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DiJonai Carrington shared a tribute to her late grandfather, Jewell David Russell, ahead of the Dallas Wings game against the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday at PHX Arena.
Carrington shared a collage of several pictures with Russell and a photo of her at her grandfather's grave in Phoenix.
"First time/game in PHX w/o my grandpa," Carrington wrote in the caption. "Literally came to every game."
DiJonai Carrington shared the news of her grandfather's passing on X on Nov. 15
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"To all my praying folks, please please please say a prayer for my grandfather and keep my mom’s heavy heart lifted up as well," she tweeted.
In an Instagram post in November, Carrington posted a tribute to Russell. She thanked her grandfather for supporting her basketball journey even before being drafted into the WNBA.
Carrington spent the first four years of her WNBA career with the Connecticut Sun, the team that drafted her as the 20th pick in 2021. She was traded to Dallas this offseason.
In 10 games this season, the reigning WNBA Most Improved Player is averaging 12.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals.
DiJonai Carrington shares positive insight amid Dallas Wings' early-season struggles
Coming into Wednesday's game against the Phoenix Mercury (6-4), the Dallas Wings are at the bottom of the league with a 1-9 record and are on a five-game losing skid.
During an appearance on Minnesota Lynx' Courtney Williams and Natisha Hiedeman's Twitch stream, Carrington shared an insight about the Wings' locker room.
"I think the locker room is one of the most important things when you're building a team," Carrington said. "Even though we’re losing right now, there are no problems in the locker room. So, you're still like, 'all right, we're trying to figure it out'."
In their most recent game, the Wings had an 81-65 home loss to the Lynx (9-0), which is one of the two remaining undefeated teams this season.
While known for her defensive capabilities, having been selected to last season's WNBA All-Defensive first team, Carrington's offense will be relied upon by Dallas this season. She is currently the third-leading scorer behind four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale and 2025 No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers.
