2022 Washington Mystics season

The 2022 Washington Mystics season is the franchise's 25th season in the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season will tip off versus the Indiana Fever on May 6, 2022.[1]

2022 Washington Mystics season
CoachMike Thibault
ArenaEntertainment and Sports Arena
Attendance3,983 per game
Results
Record22–14 (.611)
Place3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish5th seed; Lost in 1st Round to the Seattle Storm
Team Leaders
PointsElena Delle Donne – 17.2 ppg
ReboundsShakira Austin – 6.5 rpg
AssistsNatasha Cloud – 7.0 apg

The Mystics won the Draft Lottery and received the 1st Overall pick in the 2022 WNBA draft, despite only having the third best odds to win. This is the first time in franchise history that the Mystics had the #1 Overall pick.[2] The team traded the pick to Atlanta and moved down to the third overall pick in the Draft.

The Mystics started the season on a three-game winning streak, before losing their first game. The continued on to win four of their next six games and finished the month of May 7–3. Their fortunes turned a little in June, with the team not being able to put together a streak of wins and they finished the month 6–6. The team improved in July, finishing 6–3 and winning five of six in the middle of the month. The Mystics finished August 3–2, losing two games in the middle but winning the final two games. Their overall record of 22–14 left them tied for fourth place with Seattle.

Seattle won the tiebreaker for the playoffs, by finishing the regular season 2–1 against the Mystics. The two teams would meet in the first round of the 2022 WNBA Playoffs, with Seattle being the fourth seed and Washington being the fifth seed. The first two games of the series were in Seattle and those were the only two games that were needed out of the possible three-game series. The Mystics lost the first game by three points and the second by thirteen to drop the series 0–2 and end their season.

Transactions

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WNBA draft

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Round Pick Player Nationality School/team/country
1 3 Shakira Austin   United States Ole Miss
2 14 Christyn Williams   United States UConn

Trades and Roster Changes

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Date Transaction
January 5, 2022 Extended Qualifying Offers to Myisha Hines-Allen and Megan Gustafson[3]
January 6, 2022 Signed Megan Gustafson to a Qualifying Offer [4]
January 27, 2022 Hired Shelley Patterson as an assistant coach [5]
February 1, 2022 Re-Signed Myisha Hines-Allen to a Multi-Year Deal[6][7]
Signed Elizabeth Williams to a One-Year Deal[8]
Signed Klara Lundquist, Lee-Seul Kang, Tianna Hawkins, and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough to training-camp contracts[9][10][11]
February 14, 2022 Signed Rui Machida to a training-camp contract[12]
February 17, 2022 Signed MeMe Jackson to a training-camp contract[13]
February 18, 2022 Suspended Klara Lundquist's contract for the Full Season - Personal Decision[14]
February 22, 2022 Signed Linnae Harper to a training-camp contract[15]
February 24, 2022 Signed Stephanie Mavunga to a training-camp contract[16]
February 28, 2022 Waived Sydney Wiese
April 6, 2022 Traded the #1 Pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for the #3 and #14 picks in the 2022 WNBA Draft, and the right to exchange 1st Round Picks in 2023 with the Los Angeles Sparks that the Dream received in an earlier trade[17]
April 14, 2022 Signed Shakira Austin to a rookie-scale contract
Signed Jennifer Coleman to a training-camp contract[18]
April 15, 2022 Signed Christyn Williams to rookie-scale contract
April 18, 2022 Waived Jennifer Coleman
April 20, 2022 Signed Katie Benzan to a training-camp contract[19]
April 22, 2022 Waived Christyn Williams
April 25, 2022 Waived MeMe Jackson
April 28, 2022 Waived Erica McCall, Megan Gustafson, and Lee-Seul Kang
May 3, 2022 Waived Stephanie Mavunga and Linnae Harper[20]
May 5, 2022 Temporarily Suspend Elizabeth Williams due to Overseas Commitments
May 6, 2022 Waived Katie Benzan
Claimed Kennedy Burke off of waivers and then temporarily suspended her due to Overseas commitments
Signed Stephanie Jones to a Hardship Contract
May 8, 2022 Signed Katie Benzan to a Hardship Contract
May 13, 2022 Released Stephanie Jones from her Hardship Contract
May 16, 2022 Released Katie Benzan from her Hardship Contract
Activated Kennedy Burke from her Temporary Suspension
May 19, 2022 Activated Elizabeth Williams from her Temporary Suspension
June 24, 2022 Waived Kennedy Burke[21]
June 27, 2022 Signed Evina Westbrook to a 7-day contract[22]
July 4, 2022 Signed Evina Westbrook to a 2nd 7-day contract
July 11, 2022 Signed Evina Westbrook to a 3rd 7-day contract
July 18, 2022 Signed Evina Westbrook[23]
August 10, 2022 Signed Jazmine Jones[24]

