The best player not currently playing in the WNBA might be Chennedy Carter. The real question is simple. Why is she not on a roster?
Because the WNBA is not the National Football League. Your personality and interactions with teammates or coaches can really destroy your career regardless of how immense your talent may be.
She was my favorite player in the league when I first became a fan. I instantly recognized her talent and her style of play. She was electric just like the highlights suggest. But she was suspended in Atlanta for conduct issues. Later she was benched and waived from Los Angeles for similar things. And her pushing of Caitlin Clark and the words exchanged during that moment was not a great look.
But what makes Carter’s situation fascinating is that the numbers show her talent has never been the problem.
In 2024, Carter averaged 17.5 points per game, committed just 1.7 turnovers per game, and shot 48.7 percent from the field, finishing 12th in scoring in the WNBA. Guards with that level of efficiency almost never fall out of the league because of basketball reasons. In fact, several guards who made All Star teams in 2024 shot a lower percentage from the field than Carter while scoring fewer points per possession. That type of production usually guarantees a roster spot.
The same thing has happened to other players before. In the NFL, players with immense talent will almost always get another chance.
Even in the National Basketball Association, players like Draymond Green, Dennis Rodman, and others have had public conflicts with teammates and still remained valuable because their talent outweighed the trouble.
The formula in the NFL often looks like this.
Talent greater than trouble equals a job.
Talent less than trouble equals no job.
The type of baggage you bring matters, but not always as much as people think. If you get caught punching someone in the face you could still be fine as long as the production remains elite. Domestic abuse caught on camera tends to break the formula entirely, but the “caught on camera” part often matters just as much as the act itself.
There are too many examples to list, but the story of Terrell Owens might explain the comparison best.
Owens had conflicts everywhere he went.
TO vs Garcia. No problem. The Philadelphia Eagles took the risk.
TO vs Donovan McNabb. No problem. The Dallas Cowboys took the risk.
TO vs Bill Parcells. No problem. He ended up in Buffalo.
Owens could always find work because his talent always trumped the trouble he caused.
Outside of his rookie year, he never had a season with under 750 receiving yards and four touchdowns. He posted nine seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards and eight seasons with double digit touchdowns. Even in his final season he still scored nine touchdowns.
His talent always outweighed the trouble.
Compare that to Tim Tebow. Tebow did not have behavior issues, but he brought cameras, media attention, and pressure everywhere he went. For some organizations that attention felt like baggage. And because he was not an elite quarterback, the equation flipped.
Talent less than trouble.
His career ended much earlier than expected before he later attempted to return to the league as a tight end.
Teams like the Chicago Sky, the expansion Toronto Tempo, the returning Portland Fire, or even the Dallas Wings could use Carter’s scoring ability. But bringing her back into the league will likely require two things.
A personality shift from Carter.
And a general manager and coach willing to take the risk.
If those two things never happen, we may only see clips of Carter dominating teams overseas and in Mexico instead of seeing her play in the WNBA.
To me she is by far the best player not currently playing in the league.
If the WNBA operated like the NFL, Carter might end her career in the W the same way Terrell Owens did with a gold jacket waiting.
But it might not happen.
Still, she is only 27 years old, and in America anything can happen.
