DiJonai Carrington, one of the WNBA’s top defenders, joins Unrivaled Basketball League

Posted by author September 4, 2024 Basketball

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The list of Unrivaled Basketball League players continues to grow, as the new 3×3 league has been slowly rolling out the names of WNBA participants. DiJonai Carrington, a guard on the Connecticut Sun who is widely considered one of the top defenders in the league, is the latest to publicly commit to playing in Unrivaled.

Carrington has enjoyed a breakout season as a first-year WNBA starter, and is largely considered a leading candidate for the Most Improved Player award. She’s averaged 12.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game, while typically matching up with opponents’ best perimeter scorers. The Sun have had the league’s second-best record this season.

Unrivaled is a new professional 3×3 league founded by Napheesa Collier and Breanna Stewart that will begin in January in Miami and run for 8 weeks during the WNBA offseason, giving players the chance to stay in the U.S. rather than play overseas. Rosters will be made up of five players each, as the 30 players in the inaugural class will be divided into six teams by a selection committee. Each team will have a head coach, an assistant, and a team manager. Some coaches will be from the WNBA, while others won’t. The league offers a minimum $150,000 salary and player equity.

Unrivaled Basketball League players now publicly includes 19 WNBA players:

Allisha Gray (Dream)
Angel Reese (Sky)
Arike Ogunbowale (Wings)
Breanna Stewart (Liberty)
Chelsea Gray (Aces)
Dearica Hamby (Sparks)
DiJonai Carrington (Sun)
Jackie Young (Aces)
Jewell Loyd (Storm)
Kahleah Copper (Mercury)
Kayla McBride (Lynx)
Kelsey Plum (Aces)
Marina Mabrey (Sun)
Napheesa Collier (Lynx)
Natasha Cloud (Mercury)
Rhyne Howard (Dream)
Rickea Jackson (Sparks)
Satou Sabally (Wings)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (Storm)

11 more players will be announced in the coming weeks. Notably, many 2024 All-Stars have yet to commit to playing in Unrivaled, including: Alyssa Thomas (Sun), DeWanna Bonner (Sun), Aliyah Boston (Fever), Caitlin Clark (Fever), Kelsey Mitchell (Fever), Jonquel Jones (Liberty), Sabrina Ionescu (Liberty), Nneka Ogwumike (Storm), Diana Taurasi (Mercury), Brittney Griner (Mercury), and A’ja Wilson (Aces).

In addition, Napheesa Collier has stated that 2 of the remaining 11 spots will go to rookies — so not every All-Star will participate.