Today, we’re going to explore the ultimate underdog hiding in plain sight: Chennedy Carter. The Atlanta Dream’s point guard is one of the most entertaining and skilled basketball players to watch in the WNBA. Her quickness, strength, and dynamic dribbling ensure she’s a lethal scorer. And she plays with a fearlessness that’s enamoring.
Unfortunately, she was suspended by the team in July 2021, and has not returned to the court since (details and updates at the end of this article). We hope to see her back on the court soon.
As ESPN analyst LaChina Robinson puts it, “I think Chennedy [Carter] is often left out of conversations because people don’t know what to make of her. She has a gift — she’s very different, and very special. A lot of it has to do with her ball control.”
And that ball control ensures that Chennedy Carter is a bucket. She’s a penetrator and a shot maker, who just six games into her WNBA career, scored 35 points in 36 minutes. Making her – at 21 years and 9 months – the youngest player in league history to score 30 points or more, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Better yet, that phenomenal performance wasn’t a fluke. She is consistently a bucket. Already by August 30th, Chennedy had 20+ points in a game for the third time in the 2020 season, and had scored in double digits in 8 of 10 games played.
So here, we’re going to talk about the basketball evolution of one of the best rookies of the 2020 class — taking you way back to when she was playing in no shoes on concrete. We’ll reveal Chennedy Carter’s go-to moves (hello hesi queen!), strengths, weaknesses, and stats. Plus, we’ll share how to defend against her, and what’s next in her career.
Chennedy Carter grew up knowing she wanted to be a basketball player – sometimes even sleeping with a basketball next to her pillow. So from a young age, she set a goal to get good enough to beat her dad and her three brothers (two older, one younger), Cameron, Chandler, and Chendall.
Her training began in her backyard in Fort Worth, Texas, where her father Broderick and her would work out together no matter what. “Whether it was raining, snowing, pouring outside, it didn’t matter,” Chennedy said.
They’d also use unorthodox methods to train her to keep the basketball on a string: “I even used to play without shoes on the concrete, just to get my feet and my handles right, and get my legs up under me,” Chennedy shared. And she’d practice dribbling a tennis ball in the grass.
It was never easy. But Chennedy always found a way to power through. Chennedy said, “At first it was impossible. I could get one or two dribbles and the ball would bounce off my palm and go five feet the wrong way. I’d get mad…’If you can learn to dribble in this grass,’ my dad would say. ‘Imagine what you could do with a basketball.’”
And it turns out, he was right. The handles she developed ended up being critical to keeping her in the game against her brothers and the neighborhood boys. “I used to just try to play until I could win, over and over and over again,” Chennedy said. Her older brothers were bigger than her, but it didn’t make a difference, as eventually she triumphed.
Those endless hours hooping outside partially account for her fearless approach to the game today. In order to stay on the court with the guys, she built up a fiery, occasionally confrontational demeanor. Her fire is pure love for the game.
“It’s more of a chip on my shoulder. It goes back to where I grew up, and how hard it was for me and my three brothers. I was also the only girl, and I kind of had to fend for myself and really build toughness.”
said Carter.
Then, in 2011, at the age of 13, she fell in love with college ball, as she watched the Texas A&M women’s basketball team on TV. The team, featuring Sydney Colson, Danielle Adams, and Tyra White, went on to win the national championship and that was enough to lock her in.
At the time though, she still didn’t think of herself a top tier player. She just thought of herself as someone committed to the game. When asked about her level of play, Chennedy shared, “I didn’t see it in middle school — of course I won a middle school championship, and in that game I scored 46 points.”
By the time high school came around, her parents began putting her in camps to give her the opportunity to pursue a future in basketball. Meanwhile, over her four high-school years she led Mansfield Timberview, coached by Kit Martin the 2019 Wilson Sporting Goods/WBCA High School National Coach of the Year, to a combined 70-4 record. All the while playing with the top local EYBL program DFW Elite T-Jack in the summers.
