When we talk about WNBA dynasties, two teams always come to mind. Cynthia Cooper’s Houston Comets and Maya Moore’s Minnesota Lynx. The Comets won four titles in a row, a streak so untouchable it might as well be locked in a vault! But Cheryl Reeve’s Lynx built an empire of consistency. From 2011 to 2017, they made the Finals six times and won four championships. But gone are the days of Maya Moore, Seimone Augustus, Rebekkah Brunson, and Lindsay Whalen lighting up the Target Center.
Under Cheryl Reeve’s leadership, the Lynx have entered a new era. Years of early playoff exits, including two semifinal heartbreaks, finally gave way to a WNBA Finals appearance at the Target Center. But the dream ended just short, with a crushing 3-2 series loss to the Liberty. But does this version of the Lynx dwell on the past? Not really. At 27-5, the team sits atop the league standings and looks primed for another deep postseason run. Still, the road has had its bumps. They dropped the Commissioner’s Cup final to the Indiana Fever, without Caitlin Clark even taking the court, and the looming challenge is even bigger. It’s the New York Liberty. A roster loaded with not one, not two, but three WNBA Finals MVPs.
The Liberty have become the ultimate thorn in the Minnesota Lynx’s side. Not only did they prevent Cheryl Reeve from winning her fifth championship, but they also swooped in and snatched the Lynx’s top trade target before the 2025 deadline — Emma Meesseman. “She made the wrong choice,” Reeve had said when Liberty announced the signing of the 2019 WNBA champion. But the Minnesota Lynx weren’t about to let the Liberty keep getting the upper hand.
DiJonai Carrington’s Season So Far
Earlier this month, the Wings sent DiJonai Carrington to Minnesota in a trade that landed them Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson, and the Lynx’s second-round pick. For the Lynx, it’s a major coup. Carrington was in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation last season with the Connecticut Sun, and at 5’11”, she combines athleticism with elite defensive instincts. She can lock down virtually any perimeter player, exactly the kind of presence Cheryl Reeve has been looking for.
To see just how good Carrington is, you need to look at her 2024 season with the Connecticut Sun. She earned WNBA Most Improved Player honors after averaging 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.6 assists in 39 starts, helping the Sun finish second in the Eastern Conference. She led the league in games with at least five steals and ranked ninth in steals per game. What’s even more impressive is that she was the only guard on last season’s All-Defensive First Team. Carrington regularly took on the opponent’s top wing and helped the Sun give up the fewest points per game. And it wasn’t just her defense that stood out; her offense improved, too, with career-high numbers in points, rebounds, and assists.
Unfortunately, Carrington wasn’t able to replicate those performances with the Wings. Her regular season numbers dipped to 10.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists. Add to that the 9 consecutive games she missed due to a rib injury, which further hampered her season. Still, “Carrington has been tactically YOLO-ing on the losing Wings roster,” as Seerat Sohi put it, taking risks on defense and jumping into nearly every passing lane, showing off the “free” in the free safety role she excelled at with the Connecticut Sun. She also posted a career-high in usage, which will naturally drop as her season progresses with the Lynx. And sure, by June, Dallas’ defensive rating looked better without her, but context matters. Carrington logged heavy minutes alongside poor defenders, and expecting her alone to fix the team’s systemic flaws was unrealistic.
Thanks to the Wings’ poor performance this season, sitting at 10th in the table with a 9-24 record, the Lynx were able to acquire a player of Carrington’s caliber for relatively little cost. Trading Diamond Miller may have stung, given how much they wanted to see the former No. 2 pick develop, but considering her knee issues, it’s not a bad deal. Karlie Samuelson, who was already ruled out for the season, was used as a salary filler/dump, and the Wings have since waived her. Overall, the Lynx haven’t lost much in this trade, and there’s optimism that DiJonai Carrington will be a perfect fit. And she has herself admitted how the change in scenery was rather smooth.
“At the end of the day, I feel like it’s just about playing hard and competing, making it difficult, and that doesn’t have anything to do with schemes,” Carrington said. “It’s just about heart, and about effort, and about wanting to do that. It’s just about wanting to do that. Everything else falls into place. Everyone does the same schemes, so it’s not like it’s that difficult to adjust to a new team; you’re guarding the same people.”
How DiJonai Carrington Could Fit Into the Minnesota Lynx System
Now look, the Minnesota Lynx have been elite the past two seasons thanks to their 3-point shooting and ball movement. Most of the game, they have five players on the court who can shoot and stretch the floor to perfection. But there’s one thing they’ve been missing. A guard who consistently attacks the basket. Courtney Williams prefers the midrange, and Kayla McBride does her damage from deep. That’s where Carrington’s arrival becomes so crucial.
