The Indiana Fever did not know their playoff opponent until the final day of the regular season, but a Connecticut Sun win locked in the matchup. Caitlin Clark will continue her historic rookie season with two road games to open the playoffs. She has struggled against the Sun, and DiJonai Carrington is a massive reason why.
The 5’11 guard had the best season of her career and will garner All-Defensive votes this season. Carrington keeps improving, and the second round pick in 2021 has had words for Clark. She will try to lock her down in the postseason, but fans know the Fever guard shines when the lights are brightest.
This will be one of the most exciting and interesting first-round series in the 2024 WNBA playoffs. Clark will be must-watch, and fans know Carrington will make plays on the other side. Here is a look at their beef from earlier this season.
DiJonai Carrington praises Caitlin Clark during NCAA Tournament
Clark led the University of Iowa to back-to-back NCAA Finals. She dropped 30 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in the championship game, but it was not enough to defeat South Carolina in 2024. On the day of the national title contest, Carrington tweeted this about Clark.
Caitlin might lead the league is assists this year.
— dιjonaι carrιngтon♛ (@DijonaiVictoria) April 7, 2024
This Tweet caught some fire as Carrington’s teammate Alyssa Thomas broke the WNBA record for assists in a season in 2023. She quickly chimed in on social media with Sheryl Swoopes responding with the famous three emojis.
It wasn’t until Clark got to the WNBA that things got a bit heated between the two.
DiJonai Carrington taunts Caitlin Clark after foul
Two of Clark’s first four WNBA games came against the Sun and neither went well. She had ten turnovers and went five of 15 from the field in the season opener before dealing with foul trouble and an ankle injury in another loss. The Fever were 0-5 to start the season and sat at just 3-9 by the time they had their third meeting against the Sun on June 10.
Carrington was called for a foul on Clark in the second quarter before letting the referee know she thought the Fever guard flopped. Fans can see the play below.
This brought boos from the crowd and subjected Carrington to online hate. Clark tried to stay out of the debate (subscription required), which prompted Carrington to share this tweet.
Dawg. How one can not be bothered by their name being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia & the intersectionalities of them all is nuts. We all see the sh*t. We all have a platform. We all have a voice & they all hold weight. Silence is a luxury.
— dιjonaι carrιngтon♛ (@DijonaiVictoria) June 13, 2024
DiJonai Carrington makes it clear she has no problem with Caitlin Clark
The online trolls kept coming after Carrington, but she set the record straight on social media in July.
1. Close!!! BUT no :/ my gf is on the fever😆 so I was trying to catch the rest of her game.
— dιjonaι carrιngтon♛ (@DijonaiVictoria) July 10, 2024
2. This has nothing to do w/ Caitlin. This has to do w/ how nasty yall fAnS are to call me ridiculous things for somethin that is literally jus mfers hoopin
3. I was still in my uniform🤭 https://t.co/IQ1LWCbhMk
The Sun wing has sent several messages about Clark and is always watching the Fever because her girlfriend plays for Indiana.
Caitlin Clark gets a bit of revenge over Carrington and the Sun
The Fever won the fourth and final regular season meeting between the two sides with Clark putting up 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists. She attacked Carrington and took advantage of the Sun’s wing trying to quiet the Indiana crowd in the third quarter.
Clark made a key basket in the final minutes to put the Fever up before two Lexie Hull free throws iced the game.
Indiana has been significantly better since the Olympic break, and are ready to take on the challenge against one of the W’s best teams in the first round of the playoffs.
There will be plenty of talk about the Caitlin Clark versus DiJonai Carrington matchup, but there is no real beef. Carrington will bring the intensity to Clark and is not afraid to let everyone know if she thinks the rookie is embellishing to get calls. It is just two basketball players going at it. Both will bring be ready to shine, and fans should be excited.
Can the Indiana Fever pull the upset and make a deep playoff run? Stay tuned to find out.