Becky Hammon Shares Encouraging Update on Chennedy Carter’s Return to Aces Lineup
Chennedy Carter’s WNBA return came with a strong message: no matter the many issues that have impacted her career so far, she is one of the best scorers in the game. She scored 20 points in four of her first six games with the Las Vegas Aces.
Seeing the defending champions with a bench scorer like Carter was a scary vision, but her stint in Las Vegas quickly took a turn. Carter missed a handful of games in early June with a leg injury, then played limited minutes against the Portland Fire and Minnesota Lynx, and has been out with an illness ever since.
Her absence due to illness, combined with some worrisome social media activity—Carter changed her Instagram bio and made comments about being on a “leash” with the Aces—made many wonder if there was something more going on. That’s still very much a possibility, but Hammon hinted at the chance of Carter returning to the lineup soon after a 92-73 win over the Golden State Valkyries.
“I have to check in with her,” Hammon said when asked about Carter’s availability, per a stream of the postgame media availability on the Aces’ YouTube channel. “I think she might be ready to go. We’ll see how she’s feeling.”
While it’s not a very definitive update and still leaves room for Carter to be ruled out again, it’s more encouraging than if Hammon had just said that she didn’t know if Carter would play or that it’s unlikely that she will return soon. After not being with the team for a bit, Carter was on the Aces’ bench against the Valkyries, which is also an encouraging sign.
The Aces’ guard rotation is thin at the moment
Carter isn’t the only Aces guard currently sidelined. Dana Evans, who was a spark plug off the bench during last season’s title run, hasn’t been able to play at all yet this season, but could be back soon as well.
“Dana is starting to ramp up her program, so I would say before the end of the month, she’s looking to get back out on the court,” Hammon said after the Valkyries game.
With both Carter and Evans out, the Aces rely heavily on Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, and Jewell Loyd to produce at the guard spots and play a ton of minutes. Gray and Young have played at least 32 minutes in all but one game this month, and Loyd has played between 23 and 31 minutes every game in June.
Moreover, the Aces rank dead last in bench points per game in June, sorely missing Carter’s 14.4 points and ability to score pretty much at will. The team is still winning and has only lost one game all month, but getting Carter back and adding Evans into the mix would go a long way and make the Aces even more dangerous. Most importantly, it would ease the pressure on the stars to produce most of the Aces’ offense.
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Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.