Roster

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2022 Washington Mystics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs
G 7   Atkins, Ariel 5' 8" (1.73m) 167 lb (76kg) 1996-07-30 Texas 4
C 0   Austin, Shakira 6' 5" (1.96m) 190 lb (86kg) 2000-07-25 Mississippi R
F 22   Clark, Alysha 5' 11" (1.8m) 167 lb (76kg) 07-07-1987 Middle Tennessee 9
G 9   Cloud, Natasha 5' 9" (1.75m) 160 lb (73kg) 1992-02-22 Saint Joseph's 6
G/F 11   Delle Donne, Elena 6' 5" (1.96m) 187 lb (85kg) 1989-09-05 Delaware 8
F 21   Hawkins, Tianna 6' 3" (1.91m) 186 lb (84kg) 1991-03-02 Maryland 8
F 2   Hines-Allen, Myisha 6' 2" (1.88m) 200 lb (91kg) 1996-05-30 Louisville 4
G 23   Jones, Jazmine 6' 0" (1.83m) 160 lb (73kg) 10-15-1996 Louisville 3
G 13   Machida, Rui 5' 4" (1.63m) 126 lb (57kg) 1993-03-08 Japan R
G 32   Walker-Kimbrough, Shatori 5' 9" (1.75m) 140 lb (64kg) 1995-05-18 Maryland 5
G 4   Westbrook, Evina 6' 0" (1.83m) 158 lb (72kg) 09-28-1998 Connecticut R
C 1   Williams, Elizabeth 6' 3" (1.91m) 200 lb (91kg) 1993-06-23 Duke 7
Head coach
  Mike Thibault (St. Martin's)
Assistant coaches
  Eric Thibault (Missouri)
  LaToya Sanders (North Carolina)
  Shelley Patterson (Washington State)
Athletic trainer
  Chalisa Fonza (Western Illinois)
Strength and conditioning coach
Vacant

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (IN) Inactive
  • (S) Suspended
  •   Injured

Depth

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Pos. Starter Bench
C Shakira Austin Elizabeth Williams
PF Elena Delle Donne Myisha Hines-Allen
Tianna Hawkins
SF Alysha Clark Jazmine Jones
SG Ariel Atkins Shatori Walker-Kimbrough
Evina Westbrook
PG Natasha Cloud Rui Machida

Schedule

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Preseason

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2022 pre-season game log
Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
April: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
1 April 24 @ Atlanta L 69–88 Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (13) Shakira Austin (12) Myisha Hines-Allen (7) Gateway Center Arena
854
0–1
2 April 27 Minnesota W 78–66 Elena Delle Donne (21) Shakira Austin (13) Natasha Cloud (4) Entertainment and Sports Arena
3,220
1–1
3 April 30 @ New York Canceled Barclays Center
1–1
2022 pre-season schedule

