Chennedy Carter was released from the Las Vegas Aces earlier this month, news that simultaneously surprised plenty of people but also seemed somewhat inevitable. Carter had already missed several games for reasons that were not exactly clear.
Carter's path through the WNBA has been notoriously rocky. She was released from the Atlanta Dream in 2021, and then benched by the Los Angeles Sparks in 2022. She played for the Chicago Sky in 2024 and finished the season, but was not back on the team in 2025. The Aces' decision to bring her onto the Aces was a low-risk move for the team, and one that could have resulted in a high reward.
The Aces also made it very clear that they were not going to speak much on the situation. Carter's dismissal was announced on social media, and head coach Becky Hammon told reporters she and the team would not be commenting on players who are no longer on the roster. That's a precedent set by the other teams Carter has played for in the WNBA.
Instead, it seems Carter's off-court struggles continue to get in her way. Despite her considerable talent, it doesn't seem she has a truly viable path back to the WNBA—and it sounds like that's something she's realized, too.
Carter's next moves have been announced: she will head back to China, where she previously played last year. In 2025, Carter played for Wuhan Shengfan in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA). This year, she'll play for Sichuan, the league's defending champions. Carter also played for the Heilongjiang Dragons in 2023.
Chennedy Carter's time with the Aces was brief
No one denies that Carter is an extremely talented basketball player, and the defending champions benefited from having her on the roster. But she also didn't give herself the opportunity to play significant minutes, and her 2026 season was ultimately cut too short. In late May, she voiced some frustration with the number of minutes she'd played so far for the team.
Carter averaged 12.2 points per game in the 13 games she played for the Aces this year, not insignificant numbers for a team that is absolutely looking to repeat their 2025 success.
But Sichuan will also have a lot they'll expect of Carter, and she'll be able to help the WCBA's defending champions potentially repeat their own championship season. Carter is generally celebrated by fans of Chinese women's basketball, and is likely to be welcomed back to the league.
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