LAS VEGAS (AP) — Given their championship pedigree and locker room full of strong personalties such as A’ja Wilson and Chelsea Gray, the Aces were probably the best-positioned team to take a chance on a guard whose points and controversies seem to come in bunches.
Chennedy Carter, who played in China last season, has provided what Las Vegas management wanted when they signed her, a major spark who leads the WNBA in bench scoring at 17.5 points per game.
That kind of depth scoring is what the Aces hope leads to a fourth championship in five years.
“I feel like that anybody that comes into our organization is going to know that we have a standard here,” Gray said. “Anything short of a championship is not that good of a season for us. That’s just where our standard is at, where it’ll always be and has always been.”
Carter also brought to Las Vegas the baggage of appearing to regularly wear out her welcome. She was indefinitely suspended by Atlanta in 2021 for “conduct detrimental to the team.” The Dream traded her to Los Angeles the following February and she lasted a season with the Sparks. Carter was out of the league in 2023.
While playing for Chicago in 2024, Carter went out of her way to take down then-rookie Caitlin Clark in a game against Indiana. The league later upgraded the high-profile foul to a flagrant-1 violation.
Carter again found herself without a WNBA team last season.
Late last week, Carter appeared to complain about not receiving more minutes in response to criticism on social media that Dallas star rookie Azzi Fudd outscored her 22-14 in the Wings’ 95-87 victory over Las Vegas on Thursday. Carter posted on Threads “yall can hollar at me when my leash is off too. it’s completely unfair even though statistically wise it’s not even close.”
When asked last week about coming off the bench, Carter said, “I love that role.”
It’s a role coach Becky Hammon made clear she would like for Carter to have going forward. Jewell Loyd asked to move to the bench last season, and has embraced that role.
Loyd (27.3 minutes per game) and Carter (20.3) receive starters-type playing time.
“It’s a huge lift,” Hammon said. “You have to deal with the big three in that first group (Wilson, Gray and Jackie Young), and then you come and hit them with the second wave in Jewell and Chen, and when (Cheyenne Parker-Tyus) gets in there is an offensive threat. I think the luxury with this lineup and this particular roster is we can play bigger and we can play small and be efficient at either game.”
Carter has become a favorite for Aces fans, drawing a big ovation when she is inserted into the game.
She has given them plenty of reasons to cheer, shooting an astonishing 65.1% from the floor and 58.8% from the 3-point arc. Carter has scored at least 20 points in four games and reached double figures in the first seven before an apparent hip injury on Sunday against Golden State held her to six points in 9:27 of action. Hammon and Carter downplayed any long-lasting effects from the injury.
But Carter isn’t just about offense. She also leads the team with 1.2 steals per game.
“We wanted that full-court pressure defensively,” Hammon said. “I’m asking her to play a very exhaustive way. She’s dog tired when I bring her out a lot of times, but just her ability to get downhill, that hard-nosed aggression at the rim is why I wanted to sign her.”
The basketball part has never been in question about Carter, who was drafted fourth overall by the Dream in 2020 out of Texas A&M.
That’s the part the Aces hope will get them another banner to hang at Michelob Ultra Arena.
“I knew she was athletic,” Gray said. “I just didn’t know how athletic she actually was.”
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