Dreams, Sparks, and the Sky. This has been Chennedy Carter’s story in the WNBA. However, when you dig in, you see how the dream rookie season never happened, how the sparks of a new beginning never flew, and how, while reaching for the Sky, she knocked someone down. Well, not just someone, but the face of the league.
Honestly, calling her journey in the league a whirlwind might be an understatement. First, she was suspended by the Atlanta Dream in 2021 for “conduct detrimental to the team” after an argument that escalated quickly. She was then traded to the Sparks. A similar issue of conduct unfolded then, which led to her being eventually waived by the Sparks in March. And then came Caitlin Clark, looking to make a basket.
A lot of things unraveled for her after last season’s drama. In a game last year, as Clark was waiting to receive the ball after a Chicago basket, Chennedy delivered a hard shoulder check to her, resulting in Caitlin taking a hard fall. Initially judged to be a common foul, the WNBA updated it to a Flagrant 1 after the game, as it sparked controversy across the league. “I wasn’t expecting it,” Clark said after the game. “It is what it is. It’s a physical game. Go make the free throw and execute on offense, and I feel like that’s kind of what we did.” Carter declined to answer questions about the incident after the game, but later said she won’t change her playing style, regardless of the backlash she has faced. Which, as you can guess, just led to more backlash.
Now, as a guest on N3ON’s YouTube channel today, Chennedy opened up about the incident in an attempt to clear the air surrounding it. “It’s like, it’s just one of those things that happens in basketball” Chennedy said of the play that Ex-Fever coach Christie Sides deemed unacceptable. “Me and my brother went back and watched and we saw a lot of clips of guys in the NBA pushing LeBron. I think it was Jeff Teague or someone who pushed him out of bounds because they were ‘mad they couldn’t stop him’.” Although Chennedy’s stance is controversial, it isn’t false. Defenses have subjected the best offensive players to a higher level of physicality since time immemorial, and Clark will by no means be the last one at the receiving end of it.
Chennedy clears the air on Caitlin hip-check.
Compares her to Lebron and calls her a great player. pic.twitter.com/fmHG1LFjRl
— C (@C038254) April 20, 2025
Further clarifying that the action came from a competitive standpoint and wasn’t anything personal, she spoke of her appreciation of Clark. “I’m a great player, she’s a great player, it looks a certain way and everybody’s gonna have their view on it. My personal view is I don’t have anything against her, she’s a great player.”
So while the “trolls”, as Chennedy likes to call them, continue to stir the pot around her actions, Carter hopes this helps her deteriorating reputation in the league and gets her back where she belongs.
Is Carter coming back to the WNBA?
Returning after a strong season in the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association, including a playoff game where she scored 52 points, Carter’s offensive arsenal continues to excite. However, the locker room concerns that have usually followed her have made the idea of signing her a gamble on team chemistry. Chicago Sky GM, Jeff Pagliocca stated that while Carter had an incredible season and is extremely talented, changes to the team’s staff and roster impacted her fit on the team. The decision to let her go was framed as giving Carter the “best opportunity as a free agent.”
While this might be the primary factor behind parting ways with Carter, Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times reported that Carter’s past behaviors have created locker room tension and concerns about how she would impact the team’s chances of landing other free agents. “The Sky need assurances that she will be reliable on and off the court and will buy into a system that, as coach Tyler Marsh said, will not hinge on one player’s success,” she added.
And yet, it raised eyebrows around the league when the Chicago Sky opted not to extend an offer to the Texas native. After all, Carter has been a monster on offense, and her numbers back that up. In 2024, she led Chicago in scoring with 17.5 points per game. She was not only able to score but also remain uber efficient while doing so, as she was the only guard among the top ten in points in the paint. So, if Carter can turn around her issues in the locker room, she can prove to be a good option for a couple of teams in the WNBA.
One of the teams that comes to mind is the Connecticut Sun, which has lost multiple key starters after making the WNBA Semifinals last year. The Suns can certainly use Carter’s scoring ability to provide a significant boost. A shot creator, Carter can also be used as a dynamic scorer coming off the bench, a role that can be vital during the Playoffs.
The Golden State Valkyries could emerge as another side that can use an experienced scorer on a team still searching for an identity. The team born out of the WNBA expansion last year has made strong acquisitions in the expansion draft and free agency. Having already added the likes of Temi Fagbenle and Cecilia Zandasalini, Carter could provide experience coming off the bench. 26 and approaching her prime, the opportunity would present massive upsides if it does work out.
But, yes, the facts remain. Are crumbling locker room dynamics a good risk to take?
The post Chennedy Carter Breaks Silence on Caitlin Clark as She Draws Comparison With LeBron James to Resolve Misunderstanding appeared first on EssentiallySports.
