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The Connecticut Sun faced the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday night in TD Garden — marking the first time in the history of the WNBA that a game was played in the home of the Boston Celtics and Bruins. In the end, it was the powerhouse Sun that took a 69-60 victory, buoyed by a 19-point performance from Dijonai Carrington.
It definitely seemed like Carrington had a chip on her shoulder following a perceived slight from the league. After all, the Sun guard did not take too kindly to the fact that the WNBA did not promote this momentous game and pull the right strings to have it broadcasted on national television.
“The game should have been on the national television broadcast. You shouldn’t have to pay for any type of subscription to see a game that’s this historic, in my opinion,” Carrington said in her postgame presser, via Noa Dalzell of SB Nation's Celtics Blog. “I think there could have been a lot more publicity from the top [brass]. Connecticut had announced that we were having this game, almost a year ago maybe? It was ample time to do what needed to be done.”
DiJonai Carrington was asked about calling out the WNBA for not sufficiently promoting this game:
“The game should have been on the national television broadcast. You should’t have to pay for any type of subscription to see a game that’s this historic, in my opinion.” https://t.co/iff6dMBKna pic.twitter.com/gA9A4zRTuI
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell) August 21, 2024
Dijonai Carrington had to pull her do-it-yourself kit out to promote the Sun's historic game against the Sparks. On Tuesday morning, Carrington called out to fans and told them that they could catch the game on X instead of having to pay for a league pass subscription.
She also called out the WNBA, tweeting: “Since we gotta do our own promo… We’re playing at the @tdgarden tonight & it’s SOLD OUT 19k+. First W game here ever. Historic. Not on tv, but you can catch it right here on twitter. 🙃 @WNBA.”
After the game, Dijonai Carrington aired out her grievances while thanking the fans for their outpour of support for the Sun as well as the WNBA.
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“I feel like Connecticut as a franchise is historically disrespected. So sometimes, if you want something, you gotta go out there and do it yourself,” Carrington added. “But it didn't matter anyway. They showed up. It was sold out. We got the dub. I guess my tweet worked.”
Sun seal the deal in what should be the first of many WNBA games in TD Garden
For a second, it seemed as though the Sun were going to be upset by the team with the worst record in the league in the Sparks. They faced a four-point deficit entering crunch time, but that's when Dijonai Carrington and Brionna Jones put their feet down and rallied Connecticut to victory.
The energy throughout TD Garden for the entirety of the game was palpable, with the game being appointment viewing for some of the titans of professional sports. In attendance during the game were gold medalists and NBA champions with the Celtics, Jrue Holiday and Jayson Tatum, with Holiday also bringing along his wife Lauren, a former USWNT star.
This sold-out game in TD Garden shows that women's basketball being “boring” and “less marketable” than the men's game is nothing but a myth. There is clear interest in the women's game, but the WNBA owes it to their players to promote the game much more proactively to draw even more eyes to the sport. This event is a crucial step in that regard, but there are clear points of improvement moving forward.