As a high school senior, she averaged an impressive 20.3 points per game, helping her team to the state championship game. For which she earned Fort Worth Star-Telegram Player of the Year honors. And she was a two-time All-State selection. In addition to playing in the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.
Though, she still didn’t see herself as a standout. “In fact, I was actually kind of underrated coming out of high school: I was ranked No. 2 at point guard and No. 6 player overall.” Chennedy recalled.
Never mind that internationally, she’d already won a gold medal with the Team USA U18 team. In addition to a silver at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup and 2019 Pan American Games.
Her scoring ability was on display there, internationally, too — where she set a USA Basketball U19 record with 31 points in the Gold Medal Game at the U19 World Cup. And also earned All-Tournament honors at the U19 World Cup after averaging 15.9 points.
“At that level, everybody is athletic, but [Carter] has an explosiveness and a get-by-you speed that goes along with her handles that makes her impossible to stop. It’s going to take more than one person to stop her.”
Timberview coach Kit Martin said of her initial Team USA selection.
Finally, at one of the basketball camps she attended in College Station, Chennedy met Texas A&M Head Coach Gary Blair. Of the experience, she said, “He and a few of the A&M assistant coaches were watching us and I spoke with him after practice. He was open and honest about what kind of program they had and what it meant to be an Aggie. And he told me I handled the ball really well. Oh, he gets it, I thought.”
She realized he wouldn’t try to make her into something she wasn’t, and would allow her to be dominate with the ball, even as an incoming freshman. And so, a year after that camp, on November 14, 2016, she committed to Texas A&M.
As it turned out, the decision paid off big for everyone. Not only did Chennedy average almost 23 points per game in her first season, and become the unanimous National Freshman of the Year, but also she won in spectacular fashion.
For example, she had a 46-point performance in an Aggie victory over USC where she also sank the game-winning shot. And a 37-point game against DePaul in the second round of the NCAA tournament, bringing her team back from a 17-point deficit for the win.
Due to her standout performances, she was finally rewarded with more of the spotlight. She’d successfully willed herself to nation prominence, while grappling with the death of her aunt, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer — turning tragedy into fuel.
Chennedy held onto that fire throughout her three years at Texas A&M, lead the Aggies to a pair of Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. She was one of the most skilled scorers in college basketball, averaging at least 21 points in each of her three seasons. And she finished her collegiate career with averages of 22.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.7 steals over 88 games.
As if that wasn’t enough, she also hit 1,983 total points – just seven points short of being the top scorer in the program’s history. And she currently holds the Texas A&M record for most 20-point games (62) and 30-point games (13). Plus, among players with at least five NCAA Tournament games played, she ranks third in scoring average at 31.0 points per game, trailing only Elena Delle Donne (34.4 PPG at Delaware) and Sheryl Swoopes (31.7 PPG at Texas Tech) — good company to be among.
In short, Chennedy left her mark on the college game, before declaring for the WNBA draft at the conclusion of her junior year. Which was allowed because she turns 22 during this calendar year.
Chennedy was drafted by the Atlanta Dream as the No. 4 pick in the 2020 WNBA Draft on Sunday, March 29, 2020. Interestingly, this spot made her the highest drafted player in Texas A&M program history.
In her first professional game, she helped rally the Atlanta Dream against the Seattle Storm — the team that won the league for the season — putting other teams on notice. The Dream trailed the Storm by 15 points after the first quarter, but almost climbed all the way back in the second half with Chennedy leading the way.
Chennedy played 36.5 minutes, and shot 11-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-4 from 3-point range, and 10-of-10 from the foul line. She also had 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Of her debut Atlanta coach Nicki Collen recapped, “We had an incredible individual performance from Chennedy. I think the biggest thing is she was good offensively through four quarters. We’ve talked about how she’s been aggressive early in games and been aggressive late. She kept her foot down most of the night. She had to, because of the way they defended us. Obviously she is hard to guard one-on-one.”
