Chicago Sky player Chennedy Carter has been known to mix it up. She’s had a few confrontations this season with various WNBA players and hasn’t been shy to express herself.
Earlier this season, Marina Mabrey was a huge part of whatever success the Chicago Sky had, as the franchise hopes to hang onto the eighth and final WNBA playoff slot.
Mabrey requested a trade right before the Olympics break and was traded to championship-contending Connecticut and got to suit up for a contender against her former team on Friday night and dropped 24 points to lead her new team to an 82-80 win, that didn’t lack some physical play by Carter.
Why Did Marina Mabrey Request A Trade?
Mabry is a sharp-shooter who can light it up from the outside and, knowing this, her former coach Teresa Weatherspoon put Carter (the Sky’s best perimeter defender) on Mabrey during the game.
With 2:18 left in the first quarter, Mabrey posted up Carter deep in the paint, did a little dip move that forced Carter off her feet prematurely.
Mabrey’s shot attempt was foiled as Carter used her strength to swipe down at Mabrey, hitting her in the face. After a quick review, the referee called a flagrant 1 foul on Carter.
Of course, Kennedy’s reputation seems to proceed her, and basketball fans on social media went crazy after Carter’s forceful hit against Mabrey:
“Don’t blame her for wanting a trade. That team is toxic and it starts with coach.”
@ButlerStuff asserted:
“Chennedy needs to go!”
One fan stated on the same thread:
“Not shocked. That’s her. A loose cannon with questionable ethics.”
Another fan thought Teresa Weatherspoon was to blame for creating a toxic culture.
“At this point, it’s on the coach. Clearly, this is the culture she’s created.”
Maybe Mabrey didn’t want to become the next Jordan Poole in practice. She wasn’t sticking around to find out.
Weatherspoon released a statement following that controversial incident:
“She and I have discussed what happened and that it was not appropriate, nor is it what we do or who we are. Chennedy understands that there are better ways to handle situations on the court, and she will learn from this as we all will.”
Carter didn’t have much to say on the incident.
Mabrey didn’t feel that much of a need to strike back because she won the game and was the most exceptional player on the court.
That’s all she needed to rub the trade in the faces of the Chicago Sky franchise. She had her best game of the season, dropping 24 points in 24 minutes, going 9-for-13 from the field, including 5-for-7 from deep.
Mabrey had this to say in response to questions about Carter’s hard foul.
“There’s levels to this s**t, so I’m not gonna fight that.”
Mabrey Requested A Trade In June: Wasn’t Fitting In The New Culture
Mabrey asked the Sky to trade her in June, reportedly because of a difference in vision and role, making her the latest star wanting to get out of Chicago.
She followed the footsteps of 2021 WNBA Finals MVP Kahleah Copper and former MVPs Sylvia Fowles and Elena Delle Donne, all All-stars who once played in the Windy City.
This drama sets up a highly anticipated last regular season game for the Chicago Sky against the Connecticut Sun.
Mabrey and Carter will be going face-to-face again and the WNBA fans can’t wait.
Chennedy Carter Has Draymond Green Basketball Instincts
Chennedy’s history of overzealous play is well documented. She’s one of those personalities, like Draymond Green and even Dennis Rodman before him, that thrives on energy, anger and intense engagement with opposing players.
It’s part of her game, and until she arrived in Chicago and was touched by the hands of legendary guard Teresa Weatherspoon, Carter struggled to find a compatible home.
Similarly to Green and Rodman, Kennedy plays her best games against superstar players. Her savage competitive instinct is also at 100 in these moments.
Carter and Caitlin Clark Have History
In her controversial matchup with Caitlin Clark back in June, Carter was the game’s high scorer with 19 points in the Sky’s 71-70 loss to the Fever. She also locked down Clark pretty well in that game, clearly frustrating the guard with physical play and mind games.
Clark didn’t shoot particularly well (4-for-11 and 2 of 9 from three), but she scrapped and added eight rebounds and six assists.
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We don’t know what Clark said to Carter, but at some point the tension came to a boil and the cameras showed Carter calling Clark a “b-tch,” before taking a blindside cheap shot to knock Clark down.
