Your 2025 Washington Mystics Season Preview!

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WNBA season is upon us! A lot has happened this offseason, so I’ve put together some quick and handy guides for every team to help you start the season off right! Planning to go to a game? My sponsor, Turn The Paige Travel, has got all of your travel needs covered! Let’s talk hoops!

What’s New

A rebuild for the ages! Sydney Johnson takes over as head coach. Elena Delle Donne didn’t play last season, but made her retirement official. Ariel Atkins did play last season, and well, but she was traded to the Sky. They also traded Karlie Samuelson, lost Julie Van Loo in the expansion draft, and saw Shatori Walker-Kimbrough walk in free agency.

To replace all of them, they went young. The pick they received in the Atkins trade was used to select Sonia Citron. They also drafted Kiki Iriafen and Georgia Amoore in the top 7. Amoore went down with a season-ending knee injury already, but you can see that they are looking towards the future in D.C.

What’s Good

Brittney Sykes should be back and healthy this season! Last year, the Mystics were 9-9 with her and an abysmal 6-17 when she was out of the lineup. She’s the most athletic guard the league has seen since Tweety Nolan, and her play on both ends of the court is the catalyst for the good things Washington wants to do.

Their young players should see plenty of time on the court. 2nd-year F Aaliyah Edwards showed flashes last year and built even more momentum during her time in Unrivaled. She’s dealing with a back contusion, but shouldn’t be out too long. She’ll split time with rookie Kiki Iriafen, who many considered the 2nd overall pick for most of last season. She fell to 4th after an awkward season at Southern Cal, but she was the most offensively gifted power forward in college over the last 2 years. And, of course, 3rd overall pick Citron is a knockdown shooter with the ability to shut down opposing perimeter scorers.

Emily Engstler and Stefanie Dolson add an interesting wrinkle to this Mystics’ offense by simply being bigs who refuse to miss from deep. They combined to make 99 of their 212 attempts from 3 last season (a hilarious 47%). Engstler is also a versatile defender who brings an edge to this team.

What Could Go Wrong

Well, I wanted to talk about Shakira Austin, but it’s hard to say much about her since you never know how much she’s going to play. Which is a shame, because when she is on the court, her gifts are apparent. The 6’5” fluid athlete is an imposing presence on defense with a developing but effective low-post game. Unfortunately, she’s played in just 31 total games over the past 2 seasons. She’s participated in practices but missed both preseason games due to a leg issue. Any extended time Austin misses is a huge blow to a team that is in desperate need of talent.

That lack of talent and experience will be their overall issue this season. As promising as their young players are, this is the WNBA. There’s a steep learning curve. Vets like Sykes and Dolson are invaluable for their experience and guidance, but that only goes so far.

What To Expect

This will be a season best measured in progress. Wins will be few and far between. That’s okay because a hard reset was necessary. I’m more interested in how they handle next offseason after they seemed asleep at the wheel during this one.

Thank you for checking this guide out! Don’t forget to read up on all the other teams as well. Also, do you need to know which sporting events to watch each week? Subscribe to get my weekly sports watch guide! I hit you with what you need to watch, why you need to watch it, and some interesting stories from the sports world that you may have missed!