Connecticut Sun's Dijonai Carrington Named 2024 Kia WNBA Most Improved Player

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Connecticut Sun

Connecticut Sun's Dijonai Carrington Named 2024 Kia WNBA Most Improved Player

September 25, 2024 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Connecticut Sun News Release


NEW YORK - Connecticut Sun guard-forward DiJonai Carrington has been named the 2024 Kia WNBA Most Improved Player, the WNBA announced today.

Carrington received 28 of 67 votes from a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Los Angeles Sparks forward Dearica Hamby finished in second place with 18 votes, Minnesota Lynx forward Bridget Carleton came in third with 15 votes and Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter was fourth with three votes. Seattle Storm forward Jordan Horston, New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu and Lynx forward Alanna Smith each received one vote.

The 5-11 Carrington, selected by the Sun with the 20th overall pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft presented by State Farm, averaged career highs of 12.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.56 steals this season, up from 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.63 steals in 2023. In addition, she recorded a career-high 25 games with 10 or more points.

Carrington paced all WNBA players in games with at least five steals (three) and ranked ninth in steals per game. Behind her strong defensive play, the Sun led the league in fewest points allowed (73.6 points per game) and defensive rating (94.1). In addition, Connecticut ranked third in steals per game (8.2).

In her fourth WNBA season, Carrington started all 39 games in which she played. She helped Connecticut post a 28-12 record - the most wins in franchise history - and earn the No. 3 seed in the WNBA Playoffs presented by Google. The Sun, which leads the sixth-seeded Indiana Fever 1-0 in the first round, will host Game 2 tonight (7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Carrington is the fifth player to win the Kia WNBA Most Improved Player Award with the Sun, joining Brionna Jones (2021), Jonquel Jones (2017), Kelsey Bone (2015) and Wendy Palmer (co-winner in 2024 with Indiana's Kelly Miller).

In honor of being named the Kia WNBA Most Improved Player, Carrington will receive $5,150 and a trophy designed to commemorate the achievement.

Below are the voting results for the 2024 Kia WNBA Most Improved Player Award and a list of past recipients.

2024 KIA WNBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER VOTING RESULTS

Player Team Votes

DiJonai Carrington Connecticut Sun 28

Dearica Hamby Los Angeles Sparks 18

Bridget Carleton Minnesota Lynx 15

Chennedy Carter Chicago Sky 3

Jordan Horston Seattle Storm 1

Sabrina Ionescu New York Liberty 1

Alanna Smith Minnesota Lynx 1

KIA WNBA MOST IMPROVED PLAYER AWARD WINNERS

2000 - Tari Phillips, New York

2001 - Janeth Arcain, Houston

2002 - Coco Miller, Washington

2003 - Michelle Snow, Houston

2004 - Kelly Miller/Wendy Palmer, IND/CON

2005 - Nicole Powell, Sacramento

2006 - Erin Perperoglou, Sacramento

2007 - Janel McCarville, New York

2008 - Ebony Hoffman, Indiana

2009 - Crystal Langhorne, Washington

2010 - Leilani Mitchell, New York

2011 - Kia Vaughn, New York

2012 - Kristi Toliver, Los Angeles

2013 - Shavonte Zellous, Indiana

2014 - Skylar Diggins-Smith, Tulsa

2015 - Kelsey Bone, Connecticut

2016 - Elizabeth Williams, Atlanta

2017 - Jonquel Jones, Connecticut

2018 - Natasha Howard, Seattle

2019 - Leilani Mitchell, Phoenix

2020 - Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Atlanta

2021 - Brionna Jones, Connecticut

2022 - Jackie Young, Las Vegas

2023 - Satou Sabally, Dallas

2024 - DiJonai Carrington, Connecticut

Check out the Connecticut Sun Statistics

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