DiJonai Carrington wants the preseason to hurry up already. The Sky guard is ready to get back on the floor — which she hasn’t been able to since last September, when she sprained her foot in the first round of the 2025 playoffs.
She’s also anxious to see what this retooled Sky roster actually looks like in action.
Carrington said that in the team’s first two preseason games, both losses, she’s seen spurts of the vision that she and other marquee free agents signed on for. But she acknowledged that with four players sidelined — Carrington, Azurá Stevens, Elizabeth Williams and Courtney Vandersloot — the full picture remains a mystery.
“I’m just excited for us to be on the court together and just see how we all match,” Carrington said at media day April 30. “Everybody knows on paper it looks really good, so I’m excited to see it in real life.”
Carrington spent the offseason recovering from surgery and had a follow-up procedure to remove hardware from her foot just before training camp. She didn’t want to provide a specific return timeline but said she’s pleased with her recovery.
“I’m back in the boot for a bit, but don’t let that fool you,” Carrington said. “I’m not taking that many steps backward. It’s just temporary.
“I feel great. I really do feel good and strong. If it was up to me, I’d be out there. But it’s a very comforting feeling knowing that I have a couple weeks to go still. I’m excited. I just can’t wait to get back.”
Her return can’t come soon enough. Carrington will be central to the Sky’s defense as they look to play a more disruptive style than they did a year ago.
One part will be owning matchups against bigger, dominant guards such as the Mercury’s Kahleah Copper and the Dream’s Rhyne Howard. Both had their way with the Sky in the preseason.
Another part will be pulling her teammates along with her.
“She’s a dog in the fight,” assistant coach Latricia Trammell told the Sun-Times. “She takes away the excuse of everyone else not getting up and defending the basketball and communicating and following the game plan, because she will get up and do those little things that we’re asking the entire team to do.”
Many Sky players believe the team can surprise people defensively, and several of them — including up-and-coming forward Rickea Jackson — want to take a leap on that end. Being surrounded by defensive-minded players like Carrington, the thinking goes, should help force the issue.
On Sunday Carrington attended her first full Sky practice. Though she still can’t play, she was already demonstrating defensive technique to her younger teammates.
“As I’m getting to know her more, you understand how good of a basketball mind she has,” head coach Tyler Marsh said. “She has a passion for that defensive side.”
Carrington developed into an elite defender on the Sun teams that contended for championships from 2021 through 2024. She was named to the All-Defensive first team in 2024 — the only guard to earn that distinction.
She considered signing with the Sky in 2025 but waited another year to make the leap.
“I think it was the right time, the right fit and the stars aligned this time,” Carrington said.
Notes:
- The Sky waived Latasha Lattimore (2026 second-round pick) and Tonie Morgan (2026 third-round pick). The roster stands at 14 players; 12 will make the final cut.
- Vandersloot and Stevens are rehabbing and have not yet returned to practice. Stevens has said she’ll be back “early in the season.” Vandersloot hasn’t provided a timeline, saying only that she’ll be “playing basketball this season.”
- General manager Jeff Pagliocca did not provide an update on Ajša Sivka, the Sky’s No. 10 pick in the 2025 draft. She was expected to join the team this season but has not been signed. Her Spanish club team concluded its season April 25.