Regular Season

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2022 game log
Total: 22–14 (Home: 12–6; Road: 10–8)
June : 6–6 (Home: 4–2; Road: 2–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
11 June 3 New York L 70–74 Natasha Cloud (17) Elena Delle Donne (8) Natasha Cloud (8) Entertainment and Sports Arena
3,857
7–4
12 June 5 @ Chicago L 82–91 Tianna Hawkins (21) Shakira Austin (7) Rui Machida (9) Wintrust Arena
6,228
7–5
13 June 8 Chicago W 84–82 Ariel Atkins (19) Ariel Atkins (7) Atkins
Cloud (5)
Entertainment and Sports Arena
2,984
8–5
14 June 10 @ Minnesota W 76–59 Myisha Hines-Allen (17) Shakira Austin (13) Natasha Cloud (8) Target Center
6,315
9–5
15 June 12 Phoenix L 90–99 (OT) Myisha Hines-Allen (18) Myisha Hines-Allen (10) Natasha Cloud (7) Entertainment and Sports Arena
4,200
9–6
16 June 14 Phoenix W 83–65 Shakira Austin (16) Shakira Austin (10) Natasha Cloud (10) Entertainment and Sports Arena
3,088
10–6
17 June 16 @ New York L 65–77 Natasha Cloud (17) Shakira Austin (6) Natasha Cloud (7) Barclays Center
4,168
10–7
18 June 19 Connecticut W 71–63 Elena Delle Donne (15) Shakira Austin (8) Ariel Atkins (6) Entertainment and Sports Arena
3,959
11–7
19 June 21 @ Los Angeles L 82–84 Ariel Atkins (22) Myisha Hines-Allen (8) Natasha Cloud (13) Crypto.com Arena
3,745
11–8
20 June 23 @ Seattle L 71–85 Elena Delle Donne (20) Shakira Austin (9) Natasha Cloud (8) Climate Pledge Arena
9,884
11–9
21 June 25 @ Las Vegas W 87–86 (OT) Alysha Clark (20) Elena Delle Donne (10) Natasha Cloud (10) Michelob Ultra Arena
7,171
12–9
22 June 28 Atlanta W 92–74 Natasha Cloud (18) Austin
Hines-Allen (7)
Rui Machida (5) Entertainment and Sports Arena
3,517
13–9
July : 6–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 3–2)
August : 3–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Record
32 August 2 Las Vegas W 83–73 Natasha Cloud (16) Elena Delle Donne (11) Natasha Cloud (9) Entertainment and Sports Arena
4,200
20–12
33 August 5 @ Chicago L 83–93 Myisha Hines-Allen (21) Hines-Allen
E. Williams (6)
Rui Machida (5) Wintrust Arena
8,042
20–13
34 August 7 Los Angeles L 76–79 Atkins
Hines-Allen (20)
Shakira Austin (10) Natasha Cloud (9) Entertainment and Sports Arena
4,200
20–14
35 August 12 @ Indiana W 82–70 Elena Delle Donne (24) Shakira Austin (11) Natasha Cloud (6) Hinkle Fieldhouse
1,700
21–14
36 August 14 Indiana W 95–83 Elena Delle Donne (22) Shakira Austin (6) Rui Machida (6) Entertainment and Sports Arena
4,200
22–14
2022 season schedule

Playoffs

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2022 playoff game log
First Round vs. Seattle Storm
Lost Series: 0–2
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance
Series
1 August 18 @ Seattle L 83–86 Elena Delle Donne (26) Shakira Austin (7) Elena Delle Donne (5) Climate Pledge Arena
8,917
0–1
2 August 21 @ Seattle L 84–97 Natasha Cloud (21) Shakira Austin (8) Ariel Atkins (7) Climate Pledge Arena
12,490
0–2
2022 playoff schedule

Standings

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# W L PCT GB Conf. Home Road Cup
1 xLas Vegas Aces 26 10 .722 15–3 13–5 13–5 9–1
2 xChicago Sky 26 10 .722 15–3 14–4 12–6 9–1
3 xConnecticut Sun 25 11 .694 1.0 11–7 13–5 12–6 5–5
4 xSeattle Storm 22 14 .611 4.0 10–8 13–5 9–9 6–4
5 xWashington Mystics 22 14 .611 4.0 11–7 12–6 10–8 5–5
6 xDallas Wings 18 18 .500 8.0 8–10 8–10 10–8 5–5
7 xNew York Liberty 16 20 .444 10.0 10–8 9–9 7–11 6–4
8 xPhoenix Mercury 15 21 .417 11.0 7–11 11–7 4–14 3–7
9 eMinnesota Lynx 14 22 .389 12.0 8–10 7–11 7–11 4–6
10 eAtlanta Dream 14 22 .389 12.0 5–13 8–10 6–12 3–7
11 eLos Angeles Sparks 13 23 .361 13.0 6–12 7–11 6–12 3–7
12 eIndiana Fever 5 31 .139 21.0 2–16 3–15 2–16 2–8

