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WNBA Washington Mystics

2022 Washington Mystics Storylines and What to Watch For

April 15, 2022 - Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
Washington Mystics News Release


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Ariel Atkins has continued to show growth in each of her four seasons in the league. During the 2021 season, Atkins posted career-highs, averaging 16.2 points (12th most in the WNBA), 2.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 30 games (all starts). She totaled nine 20+ point games, seventh most amongst guards and second most amongst Mystics players. Last year, Atkins made her first WNBA All-Star appearance and was named to the U.S. Olympic Women's Basketball Team, where she won a gold medal in Tokyo.

During the offseason, Atkins participated in the 2022 USA Women's National Team Training Camp and was a member of the 2022 USA Basketball Women's World Cup Qualifying Team where she was named to FIBA's Group D All-Star Five.

Player Points Rebounds Assists

A'ja Wilson 19.0 8.1 2.3

Kelsey Mitchell 15.2 2.0 2.7

Diamond DeShields 13.2 4.3 2.2

Ariel Atkins 13.0 2.7 2.3

Cloud's Assist

Mystics guard Natasha Cloud looks to average five or more assists for her third consecutive season, after averaging a career-high 6.4 assists per game during the 2021 season. Cloud's 6.4 assists per game in 2021 are the most in a single season in franchise history and ranked second in the WNBA in assists per game last year. Cloud totaled five 10+ assists games last season, the most 10+ assist games in a single season in franchise history.

Cloud (363) is the only player to total over 350 assists in less than 70 games since the 2019 season (Cloud sat out the 2020 season to focus on social justice issues). Cloud's 363 assists are the fourth most by a player in the WNBA in that time span (2019-2021).

Players Who Have Totaled 125+ Assists In 3+ Seasons Since 2018

Player Season

C. Vandersloot 4

N. Cloud 3

C. Gray 3

E. Wheeler 3

This past offseason, she participated in the inaugural Athletes Unlimited Basketball League where she finished with 5,919 points, the second most in the league (finished in second place). Cloud also recorded the first triple-double in Athletes Unlimited history (on Feb. 12). This marked the first triple-double of her professional career.

Looking Bright

The Mystics look forward to the return of core pieces to their roster. After missing the 2021 season, Alysha Clark will make her Mystics debut. The two-time WNBA champion, Clark, will return from rehabbing a foot injury that she suffered during the 2021 offseason. Prior to her injury, Clark posted career-best numbers averaging 10.0 points and 2.7 assists while shooting .558 from the field and .522 from three-point territory during the 2020 season. Elena Delle Donne is also expected to return to the floor following a back injury and surgeries that kept her sidelined over the majority of the past two seasons (appeared in three games in 2021). During the 2021 season, Washington featured 19 starting lineups, the most in league history.

Off Season Moves

This offseason, Washington signed center Elizabeth Williams and guard Rui Machida as well as 2019 WNBA Champion Tianna Hawkins. The team also re-signed Shatori Walker-Kimbrough and Myisha Hines-Allen.

Williams averaged 5.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.3 blocks in 32 games (all starts) with Atlanta last season. She also shot 51.6 percent from the field, her highest clip since the 2018 season, and the third time in her career she has shot at least 50.0 percent. Her 1.3 blocks per game ranked seventh in the league last season and her career average 1.7 blocks per game ranks sixth in WNBA history and third among active players.

Hawkins comes back to Washington after a year with the Atlanta Dream. This offseason, she participated in the inaugural season of Athletes Unlimited Basketball League, where won the competition accumulating 6,831 points. Hawkins totaled a league-high 11 double-doubles throughout the competition and claimed MVP 1 honors six times, MVP 2 honors twice and MVP 3 honors three times.

The Mystics also added to their coaching staff this offseason, hiring Shelley Patterson as an assistant coach. Patterson brings over 30 years of basketball experience to Washington, having last served as an assistant coach for the New York Liberty (2020-2021) and the Minnesota Lynx (2010-2019) where she helped the team win four WNBA Championships (2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017).

All Defense

With the Mystics' addition of Elizabeth Williams, the team now has four current players that have been named to the WNBA's All-Defensive Team (A. Atkins, A. Clark, N. Cloud). Last season, Ariel Atkins was named to the All-Defensive Second Team, marking the fourth consecutive All-Defensive Team nod. She is the only player in WNBA history to make an All-Defensive Team in each of their first four seasons in the league. Last season, Atkins (tied-fourth) and Cloud (ninth) both finished top-10 in steals, with Cloud tallying a career-best 37 steals on the season.

