DiJonai Carrington Demands Fever ‘Free’ NaLyssa Smith After Low Playoff Usage

DiJonai Carrington and NaLyssa Smith pose for a photo during the WNBA playoffs.

Getty Image


The Connecticut Sun eliminated the Indiana Fever from postseason play on Wednesday with an 87-81 win. They’ll now move onto the next round of action where they’ll face the second-seeded Minnesota Lynx.

The Sun completed a two-game sweep of the Fever to keep their season alive. After the fact, guard DiJonai Carrington had a message for her defeated foe.

Carrington is begging Indiana to “free” forward Nalyssa Smith!

Carrington and Smith are in a romantic relationship, which presented an awkward dynamic during that WNBA playoff competition. The partners were playing against one another on the court!

Smith had been a notable contributor in the Fever lineup throughout the year, ranking 12th in the league in rebounding during the regular season.

That said, she saw her minutes diminish as the year neared its end. That trend continued into the postseason.

NaLyssa Smith played just four minutes in Wednesday’s loss, recording three boards and no points. She only played nine minutes in Game 1 despite her presence in the starting lineup.

Smith was held scoreless throughout the playoffs, but Dijonai Carrington obviously believes she wasn’t given the opportunity to contribute.

It’s not the first time she’s been vocal about the lack of playing time.

Earlier this month, she responded to an impressive first half performance from her partner where Smith tallied eight points and three boards.

Unfortunately, she’d spend most of her second half on the bench before creating some off-court drama with an online reply.

“Fun while it lasted, babe,” Smith wrote on X before later deleting the comment.

DiJonai Carrington has seen enough of NaLyssa Smith sitting on the sidelines. She’s ready to see a change. We’ll see she gets her wish this offseason.