Notes

(#) – League Standing
x – Clinched playoff berth
e – Eliminated from playoff contention
Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

Playoffs

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Round One:
Best-of-3
Semifinals:
Best-of-5
Finals:
Best-of-5
         
1 Las Vegas Aces 2
8 Phoenix Mercury 0
1 Las Vegas Aces 3
4 Seattle Storm 1
4 Seattle Storm 2
5 Washington Mystics 0
1 Las Vegas Aces 3
3 Connecticut Sun 1
2 Chicago Sky 2
7 New York Liberty 1
2 Chicago Sky 2
3 Connecticut Sun 3
3 Connecticut Sun 2
6 Dallas Wings 1

Bold Series winner

Statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage  TO  Turnovers per game
 PF  Fouls per game Team leader League leader

Regular Season

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Elena Delle Donne 25 25 27.8 .480 .368 .913 6.3 2.3 0.5 1.1 17.2
Ariel Atkins 36 36 30.0 .420 .365 .845 3.3 2.3 1.4 0.3 14.6
Natasha Cloud 34 34 31.3 .399 .319 .824 3.6 7.0 1.0 0.3 10.7
Myisha Hines-Allen 34 15 19.3 .415 .367 .703 5.3 1.9 0.8 0.3 8.9
Shakira Austin 36 32 21.6 .547 .000 .624 6.5 0.9 0.7 0.8 8.7
Alysha Clark 29 29 26.4 .464 .303 .913 4.5 2.0 0.9 0.3 8.0
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 35 3 20.1 .402 .347 .902 1.8 1.5 1.1 0.3 6.9
Katie Benzan 3 0 9.0 .556 .714 .750 0.7 0.3 0.0 0.3 6.0
Elizabeth Williams 30 0 14.9 .482 .000 .581 3.8 0.5 0.6 0.7 5.4
Kennedy Burke 16 4 13.9 .446 .344 .588 2.2 0.4 1.0 0.3 5.4
Tianna Hawkins 25 0 12.8 .386 .264 .952 2.4 0.8 0.4 0.1 4.9
Evina Westbrook 6 0 5.3 .667 .500 .833 0.0 0.5 0.3 0.2 3.3
Stephanie Jones 3 0 6.3 .429 .500 .000 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.0 2.3
Rui Machida 36 2 12.9 .310 .206 .667 1.1 2.6 0.4 0.1 1.8
Jazmine Jones 1 0 3.0 .000 .000 .000 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0


Waived/Released during the season
Traded during the season
Acquired during the season

Playoffs

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Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Elena Delle Donne 2 2 33.0 .516 .111 1.000 2.5 5.0 0.5 1.0 19.0
Natasha Cloud 2 2 35.5 .500 .700 1.000 6.0 3.0 0.5 1.5 18.5
Ariel Atkins 2 2 33.0 .379 .500 1.000 1.5 5.5 0.5 0.0 15.5
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 2 0 20.5 .556 .500 1.000 0.0 0.5 1.5 0.0 7.5
Shakira Austin 2 2 27.0 .462 .000 .500 7.5 1.0 1.0 0.5 7.0
Alysha Clark 2 2 25.5 .571 .500 .667 3.5 3.0 1.5 0.5 6.0
Myisha Hines-Allen 2 0 14.5 .182 .000 1.000 3.5 2.0 1.0 0.0 5.0
Rui Machida 2 0 5.5 .667 .000 .250 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.5
Elizabeth Williams 2 0 5.5 1.000 .000 .250 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 2.5

