Women's Fastbreak On SI

DiJonai Carrington and Marina Mabrey's Enemies to Friends Arc Reaches Its Final Form

The relationship between DiJonai Carrington and marina Mabrey this season has drastically changed.

Grant Young

May 25, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Marina Mabrey (4) drives to the basket against Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) during the second half of a WNBA game at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
May 25, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Sky guard Marina Mabrey (4) drives to the basket against Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) during the second half of a WNBA game at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images / Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

If they can secure a victory at home against the Minnesota Lynx on Friday, the Connecticut Sun would be one win away from advancing to the 2024 WNBA Finals.

It comes as no surprise that Connecticut is one of the WNBA's best teams this season. Despite not getting the same amount of attention as other teams, the Sun have been perennial championship contenders for nearly a decade, and boast one of the deepest, most talented rosters in the entire league.

And their roster received a major upgrade this summer when they traded for former Chicago Sky standout Marina Mabrey in exchange for Rachel Banham and Moriah Jefferson.

This trade came as a major shock to some; especially those who knew about the bitter rivalry between Mabrey and Sun guard DiJonai Carrington.

The two have engaged in multiple expletive-laced exchanges while playing each other over the years. The most recent one came this season when Mabrey told Carrington to, "Shut the f*** up," while Carrington was complaining about a foul call.

When Mabrey became Carrington's teammate, the two were surely expected to put their supposed beef aside and learn to tolerate each other.

However, they've done much more than that.

Mabrey and Carrington have appeared to become friends since the trade, which is shown by the many celebrations and jokes they've shared in recent weeks.

This enemies-to-friends arc appears to have reached its peak on Friday after Mabrey made a bold claim about her and Carrington's relationship.

"Well, me and Nai are best friends," Mabrey told SB Nation's Noa Dalzell on Friday.

This prompted a response from Carrington, who replied to the X post with, "here she goessss 😂😂😂".

It's cool to see how this once-toxic relationship has bloomed into something positive. And Sun fans are hoping it will result in a WNBA title.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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