After further review, it’s clear that Clark and Carter were both jawing at each other, but Chennedy’s physical actions — against the WNBA’s cash cow, no less — put her in a no-win situation and she became a villain in the Angel Reese vs. Caitlin Clark narrative.
The attacks on social media came fast and often, but Carter is not built to back down to anyone under any circumstances.
Carter Uses Social Media To Verbally Attack Clark
During her postgame interview, Carter, who’s had her share of disciplinary issues, told reporters:
“I ain’t answering no Caitlin Clark questions.”
While Carter didn’t proceed to do so on the podium, she didn’t let that stop her from firing off about Clark via social media. After liking a post that took her side on X, Carter posted on Threads. Here she was definitely more vocal, and even silly in her assessment of Clark’s game.
“That’s that on that cause beside three-point shooting what does she bring to the table man?” Carter asked.
Whatever was said is what Carter reacted to, so her retaliation wasn’t out of the blue and it can’t be labeled as simply “hate.”
“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.”
Fever general manager Lin Dunn, the franchise’s former head coach who led them to their only WNBA championship back in 2012, took to X to share her feelings.
“There’s a difference between tough defense and unnecessary —targeting actions! It needs to stop! The league needs to clean the crap! That’s NOT who this league is!!”
Strong words from Dunn, and embattled Fever head coach Christie Sides piggybacked her boss’s comments but kept it light by saying, “I’m trying not to get fined,” when she first began to talk about her star player being under siege.
Draymond Green Says Fever Need An Enforcer
With Clark being the target of every team the Fever face, Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green, who’s always ready to mix it up to defend his teammates and especially franchise player Stephen Curry, took to social media to say:
“Fever better go invest in an enforcer… FAST!
That comment drew the ire of Carter, who responded with this via X:
“We grew asf & y’all talking about enforcer. Man, gtfoh. Hoop or shut up.”
Chennedy Carter Didn’t Like Ranking On ESPN Top 25 WNBA Players
Carter made the social media mosh pit bubble when she responded negatively to her position on ESPN’s Top 25 WNBA Players Ranking recently.
It’s a strong list. There are some great players and to be top 25 out of 144 players in the most competitive women’s pro league on earth is not bad. But Carter, like most elite players, has an enormous ego.
In an Instagram story, Carter, who was ranked 24th, expressed clear disagreement with her placement on the list.
“How do I average less minutes and my stats top in the league? But I am at the BOTTOM this isn’t adding up, the hate is so obvious,” she wrote. “F/G (field goal) percentage as well.”
What really ticked Carter off was the fact that Indiana Fever rookie phenom Caitlin Clark, whom Carter held to a career-low three-points in one of their matchups in early June and is much less efficient statistically, ranked 15th.
Carter Isn’t As Popular As Clark But Just As Resilient
Carter isn’t the household name that many of the players ranked above her have become, but she is clearly one of the most resilient WNBA players.
No one knew what to expect when Carter made her return to the WNBA following a one-year hiatus from the league. As a young up-and-coming star nicknamed “Hollywood,” Carter split with Atlanta after alleged playing time tiffs and locker room disputes. Within five weeks of playing with the Los Angeles Sparks, Carter was benched after becoming the youngest player in WNBA history with a 30-point game.
She was also playing for Bursa, a Turkish women’s professional basketball team, in early 2023 and averaged 23.9 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds. Killing.
Next thing you know, she was out of the league as the Sparks waived her that March.
Chennedy Carter Has Blossomed Into WNBA’s Draymond Green Under Teresa Weatherspoon:
That was a time of reflection that didn’t last too long. Carter signed a training camp contract and accepted a bench role with the 2024 Chicago Sky, but that backup role was temporary as Weatherspoon discovered Carter is all the dog you could ask for.
Carter isn’t going to back down to Clark, and she isn’t going to change her style of play to suit other people’s sensitivities.
Draymond Green never did it and neither did Rodman. Their gifts were in a lot of ways also their curses, and you deal with the results in the end. What you don’t have to worry about is Carter slacking or having to be inspired to play hard.
