Former Lottery Pick Named WNBA's Best Offseason Addition Amid Career Revival
Six years ago, Chennedy Carter entered the WNBA with enormous hype after being selected No. 4 overall by the Atlanta Dream in the 2020 WNBA Draft, making her the highest-drafted player in Texas A&M history.
The selection came just months after Carter earned All-SEC and All-American honors while leading the Aggies with 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.7 steals per game on 45.3% shooting from the field.
Carter's electric scoring translated to the WNBA immediately. During her rookie season, she became the youngest player in league history to score 30 points when she dropped 35 against Seattle on August 6, and quickly emerged as a leading candidate for WNBA Rookie of the Year before suffering an ankle injury just a few days later.
Despite appearing in just 16 games, Carter finished her rookie campaign averaging 17.4 points on 47.3% shooting from the field and 37.5% from three while earning All-Rookie honors.
But the momentum didn’t last.
In Year 2, the Dream suspended Carter indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team." Reports later surfaced that Carter had threatened to fight a teammate after being criticized about her attitude during a game.
She never played for Atlanta again and was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Sparks ahead of the 2022 season.
Her stint in Los Angeles also unraveled quickly, appearing in just 24 games while being benched, and eventually being let go by the team.
Carter spent the entire 2023 season out of the WNBA before resurfacing with the Chicago Sky in 2024. But another abrupt exit left many questioning whether the league still had room for one of its most gifted scorers.
Overseas, however, Carter continued to remind people why teams once viewed her as a future superstar, lighting up opponents in China and Turkey while waiting for another opportunity.
Now, just 10 days into the 2026 season, the narrative around her career completely changed.
On Wednesday, ESPN's Kareem Copeland ranked Carter the No. 1 offseason addition in the entire WNBA after her arrival with the defending champion Las Vegas Aces immediately transformed the league's deepest roster into something even scarier.
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After spending last season away from the WNBA, Carter agreed to a one-year, $277,500 training camp deal with the Aces in April.
Now, through five games, Carter is averaging a career-best 19.4 points, along with 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting a blistering 67.2% from the field and 37.5% from 3-point range, all while coming off the bench.
Suddenly, a player many thought the league had given up on is the overwhelming favorite to win Sixth Woman of the Year and a potential All-Star candidate, despite playing just 21.4 minutes a game.
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Las Vegas already had the league's premier core with A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Jackie Young, and Jewell Loyd. Carter gives them something different: one of the WNBA's most explosive scorers.
Several outlets already projected the Aces as title favorites entering the season, but Carter's emergence has made it increasingly difficult to picture any other team lifting the trophy in October.
Las Vegas currently sits atop the standings at 4-1, including an undefeated road record and two near 30-point blowouts.
The Aces already entered the year looking like the league's most complete team. Now they also have Carter, the team's second-leading scorer, averaging nearly a point per minute off the bench.
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This story was originally published May 20, 2026 at 4:19 PM.