After that, Chennedy kept her foot on the gas. Again recognizing sorrow and turning it into passion, dedicating her season to her grandfather, who passed while she was in the Wubble. A short while later, she became the third rookie in Dream history to score at least 30 points.
Before ending the season averaging 17.4 points per game, leading the Atlanta Dream in scoring, and placing her tenth overall in the league. Combined with her 2.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, her stunning scoring also earned her a spot on the 2020 AP All-Rookie team and two votes for Rookie of the Year.
“I was put in a position that I’m pretty sure most rookies wouldn’t be put in,” Chennedy said of her rookie year. “I had to run the team, be vocal, be a leader and be the youngest one probably in the league doing that. It definitely put me to the test, for sure.” Not only did Chennedy have to know what she was supposed to do, but also she had to know what her teammates were supposed to do as she directed the offense.
Now all that would be great under normal circumstances. But that’s astounding considering she’s one of the league’s youngest players in her very first year. So she’s learning how to adult off the court at the same time as she’s learning how to do her job on the court. And was also plagued with an ankle injury.
Mid-way through the season, Chennedy missed six games due to a left ankle injury, and returned finally on August 28th. As a result she only played 16 games of the season.
But Chennedy was undeterred about potentially missing out on bigger personal awards due to the lost time, and stayed focused on her team. “I’m a kid that’s just going to continue to play hard, stay within our system,” Chennedy explained. “I’m still trying to focus on getting us more wins. I’m not so much worried about awards; I’m worried about getting those wins.”
In spite of a spectacular start to her season, and a solid conclusion, Chennedy remains under the radar. Which she doesn’t let get in her way: rather she uses it as motivation.
People “have always slept on me,” Chennedy said back at the start of the season, referring to coaches and others who she felt overlooked her ability. She added, “Listen, I can be young, I can be a rookie, but I also can accomplish anything. I came in here with a chip on my shoulder, even with being picked fourth, and I feel like that chip has been there my entire life.”
Without a doubt though, Chennedy is on her way to becoming a legend, and the coverage is sure to follow in coming years. I’d imagine, some of the best basketball players from the next generation are already watching and dissecting her games — the same way she meticulously breaks down Kyrie Irving.
“I think Chennedy is misunderstood,” Dream Coach Nicki Collen said. “I think she wants to win and she wants to be the best…this is a stage that Chennedy can shine on and I think she can be a Hall of Fame player.”
In short, you’ve just got to respect Chennedy’s game, and the way she built it – and continues to build it – from the ground up, while no one was watching. Today, she’s one of the most dynamic players in the league because of her dribbling prowess and will to win. And because she’s so intriguing to watch, her skill set is sure to inspire the next generation to a new level of play.
So now that you know a bit about her basketball evolution, let’s take a look at some of her favorite ankle breaking moves.
Chennedy’s got a handful of combinations she relies on. Most are executed in just two to three steps. Because of her strength and quickness, and ability to drop down low in a split second, she’s able to create the space she needs to get the shot off. Which makes her very hard to stop, according to Seattle coach Gary Kloppenburg, among others.
“Chennedy Carter was really something,” Seattle coach Gary Kloppenburg said. “We tried to throw almost everything, including the kitchen sink, at her. She’s a good one… just a scoring machine… one of those gifted players who can score in a variety of ways. She’s tough. She split some traps; we tried to get [the ball] out of her hands. She’s really good at finding a way to get to where she needs to get to.”
Let’s explore a few of her go-to moves that make her so much trouble.
Chennedy’s hesi pull up catches the defense off-guard nearly every time. Because she’s already trained the defense to expect the hesi drive. Once she’s got them programmed, she can pull up short around the foul line and knock it down. Check it out:
Here she uses a similar technique. Basically once she’s trained the defense to anticipate the drive, or if she sees a big sliding over to get in her way, on the drive she’ll stop abruptly, push off with a nice shove to the gut, and step back for the two. She tends to do this combination on the left side more than the right (which is interesting because she favors her right in general).
