Injuries will force DiJonai Carrington to sit out of the upcoming Unrivaled festivities after repping Mist BC in its maiden voyage.
The upcoming Unrivaled campaign will have a missing Lynx.
The domestic three-on-three league announced on Thursday that DiJonai Carrington will be unable to reprise her role in its second tour, “due to ongoing recovery from injury previously announced by the Minnesota Lynx.” Carrington previously repped Mist BC alongside league co-founder Breanna Stewart during the first go-around in Miami last winter, averaging 9.5 points and 4.2 rebounds while leading the team with 1.5 steals.
Carrington, 27, is fresh off a busy WNBA campaign, originally beginning the 2025 season with the Dallas Wings after her four-year term with the Connecticut Sun ended through a trade. The 2021 second-round choice out of Baylor previously earned 2024’s Most Improved Player title as well as an invite to the All-Defensive First Team.
After the Wings’ season fizzled out, Carrington was part of one of the biggest trade deadline blockbusters in recent WNBA memory, sent to the defending finalist and league-leading Lynx. Carrington averaged 8.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 11 showings while hitting over 45 percent of her tries from 3-point range.
Her impact, however, was dulled when she endured a foot injury during the Lynx’s opening round playoff series against the Golden State Valkyries, which ended her latest postseason journey prematurely. The top-seeded Lynx managed to defeat the expansion Valkyries before falling to the Phoenix Mercury in the semifinal round.
Carrington briefly spoke about her injury in an October interview with TMZ, revealing that she planned to undergo offseason surgery.
“I’ve been through injuries before, so I know what’s to come,” Carrington said. “Then, just seeing how quickly things changed for me this season, from being on the last-place team to being traded to the first-place team overnight … I know what God can do. I know what He’s capable of, so I’m just trusting Him to show me the light sooner than later, because I’m not seeing it right now, but I’m always going to keep the faith.”
Despite Carrington’s absence, the Lynx will still be well-represented in season two of Unrivaled, as co-founder Napheesa Collier will take the floor once again while newly-minted WNBA Co-Defensive Player of the Year Alanna Smith will make her league debut.
Thursday is set to be a busy day for Unrivaled, which will reveal Carrington’s replacement and two others on Thursday. The second season, which will feature a stop in Philadelphia, is set to tip off on Jan. 5 in Miami.
Geoff Magliocchetti is on X @GeoffJMags