Going International

Washington announced the signing of Olympian Rui Machida from Japan. Machida holds the Olympic record for assists in a single game, having totaled 18 assists in Japan's 87-71 win over France on August 6, 2021. Machida averaged 7.2 points, 12.5 assists and 2.3 rebounds in six games during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. During her 2021-22 season with the Fujitsu RedWave, she averaged 10.4 points, 8.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.

Where Dreams Come True

The Mystics completed a blockbuster deal with the Atlanta Dream on April 6, sending the first overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft to the Dream in exchange for the third and 14th overall picks in this year's draft. Washington will also have the right to swap their first-round pick with the Dream in the 2023 WNBA Draft which Atlanta originally acquired from the Los Angeles Sparks. The Mystics' trade with the Dream signifies only the third time the team has acquired picks in a draft via trade after doing so in back-to-back seasons prior to the 2001 and 2002 drafts.

This marked the first time Washington has selected a first-round pick since 2019 when the team selected Kiara Leslie (10th overall).

With the third overall pick the Mystics selected Shakira Austin, marking the third time in franchise history the team has selected the third pick in the draft. Austin averaged a team-high 15.2 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.2 steals per game while shooting .463 from the field as a senior at Ole Miss in 2021-22. She was named a First-Team All SEC in 2021-2022, the eighth Rebel to earn consecutive First-Team All-SEC honors. She earned numerous accolades as a senior, being named a Gillom Trophy Award Winner; SEC All-Tournament Team; Lisa Leslie Award Top-10 Finalist; AP Honorable Mention; All-America Honorable Mention and WCBA Honorable Mention.

With the 14th pick in the draft, the Mystics selected Christyn Williams out of the University of Connecticut. She averaged 14.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 33 games played her senior season at UConn. The Little Rock, Arkansas, native was named the 2022 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award winner, awarded to the nation's top shooting guard, and the 2022 BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Williams left UConn ranked 15th in school history in career points, totaling 1,850 career points.

A detailed breakdown on Thibault's draft history:

2

Current players on roster drafted in the second round or later (Natasha Cloud, 18th overall in 2015; Myisha Hines-Allen, 19th overall in 2018)

3

Number of WNBA All-Stars drafted (Emma Meesseman, 2013, 19th overall, Stefanie Dolson, 2014, sixth overall, Ariel Atkins, 2018, seventh overall)

3

Top-six selections in the draft (Tayler Hill, 4th overall, 2012; Stefanie Dolson, 6th overall, 2014; Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, 6th overall, 2017)

3

Non-American players drafted (Meesseman, Belgium; Mijovic, Australia; Gajic, Bosnia)

5

Players drafted from the Big East and the ACC, more than any other conference

5

All-WNBA, All-Defensive and All-Rookie team selections drafted

Ariel Atkins (4x All-Defensive, 2018 All-Rookie); Natasha Cloud (1X All-Defensive), Bria Hartley (2014 All Rookie), Myisha Hines-Allen (2018 All-WNBA Second Team), Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (2017 All-Rookie)

25th Anniversary Season Highlights

The 2022 season will mark the team's 25th anniversary. The Mystics are the most successful professional women's sports team in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. The 25th season will highlight and include:

Celebrate their first Hall of Fame class of Vicky Bullett, Chamique Holdsclaw and Murriel Page with a halftime induction ceremony on June 19, the 25th anniversary of the Mystics' first home game

The Mystics' District of Change Artist T-Shirt Series returns for another season. The Mystics are partnering with Mayor Muriel Bowser's 202Creates Program to feature local artist designs with all of the proceeds from sales directly benefiting the artist.

Fanatics will offer a throwback inspired apparel collection featuring designs in the team's historical colorway (blue, bronze and white). Items included are hats, t-shirts, and sweatshirts. Mitchell & Ness is also planning to launch a WNBA alumni program for the 2022 season which will feature a Mystics Chamique Holdsclaw name and number player t-shirt.

Themes that will be celebrated this season will include: We Salute Her: Military Appreciation presented by Leidos (May 22), Wear Orange (June 3), Pride presented by Capital One (June 12), Stics & Kicks Sneakerhead Game (July 30) and Ready for School (August 7).

25 Years

Inspired by the grooves of the basketball, the Mystics' 25th anniversary logo leans into the physical, iconic imagery associated with basketball. The logo is modern yet features call backs to the Mystics early days. The color silver, which is part of the team color palette, also represents and is associated with a 25th anniversary celebration. Joined with navy, also part of the team color scheme, emphasizes the franchise's stability, strength, authority, and our connection to the most powerful city in the world. The logo will appear on the Mystics court and on official player on-court warm-ups.

Other components of the logo include the custom 25 numbering, inspired by the team's historical uniform numbering, and the freeness of the logo simulates the mystical movement of a basketball in play.