Chennedy’s cross over is as smooth as butter! When she sees open space, she just moves the defender in the opposite direction with a wide dribble, and then quickly cuts back. This is the move she will go to every time first, if she sees it. So you’ll notice her executing it often, especially near the top of the key. She loves the push over cross over too, especially during transition when she’s trying to beat the squad down the court.
This one’s just a quick hesi or sometimes even a shimmy. Then she drops her shoulder to get in front of the defender’s body cutting them off, and sprints for the basket. This tends to secure her an easy underhand layup because she’s between the defender and the basket. And she prefers the right side for this most of the time.
There’s an art to the pick-and-roll. You have to set the defense up just right, and lock them in with your elbows. And Chennedy’s got that down pat. According to Synergy play type data, 40.7% of Chennedy’s college offensive possessions came as the ball handler in pick-and-roll sets. And she scored 0.838 points per possessions, which put her in the 84th percentile of all players across the NCAA.
Chennedy shows up for defense too. She’s great at tracking the ball, cutting off the players line angle on a drive, and sending a message with a block.
Chennedy is exceptional at reading the defense (and anticipating their arm length), so she knows when she has to give the ball some extra lift to get it to the finish line. Look out for the floater on the straight away down the lane, in particular.
For this move, Chennedy stops on a dime by bringing the ball behind her legs for a quick behind the back cross over. It allows her to let the defense run by her, creating room for her to pull the quick two. She executes this one at the foul-line corners a lot, but can also do it as far back as the three. Which takes a lot of strength!
Because her go-to moves are so versatile, they make her incredibly hard to guard. So let’s keep digging into some of her biggest strengths.
Chennedy has so many strengths that she can quickly overwhelm teams. Back in her college days already, Muffet McGraw coach of Notre Dame said of playing against her, “We can’t guard her. We just have to hope she misses.” Allen Iverson, unsurprisingly, was her original inspiration (hence her shooting sleeve). And you can see the influence of his game all over hers.
Chennedy is one of the best dribblers in the league today. She can cross-over, spin, go behind the back, and that thing it attached to her like a yo-yo. It’s what allows her to control the floor for her team, and to carve out space that’s invisible to everyone else.
“I think having an incredible handle is essential in the game today,” Chennedy said. “You have to be able to get by a defender and create your own shot,” she explains patiently. “The ability to do that separates players from each other.”
Chennedy’s confidence does not waver, which allows her to deliver in big moments for her team. “Nobody is a better scorer under pressure or when the game is on the line,” said Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair. “That’s her strength: she’s not afraid to miss the last shot. She’s willing to take that last shot, and live with the consequences or the rewards.”
Chennedy always thinks she’s going to make the next basket, period. Basically she has a good short-term memory, and can block out all the noise. Having a strong mental game is key to succeeding in the league today, especially when you’re the floor general.
As her Atlanta Dream coach said, “Chennedy is going to be a work in progress. There aren’t a lot of players that can get 35 every night, and I think the pressure of that can be very real. She’s going to show some frustration, she’s going to show some emotions, but she’s also not afraid of the big moment, and that I think is non-quantifiable.”
Chennedy can score from all over the court. She has deep shooting range, routinely connecting shots from beyond the three. But also she can break down defenders off the dribble to either get all the way to the basket or to pull up for mid-range jumpers or floaters in the paint. Plus, she can also catch and shoot fast. Spot ups accounted for 13.9% of her possessions in college, and she scored 1.013 points per spot up possessions. She had an effective field goal percentage of 53.8%.
“You’re always having to work with girl and women basketball players to get lower, to swivel the hips and make that turn quicker,” said Kit Martin, head coach at Carter’s alma mater, Mansfield Timberview High School. “That was never the case with Chennedy. Her shoulders get so low, and she’s so quick that it’s just on a different level.”
There’s also her passing: Chennedy had a 27 percent assist rate this past WNBA season, and her feeds tend to be as fun to watch as her buckets. Atlanta Dream coach Nicki Collen noted in a pre-draft press conference that she thought Carter was an “underrated passer”. And “The speed off the bounce into a pass is exceptional,” according to Kit Martin.
