The Las Vegas Aces opened up their preseason play with a match against the Japanese National Team on Sunday. The defending WNBA champions, including Brianna Turner and Stephanie Talbot, were prepared to experiment with new roles and new players. However, one new recruit stood out amongst the rest in this match: Chennedy Carter.
With a defensive rebound from a missed 3-pointer, Carter took off down the court. Moving around in the paint, she shot the ball as Azusa Asahina fouled her. The ball went in, and Carter secured her first points — including an and-1 — as a Las Vegas Ace. The crowd erupted with applause, and cheers, which had already been loud since she stepped on the court, echoed throughout Michelob ULTRA Arena.
Not only were her first power a jumper and an and-1, but she also ended the game in double digits with 18 points, leading the Aces that night. She also managed five rebounds, two assists and a block.
While her numerical stats were one demonstration of her skill, her physicality on the court is really what helped the Aces secure their first preseason victory. With three minutes left in the game, Carter attempted a steal, and the ball went back and forth between her and Mai Yamamoto. Both players ended up on the ground in attempts to steal the ball, but the shot clock hit double zeros, ending Japan’s scoring chance. Her immense pressure continued through the last stretch of the game, helping secure the 94-78 victory.
“It’s a luxury,” Chelsea Gray told reporters after the game. “She belongs in the W, so I’m glad that she’s here.”
Carter’s career started off with the Atlanta Dream in 2020, in which she made the 2020 All-Rookie team. After two seasons, she went to the Los Angeles Sparks, in which she was not re-signed. She did not play in 2023, and returned with the Chicago Sky in 2024.
After signing a training camp contract with the Sky, she found her footing and averaged 17.5 points per game with her roster spot. But at the end of the season, the Sky did not offer her a contract in free agency. She spent the 2025 season playing in Mexico and China, in which she earned Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the year, Import Player of the Year and Guard of the Year for the Women’s Chinese Basketball Association
After her impressive performances abroad, the Aces welcomed Carter back into the WNBA by signing her to a training camp contract. Head coach Becky Hammon shared how Carter is fitting herself into their system, especially during camps and practices.
“She just comes in with an openness to learn, trying to learn our system,” Hammon told The IX Basketball. “She brings out great energy, great bounce, and we’re just trying to get her fitted into our systems and acquainted with our system as well as possible.”
A’ja Wilson also praised Carter for her quick adaptation during training camp, and mentioned that their goal is to make her feel comfortable and permitted to be herself.
“She’s absorbing the information very quickly,” Wilson told The IX Basketball. “[It] means we can get through things quickly, we can throw knowledge at her, and see how she recovers and how she reacts to things.”
“So we’re just making her comfortable in that,” Wilson continued. “But at the same time, making sure that she doesn’t lose herself in the process, that’s what goes for anybody that’s new. We want them to never lose themselves.”
Carter talked to The IX Basketball before the Aces’ match against Japan, highlighting her experience at training camp and what it will take for her to make the roster.
“It’s been really cool,” Carter told The IX Basketball. “I’ve been able to learn from the vets. I’m looking to have a good year and get ready for the future for me, for sure … We’re still kind of just focusing on me, just doing whatever I can to make the team better. I feel like I’m at the bottom of the tier, but we know I’m one of the best players in the world, so it’s a matter of me just staying focused, staying locked in, and just taking it one day at a time. It’s honestly hard being in this position, but it is what it is.”
Despite claiming she’s at the bottom of the tier, her skills put her at the top of the score sheet against Japan. Michelob ULTRA Arena erupted in noise the second she was subbed into the game, and the cheers continued after her quick offensive rebounds in her first minutes.
Carter joins a team full of experience, with leaders like Wilson, Gray and Jackie Young. A team full of Olympians and champions, including Jewell Loyd, Cheyenne Parker-Tyus and Dana Evans could be intimidating; instead, for Carter, it’s starting to feel like home.
“It’s been amazing playing with Cheyenne,” Carter told The IX Basketball. “She was a vet from Atlanta, so having her, Breezy [Turner] from Chicago, and them welcoming me, making me feel comfortable … I know I could call them for anything. We’re really close. I look at them, as like, my big sisters, so, [Jewell] Loyd, we’ve been locked in from the previous years. We have a really good relationship. So just knowing those things coming in, obviously, really close relationship with [Dana] Evans as well. A lot of people I can name, but just knowing that, it just makes me feel comfortable and I’m ready for us to get on the run and make some noise and have an exciting and electrifying season.”
With this exhibition match under their belt, the Aces are 1-0 in the preseason. They are set to take on Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings on May 3, at 4 p.m. PST. According to Carter, that will be her true return to the league, as they are playing a team within the league.
“The real return is when the preseason starts in Dallas,” Carter told reporters after the game. “But this was a great opportunity for me to get familiar with my teammates, the coaching staff, just have fun and just really be back out there after 500 plus days.”
While Carter is new to this Aces squad, she isn’t new to the league. This wasn’t an ordinary welcome from the Aces; rather, it was a welcome back.
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