slightly below last seasons’, when she shot 41.7% from the field.

“I don’t think people take into account when they talk about offense,” Carrington said. “I know people like to s*** on me offensively, but when you’re exerting that much energy and fighting through and getting knocked around through every ball screen, it takes a lot out of you on that end of the ball.”

“Some people can rest on defense, but obviously, I’m not someone who can do that, and I don’t want to do that — but it definitely takes a toll on you.”

She’s had countless marquee moments this year. When the Sun played their first-ever game at TD Garden, Carrington stole the show, exploding for 19 points in front of a sold-out Boston crowd, and hitting key shots down the stretch to secure a clutch win over the Los Angeles Sparks.

In total, she’s recorded at least 14 points 19 times this season — a feat she only accomplished 6 times in her first three years in the league.

Carrington maximized her growth despite an injured offseason

Carrington didn’t know this leap was coming. She suffered a foot injury late last season and was unable to run for the entirety of the offseason.

When training camp began in April, she wasn’t even in basketball shape.

“I didn’t even know if I was coming back to Connecticut,” she said. “There was a lot of stuff that was up in the air this offseason. Being injured and not being able to play or run or jump or anything, defensive slide until April was tough.”

But, as she worked toward a recovery, she didn’t just sit around and wait, instead opting to do everything she could to get better, even in her more limited capacity.

“Even while I wasn’t able to run, wasn’t able to jump and do those things, it’s not that I was just sitting around,” she said. “I was still able to work on my ball handling or work on watching film and decision-making, work on shooting. I was still in the weight room, lifting doing all of those things.”

With three years of professional experience under her belt, she started watching film — except this time, she was really watching, understanding exactly where and how she needed to go.

“I knew what I was watching for now more so, just as I’ve developed in this league,” Carrington said. “I kind of have figured things out — my IQ has grown.”

Then, when training camp began, Carrington realized that she faced an opportunity for a much-increased role. Tiffany Hayes had (temporarily) retired, Natasha Hiedeman and Rebecca Allen both traded. There’s was likely an open spot for a starting guard — and Carrington could earn it.

“Once we started practicing, I was more confident that this was going to be the type role that I had. Once I was able to move, I was ready to go after it,” Carrington said. “I got back in basketball shape, I felt good. And I mean, y’all saw that towards the beginning of the season, I was ready to play. The first game was less than a month after I was able to run.”

That first game put Carrington on the map for newer fans of the WNBA; when held Caitlin Clark to 5-15 shooting and 10 turnovers in her highly-anticipated professional debut, while also scoring 16 points of her own in front of an amped Mohegan Sun Arena crowd.

Could DiJonai Carrington win Most Improved Player?

Stephanie White has routinely deemed Carrington a strong candidate for both Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year.

“She is a front runner for Most Improved Player,” White declared last month. “She is a candidate for First Team All Defensive Team. We look at numbers all the time, and she’s consistently holding opponents best perimeter players under their averages.”

Whether or not she is recognized for her growth, Carrington will be a player to watch this postseason. As it currently stands, the Sun are slated to face the Indiana Fever in the first round of the playoffs. She’d be tasked with guarding Caitlin Clark, who’s won Eastern Conference Player of the Week for three straight weeks and has been playing at an elite level since the Olympic break.

To Carrington, however, who she’s up against doesn’t matter. She’s been tasked with limiting a long list of stars, including the Phoenix Mercury’s Kahleah Copper, the Dallas Wings’ Arike Ogunbowale, the Sparks’ Rickea Jackson, the Dream’s Allisha Gray, and dozens of others.

“I know everybody on the opposing teams has All Stars on their team, so I don’t really get caught up in the names of who I’m guarding.”

The honor would mean a great deal to Carrington, though she’s made clear she won’t view it as a reflection of her worth.

“Being recognized for any type of accolade in this league is special, because this is the league of the best players in the whole world, and especially just all that I’ve been through injury-wise,” she said. “I really had to earn this role on this team.”

Author’s note: This article is part of a series diving into the candidates for the WNBA’s Most Improved Player award. Similar stories have been written about Dearica Hamby of the Los Angeles Sparks, and Alanna Smith of the Minnesota Lynx.