On the defensive end, Chennedy is great at slipping over the top of screens on the pick and roll quickly, or ducking under. And getting into position on her player again right away on the other side. This is really key because she gets screened on the majority of plays, and by sticking right with her man, she essentially takes away the offense’s entire first play, so they have to go to their second option.
Rather than let the attacking defender have her way, Chennedy will step forward and back, trying to force the player to make a bad decision. This is a little move, quickly executed, that gives the offense mental trouble. She does it on fast breaks where she’s the only defender back a lot. And Scottie Pippen would approve.
In high school Chennedy earned her nickname Hollywood. She explained, “In high school, I was social — but when it was time to go out, to the football games on Friday nights or to parties, I was like ‘Nah.’ I couldn’t. I always wanted to work out, because I wanted to be successful. I had to keep myself locked in. So because I was staying focused, my friends called me Hollywood and it kind of stuck with me.”
Years later, Chennedy is still locked in. She’s happiest talking about the game, and she can’t watch enough basketball. Whether it’s rewatching Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals — sometimes all the way through, sometimes just the shots LeBron James or Kyrie Irving took — or her favorite victory while at A&M. In her spare time in the Wubble, she said she watched just to see if she could pick up some tendencies to inform her game to get better.
Even superheroes have vices! So let’s take a look at a few of Chennedy’s areas of opportunity. There are little things – like teams are beginning to read her initial screen action, so she should look to double screen more frequently to get the open look. And long-term things – such as building out more of a perimeter game beyond funneling down the lane – as the sheer physicality of that over the course of a few years is likely to take a toll on her body. But here are some bigger immediate improvement areas.
Make no mistake, Chennedy came into the season in great condition. But as her team leader, long game time is going to be the norm for her. So keeping her body in tip-top shape will be critical.
“The one thing Chennedy has to continue to do is battle through fatigue, which isn’t easy. But she’s got young legs. She had to play a lot of minutes, because we struggled with their pressure when she wasn’t in the game.” said Atlanta Dream coach Nicki Collen.
When it comes to her decision making, Chennedy is just going to need more time in the league to improve her strategy chops and her control. She’s adapting to new defenses and a new level of play. Once she’s seen the plays out a few times, and has a little more maturity under her belt, she’ll be able to strategize more instinctively.
Right now, there are times when it’s a little like she’s walking a dog that’s chasing a squirrel, and she’s just barely holding onto that leash. She’s been caught deep by two defenders on the perimeter, she’s missed some frantic-looking lane drives, and she’s taken herself out of plays in ways that don’t quite let her teammates get off their shots. This is teachable leadership though, so we’re likely to see a shift here over the next few years.
Which, always one to dig in and get better, she readily admits: “I still need to work on things; I had turnovers tonight I shouldn’t have had out there,” said Carter, when she had six turnovers in her debut game. “But overall, I was just picking and choosing when to come off the ball screen, when to find my teammates, when to pass and create.”
Chennedy likes to create for herself. As a result, she does a lot of one-handed finishing off the drive. This tends to be the smart play, because it’s the best way to shelter the ball from the big inevitably crashing behind her. But soon enough, teams are going to realize they need to bring over help quicker.
If Chennedy did the strong finish, overhand, rather than underhand, she would be more likely to get the ball in the net while also drawing the foul. Otherwise the ball’s just going to get knocked away.
Chennedy also has a small opportunity to improve her shooting on the perimeter, where she’s currently at 37.5%. While Sue Bird’s at a 39.1% on her career (though Diana Taurasi is at 36.5% on her career). Anyhow, this is probably just a chance to improve her shot selection – doing some work to create for her team, instead of firing.
Chennedy is exceptional. But can she make the people around her better? With all eyes on her, you’d expect her to be able to slip the ball to a backdoor big with a quick overhead pass from time to time. If nothing else, it’ll put the defense on alert.