Yes, offensively, Carrington isn’t exactly a reliable option. She’s a career 28.1% 3-point shooter and made just 26% of her attempts with the Dallas Wings this season. Her assist numbers haven’t been great either. She has never had an assist rate above 12.9% and has had an assist-to-turnover ratio below 1 in four of her five seasons. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
In 20 games with the Wings this season, she had 36 assists and 49 turnovers. Does that sound like a reliable guard to you? Absolutely not, right? But what she does really well is attack the rim and grab offensive rebounds, exactly what the Lynx have been missing. “This is a team that wants to run,” DiJonai had said after the trade. “It’s not methodical, we’re trying to run, we’re moving the ball, moving our bodies, and that’s how I like to play.”
Since joining the Lynx, she is averaging 13.3 points, 4 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 2 steals per game, while shooting 62.5% overall and from beyond the arc. How rare is this? Numbers show that Carrington has only shot over 50% in three consecutive games for the second time in her career. She’s made a strong, impactful start to her time in Minnesota. How, exactly? “[I’m] just getting back to playing how I know how to play,” Carrington said simply. “Just playing free, and within a flow, not forcing anything. Nobody forces anything, so it just makes it easier to get open shots, because we’re gonna keep moving it until we get a great shot.”
Many now expect Carrington to climb the WNBA Sixth Player of the Year race, elevating the Lynx bench without taking anything off the table. As Ben Pickman of The Athletic puts it, “Carrington is an ideal trade-deadline acquisition because she doesn’t take away from what the Lynx already do well. She generally waits for her opportunities in transition or off ball and amplifies the defense, Minnesota’s flow hasn’t changed with Carrington on the floor, and it shouldn’t, considering how strong the team already was before her arrival”.
What major gap is DiJonai Carrington filling?
“That was one of the first times I’ve had fun playing basketball this season,” Carrington said after making her Lynx debut against the Seattle Storm. “It’s been great. I’m glad to be a part of a team where we have a goal and everyone is fighting for that goal.” These words from her clearly showed just how happy she was to finally be part of a team that aspires to win.
There are plenty of reasons to believe DiJonai could be the one to help get revenge on the New York Liberty. Their first matchup since the Finals showed exactly why she might be the missing piece in Cheryl Reeve’s puzzle. A lot was at stake, but both teams were missing key players– no Breanna Stewart, no Napheesa Collier. The game was billed as a showdown to see who won the trade window. Was Meesseman the right pick, or was Carrington the right pick? Well, the 2024 MIP had her own say in the game.
Not only did Carrington contribute 15 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals, but one sequence perfectly illustrated why the trade was a smart on the Lynx’s end. Down by seven in the third, the Lynx went on a 24-7 run to take a 64-54 lead into the fourth. During that stretch, Carrington made two cuts to the basket and grabbed an offensive rebound that led to a second-chance three for Alanna Smith.
Her defensive work rate and ability to attack the rim have been on full display over the past three games — qualities the Lynx have sorely missed. So, perhaps an even bigger reason why DiJonai is such an important fit is that Cheryl Reeve needed another big-name player who could step up whenever Napheesa Collier has an off night. Remember the game against the Indiana Fever in the Commissioner’s Cup Final? The Minnesota Lynx lost by 15, and one of the biggest reasons was that no one could step up when Napheesa Collier struggled. Collier went 6-18 from the field and scored just 12 points. Ideally, you’d expect players like Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams to fill the gap, but together they managed only 18 points on 5-21 shooting.
Those struggles were also evident in the Finals and have been a recurring issue for Cheryl Reeve and her team throughout the season. Credit to them, though — they’ve shown signs of improvement ever since Collier hurt her ankle and was ruled out for two weeks. Coincidentally, this lined up perfectly with Carrington’s debut. The Lynx have gone unbeaten in their last three games, and it’s clear that, if needed, Carrington could very well be the player to step up from the bench.
DiJonai has already shown what to expect from her with the Lynx and has provided coach Cheryl Reeve with a valuable bench option who can lead the defense and make key plays when needed. The Lynx will face the Liberty two more times in the next seven days, giving fans a good chance to gauge what a potential Finals series could look like with DiJonai in the lineup.
What are your thoughts on DiJonai joining the Minnesota Lynx? Do you see her becoming the X-factor for the team? Let us know in the comments below!
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