Awards and honors

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Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
Ariel Atkins WNBA All-Star Selection June 28 [25]
All-Defensive First Team August 30 [26]
Elena Delle Donne Eastern Conference Player of the Week July 18 [27]
Natasha Cloud Peak Performer:Assists August 15 [28]
All-Defensive First Team August 30 [26]
Shakira Austin WNBA All-Rookie Team August 25 [29]

References

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  1. ^ "2022 Washington Mystics Schedule". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  2. ^ "WASHINGTON MYSTICS TO PICK FIRST IN 2022 WNBA DRAFT". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  3. ^ "Rachel Galligan Tweet". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  4. ^ "Washington Mystics Tweet". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  5. ^ "Washington Mystics Name Shelley Patterson Assistant Coach". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
  6. ^ "MYSTICS RE-SIGN MYISHA HINES-ALLEN". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  7. ^ "Richard Cohen Tweet". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  8. ^ "MYSTICS SIGN ELIZABETH WILLIAMS". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  9. ^ "Rachel Galligan Tweet 2". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  10. ^ "MYSTICS SIGN TIANNA HAWKINS". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  11. ^ "MYSTICS RE-SIGN SHATORI WALKER-KIMBROUGH". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 1, 2022.
  12. ^ "MYSTICS SIGN OLYMPIAN RUI MACHIDA". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
  13. ^ "Washington Mystics Tweet". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  14. ^ "Player Movement". acrossthetimeline.com. Across the Timeline. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
  15. ^ "JUST ANNOUNCED We've signed Linnae Harper to a training-camp contract". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  16. ^ "𝙅𝙐𝙎𝙏 𝘼𝙉𝙉𝙊𝙐𝙉𝘾𝙀𝘿 We've signed Stephanie Mavunga to a training-camp contract". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  17. ^ "Dream Lands 2022 Number One Overall Draft Pick". dream.wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved April 6, 2022.
  18. ^ "Can't wait to have you!". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  19. ^ "Just Announced!". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  20. ^ Copeland, Kareem. "Mystics have waived Stephanie Mavunga and Linnae Harper". twitter.com. Twitter. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  21. ^ Washington Mystics [@WashMystics] (June 24, 2022). "𝙍𝙊𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙐𝙋𝘿𝘼𝙏𝙀:The Mystics have waived forward Kennedy Burke" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ^ Washington Mystics [@WashMystics] (June 27, 2022). "𝙍𝙊𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙐𝙋𝘿𝘼𝙏𝙀: We've signed guard @evinawestbrook. Welcome to DC! #Mystics25 // #TogetherDC" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  23. ^ Washington Mystics [@WashMystics] (July 18, 2022). "𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘁 We've signed @evinawestbrook to a rest of the season contract! #Mystics25 // #TogetherDC" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Washington Mystics [@WashMystics] (August 10, 2022). "𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: We've signed guard @Jazmine_Jones4! Welcome to DC!! #Mystics25 // #TogetherDC // #TogetherDC" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  25. ^ "Chicago Sky Trio of Kahleah Copper, Emma Meesseman, Courtney Vandersloot Highlight Reserves for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022". wnba.com. WNBA. Retrieved July 1, 2022.
  26. ^ a b @WNBA (August 30, 2022). "Your 2022 #WNBA All-Defensive First Team ⬇️ @_ajawilson22 @T_Cloud4 @SylviaFowles @breannastewart @arielatkinssvn #MoreThan" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ @WNBA (July 18, 2022). "These two have been BALLING 👏 @SkyDigg4 & @De11eDonne are your #WNBA Players of the Week 🌟" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  28. ^ @WNBA (August 15, 2022). "THE BEST OF THE BEST 👏 Congratulations to @breannastewart, @SylviaFowles, and @T_Cloud4 for being named the 2022 WNBA Peak Performers 🙌 #MoreThan" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. ^ Maloney, Jack (August 25, 2022). "2022 WNBA Rookie of the Year: Dream's Rhyne Howard wins honor, highlights All-Rookie team". cbssports.com. CBS. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
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