As the gold standard, Sue Bird has a 5.6 career assist per game record, while Chennedy had 3.4. So it’s clear she has a chance to set her teammates up for better open looks.
Ideally she’d build a really strong partnership with at least one other player on her team, as that would make her assist options stronger. And she’d spend numerous practice sessions leading her team of five without being allowed to score. So she’d learn new ways to create, that still all revolve around her owning the ball control the majority of the time.
To really be a great scorer, you have to do the dirty work. And Chennedy only averaged .5 offensive rebounds per game this season. With a focus on offensive rebounds, she’ll always putting pressure on the defense. By not giving them a single moment to rest, and not worry about her, she’ll tire them out more quickly.
Vocal leadership doesn’t come naturally to Chennedy, but she credits Coach Collen’s belief in her as a key reason why her leadership ability grew throughout the year.
“(Collen) just consistently would pull me over in practice, and we would have those conversations as to where this was the position she was putting me in,” Carter said. “This was the position she wanted me to be in. She trusted that I could get the job done for her and that I could run the team.”
No matter how she stands out and how she can improve, Chennedy is already a delight to watch. Here are some of her most enamoring moments so far.
Here Chennedy hits the deep three, uses screens well to get some open drives and looks, and shows off her handles.
This video features Chennedy’s 35 point performance on August 6, 2020. She starts with a nice between the leg mis-direction, pull-up three. Then hits them with the pushover cross over. She also pulls off the “blow-by” her patented move.
In this video highlight Chennedy scores 26 points against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday, August 30. At 0:36 she accelerates by Candace Parker, switches the ball into her other hand and lays it in, escaping the incoming block. A really crafty move.
Here are some of her best plays from the FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2017. Where she shot 51.6% from the floor, 84.2% from the three-throw line, and 45.8% from beyond the arc. Notice she’s doing the double foot stop a lot to use her strength and size to bully through the last line of defense.
And the crazy thing is, her handles have been with her for a very long time. Check out this highlight reel of her playing during her senior year for her high school. Even back then she was relying on the cross over blow by.
When it comes to defending against Chennedy, while it’s an incredible challenge, you have a few options.
For starters, you can try to tire her out. The best thing you can do is to get her fatigued, which could impact her decision making and play.
You can achieve this by popping multiple doubles on her unexpectedly, and keeping a full-court press on her. You do risk her blowing by the guard every time though. But if the defensive woman keeps her arms up wide all the way down the court, and guides her in a specific direction, it will at least make her think.
The next thing to consider is that Chennedy’s super strength is her ball handling. So you know that by default every time the same way — that you can bet your life that Sue Bird wants to shoot or pass —what Chennedy wants is the ball in her hands and to drive.
So you can push the drive to her weaker side. She seems to favor driving on the right, so push her to the left. And the big on that side should always be prepared to step up and cut off the drive.
The other thing is, she typically gets the drive by starting with a speedy cross over. So do not bite on her first move, ever. Keep your feet in position and arms wide.
Once you take away the initial drive, she’s most likely to run the pick-and-roll (for another go at a drive), or pull up for the two or floater. Knowing that, the defense has to work together on the pick-and-roll allowing the guard to stay right with her, anticipating the drive. The minute the guard sees her start to lift her shoulders or bring a foot under rather than forward, the guard has to put her hands straight up, anticipating the pull-up shot.
One area Chennedy does not take a lot of shots from is the two area right outside the lower area of the paint to the left or right side. So if she is below the foul line, anticipate the drive or the kick pass (much less likely).
Another tactic you could try is to get her irritated early. One way to do that is putting her in positions to pick up more fouls. Even when they’re playing zone, you could try driving on her with the Euro step and other step-backs where you’re shoving off her to get distance. Basically, see if she can resist hacking at your arms or going for the block. A few of those cheap fouls in a row might reduce her total time on the court.
So now that you know all about Chennedy Carter’s game, let’s check out where she’s likely to go from here.
Chennedy Carter is a ball-handling dream. So without a doubt Los Angeles Sparks fans should be excited for the future.
