WNBA Team Issues Roster Decision After Trading for Paige Bueckers’ Teammate

WNBA Team Issues Roster Decision After Trading for Paige Bueckers’ Teammate originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Entering Tuesday night’s tilt at the Climate Pledge Arena, the Minnesota Lynx lead the WNBA with a 24-5 record and boast the league’s top offense (87.2 points per game), defense (75.4 points allowed per game) and point differential (+11.8).

With star forward Napheesa Collier sidelined for at least two weeks with a right ankle sprain, the Lynx gained fresh reinforcement in DiJonai Carrington, whom the team acquired from the Dallas Wings on Sunday in exchange for Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson and Minnesota's second-round draft pick.

Mere hours before tip-off, ESPN's Kendra Andrews announced that Carrington will be available to make her Minnesota debut Tuesday against the Seattle Storm (16–12).

Status alert: DiJonai Carrington available to make Lynx debut Tuesday, per @kendra__andrews.

— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) August 5, 2025

DiJonai Carrington's College Career and Early WNBA Success

Carrington starred at Horizon Christian Academy in San Diego, California, where she piled up over 2,000 career points, then played four seasons at Stanford (two Pac-12 tournament titles) before a graduate transfer year at Baylor, where she averaged 14.1 points and 4.9 rebounds en route to Big 12 Sixth Player of the Year honors.

Drafted 20th overall by the Connecticut Sun in 2021, Carrington earned All-Defensive First Team honors and Most Improved Player in 2024 after upping her average from 8.3 to 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds (from 2.9) and 1.6 steals (from 0.6) per game.

Traded in February, she appeared in 20 games for Dallas (13 starts), posting 10.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals in 24.9 minutes, with shooting splits of .354/.260/.825, playing a complementary role alongside No. 1 overall pick Paige Bueckers.

Minnesota Lynx’s 2025 Season: How DiJonai Carrington Can Help

Cheryl Reeve’s squad began the season 9-0 and has dropped just five of 29 games, securing a commanding 6.5-game lead over the Phoenix Mercury in the Western Conference.

Unfortunately, Collier, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year and the Lynx's leading scorer, averaging 23.5 points on 53.7% shooting, exited a blowout win over the Las Vegas Aces on August 3 with a high right ankle sprain.

She’ll be re-evaluated in two weeks but is expected to miss games during that span.

With Collier out, Reeve lost her primary interior defender. Even though Carrington is technically a guard, she can defend multiple positions and help maintain Minnesota’s stingy defense.

Carrington’s 10–12 points per night should help replace some of the offensive production lost with Collier sidelined. She can provide a lift when starters rest or potentially even slide into the rotation alongside Kayla McBride and Courtney Williams.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 5, 2025, where it first appeared.