Monday’s matchup between the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons celebrated Women’s Empowerment Night with an all-female broadcast team, a first for Boston’s historic franchise.
The evening’s broadcast in Boston featured a cast of several high-profile women in basketball, with DiJonai Carrington of the Connecticut Sun joining ESPN’s Kayla Burton, as well as Zora Stephenson and Abby Chin from NBC Sports.
The Celtics will continue their relationship with the Sun later this year, hosting Connecticut’s Aug. 20 game against the Los Angeles Sparks, the first WNBA game at TD Garden.
Carrington, now into her third year with the Sun, is coming off a career-high scoring season and making moves off the court with this venture into broadcasting.
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With her broadcast debut this week, she joins the likes of other active WNBA luminaries such as Candace Parker, who last year became the first woman to work as an in-game commentator for an NBA All-Star Game.
“I’m excited,” Carrington said to her fellow analysts on air in the lead-up to the game.
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“I feel like once I got on the court and saw everybody here, it just felt more natural,” she said. “This is my element, on the court. And so prior to the game, definitely a lot of nerves, definitely just wanting to get here, but once I’m here, I’ve been a lot better. I think the basketballs bouncing and all that put me at ease.”
A force to be reckoned with on the court, Carrington also became a fan favorite of LGBTQ followers of the WNBA as she chronicled her relationship with teammate Nalyssa Smith on social media.
Between this week’s steps into her broadcasting career and her talent for catering her videos to audiences on social media, there’s no doubt that her star is on the rise.
Hopefully more women like Carrington make their way into the NBA’s network of broadcasters, and not just as a novelty for Women’s History Month.