Chennedy has proven she’s a prolific scorer at the highest level. Her usage rate of 31.4% ranked first in the entire league, meaning she’s a play maker. And she scored in double digits in every game she played in this season except for three (one of which she got injured in).
Chennedy agreed to terms with Elazığ İl Özel İdarespor for her first overseas season. Where she already made her mark. She scored 10 points with 2 rebounds and a steal in her Elazig debut against Cankaya. And she had her second double-digit scoring outing of the season with 12 points against Izmit, before deciding to end her season abroad.
No matter where she plays, Chennedy Carter has a chance to set herself apart as a new basketball legend. Under the right coach and system, she’s certainly got a strong shot at winning a W championship title in the next five years. And we won’t be sleeping on her!
Up next, learn more about the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award. Or see the complete break down on WNBA unicorn Candace Parker.
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Chennedy’s stats show a strong scorer from all over the floor. Defensively, she does a decent job getting rebounds and blocks.
Chennedy was also the first to accomplish many things during her college career at Texas A&M:
Her international stats and awards:
High school Chennedy Carter basketball stats:
Chennedy Carter’s first name is pronounced KEN-eh-dee. Her last name is pronounced CART-er.
On Monday, July 5th, 2021, the Atlanta Dream’s coaching staff and ownership suspended Chennedy Carter for “conduct detrimental to the team” until further notice. She has not played in a WNBA game since.
During the first quarter of the Sunday, July 4th contest between the Atlanta Dream and the Las Vegas Aces, Spencer Nusbaum of the The Next reports Atlanta guard Courtney Williams went over to Chennedy Carter on the bench, and told her to improve her attitude. The two had an argument, and after checking out at the end of the first quarter, Chennedy did not play in the second quarter of the game, and remained in the locker room for the second half.
After the game, Chennedy, who was upset about her playing time and the team’s success, approached Courtney. Though several players came over to check on the situation, a physical altercation did not occur.
Most teams would not suspend a player if this was an isolated incident, and sources told The Next it is not the first time Chennedy has snapped at her teammates or made noises about fighting a teammate, which extends back to last season when she squared up with a player during a practice.
Chennedy declined to speak with The Next for the article published on July 7th. That same day she tweeted:
Most recently, she’s added this to the mix:
“She’s working through stuff with ownership to try to get a process where she can return,” Mike Petersen told media Wednesday, July 7th afternoon.
On Tea with A & Phee in mid-July, Atlanta Dream owner and former WNBA player Renee Montgomery said the team was working to figure it out: “I’m like, ‘Yeah, all right, everybody get off the internet. Let’s stop talking about it on social (media) and let’s just all figure this out,’ because it’s a family. As a family, you argue. As a family, you figure it out. We’re in the ‘figuring it out’ mode.”
Meanwhile interim head coach Mike Peterson decided to step down from his current role with the Atlanta Dream due to health reasons. And Assistant Coach Darius Taylor assumed the role as Interim Head Coach. On September 8th, NFL Executive Morgan Shaw Parker joined the team as President and Chief Operating Officer.
The WNBA trade deadline was August 21st, and the Dream ownership made no moves to trade Chennedy Carter.
Enea AZS Poznań is a Polish professional women’s basketball club that was founded in 1919 in the city of Poznań. Enea AZS Poznań plays in the Energa Basket Liga Kobiet, the highest competition in Poland. Glos Wielkopolski reports 23-year-old Chennedy Carter from the WNBA team, the Atlanta Dream, is expected to join the team on Wednesday January 5, 2022.
“This kind of player has not appeared in our club yet. I dare say that she will also be the best basketball player in our league with WNBA experience. If she does not change the face of the team, it means that there is no help for us this season,” admitted Łukasz Zarzycki, Vice President of Enea AZS Poznań.
“We have been watching this player with the coach for a long time. We already wanted her in the previous season, in which she made her debut on the WNBA courts. Now we have finally managed to do it.” We can’t wait to see Chennedy go to work!