The Washington Coalition of Women's Professional Sports (WCWPS)

The Mystics, in association with Leveling the Playing Field, announced that they have joined the Washington Spirit, DC Divas and DC Shadow in forming a coalition aimed at connecting and supporting the DMV region's women's sports teams.

The Washington Coalition of Women's Professional Sports (WCWPS) will serve as a supportive organization for all women's sports programs and professional clubs in the greater Washington, D.C. region. The coalition is driven by a mission to purposefully and significantly impact the Greater Washington community by connecting the region's women's professional sports teams through service-focused collaboration, the coalition is the first joint effort across these select teams. To learn more about the coalition, click here.

Team

Washington looks to make the playoffs for the ninth time under Head Coach Mike Thibault's tutelage. Since Thibault has been at the helm (2013), the Mystics have not reached the postseason only twice (2016, 2021).

Head Coach Mike Thibault (357) looks to reach 375 career wins. Thibault is the winningest coach in WNBA history and has totaled 151 wins with the franchise.

The 2022 WNBA season marks the 25th Anniversary for the Washington Mystics. Chartered in 1997, the Mystics are one of the first WNBA expansion franchises to be established and the longest tenured continuously operating women's professional sports team in Washington, D.C.

Washington will appear on national TV (ABC, CBSSN, ESPN2, ESPN3, NBATV) 18 times this season.

Washington has nine afternoon games this season, with five of the nine games having a 3:00 p.m. tip-time.

Washington looks to total at least 20 wins. Since 2018, Washington, Connecticut, Las Vegas and Seattle are the only teams to have multiple 20-plus win seasons.

The Mystics look to attempt 20+ three-pointers per game for the sixth-consecutive season. Last season, Washington attempted a franchise-high 27.4 three-pointers per game.

Washington will look to build upon their three-pointers made per game (9.0) and three-point field goal percentage (.130) which both rank second in franchise history only behind the 2019 season.

The Mystics will look to dish out 18+ assists per game for the fourth-consecutive season. Washington is one-of-five teams in the league who have compiled three-straight 18+ assist per game seasons.

Washington looks to average 80 or more points per game for the sixth time over the last seven seasons.

Elena Delle Donne

Elena Delle Donne looks to finish top-five in points for the sixth time since the 2015 season. Delle Donne ranked second in points (19.5) during the 2019 season.

Delle Donne looks to shoot at least .500 percent from the field and .400 percent from three-point range (min. 3 PTA per game) for the second time in her career after doing so during the 2019 campaign.

For the fourth time in her career, Delle Donne will look to total at least 500 points and 200 rebounds in a single season.

Delle Donne (1,739) needs 261 points to become the sixth player in franchise history to score 2,000 points.

Natasha Cloud

Natasha Cloud looks to build upon her career-best and franchise record 6.4 assists per game recorded last season.

Cloud looks to total 150 or more assists for the third consecutive season. Cloud's 189 assists in 2019 were the most recorded in a single season in franchise history and her 790 career assists rank as the most in franchise history.

Cloud looks to average 5.0 assists per game for the third-consecutive season. Cloud could become the only player in franchise history to average five-plus assists in three or more seasons (min. 20 GP).

Ariel Atkins

Ariel Atkins looks to continue to improve her scoring average for the third consecutive season, after averaging a career-best 16.2 points per game.

Atkins (1,479) could become the sixth player in franchise history to eclipse 2,000 career points with the franchise.

Atkins (175) looks to record her 200th career steal this season, becoming only the seventh player in franchise history to do so.

Atkins looks to notch 40+ steals for a fourth-straight season. Atkins is the only player in the league to tally 40+ steals in three-consecutive seasons (2019-21).

Myisha Hines-Allen

Myisha Hines-Allen looks to average at least 12.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game for the third consecutive season. Hines-Allen is one-of-eight players in the WNBA to average 12+ points and 7+ rebounds since 2019.

Hines-Allen (759) looking to eclipse 1,000 points for her career.

Hines-Allen (448) looks to haul in her 500th career rebound, becoming the 19th player in franchise history to do so.

Alysha Clark

Alysha Clark (1,891) looks to record her 2000th career point.

Clark (928) needs 72 rebounds to record her 1000th career rebound.

Clark to build upon career-highs in field goal percentage (.558) and three-point percentage (.522) recorded during the 2020 season. Clark has finished with a FG% of .500-or-better four times in her nine-year career.

Tianna Hawkins

Tianna Hawkins will look to climb the Mystics' all-time points scored leader board. Hawkins currently ranks 20th in franchise history with 1,126 points in a Mystics uniform.

Hawkins will look to build on her .470 career field goal percentage with Washington which ranks as the sixth highest in franchise history.

With 13 rebounds, Hawkins (602) can surpass Kia Vaughn (614, 2013-16) for the 11th-most rebounds in Mystics history.

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