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Is the Washington Mystics Commitment to the Bit Paying Off?

Emmy Spersrud

The ‘young and turnt’ Washington Mystics squad is showing potential and refuses to back down.

Before last season, the Mystics took a risk, rolling the dice with a primarily inexperienced squad. If last year they rolled one die, this year they rolled two. 

The most experienced player in Washington this season is 26-year-old Michaela Onyenwere, a six-year veteran. The average age of the Mystics’ roster is a whopping 23.6 years old. The average WNBA experience among the roster is an even more shocking 0.86 seasons.

With six picks in the 2026 WNBA Draft, fans thought there was no shot Washington would keep a lot of those picks rather than trade them, or waive the younger players to add more experienced pieces during free agency. Well, consider us naive to how deeply committed the Mystics are to the bit—all six picks made the final roster.

The Mystics faced four tough opponents in Toronto, New York, Indiana and Dallas to open up the season. The first three were hard-fought, down-to-the-wire battles — but the Mystics looked dicey in their blowout loss to the Wings. Sitting at 2-2, the Mystics should still be in good shape if they can shake off their most recent loss. But if veteran experience and time on the court aren’t going to be the reason this team meshes, what is? Let’s start with the individual pieces.

Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron are the WNBA’s best new duo

Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron, both 2025 All-Stars, have started year two exactly where they left off their rookie seasons. It’s hard not to consider them when talking about the best duos in the league right now—if you were watching them for the first time, you’d think they’ve been running things for years.

So far this season, we’ve seen an increase in maturity and composure from both players. When asked about Citron, Iriafen told Jarrett Spence of Sports Illustrated, “Soni just does a great job of staying composed. Like, they were trapping her, they were throwing everything at her, and she’s the same. She’s tired, she’s the same…”

Citron is making great decisions on and off the ball. She has shown she knows who she’s looking for and when, but also knows when to drive to the rim herself. Citron made or assisted on 10 of the Mystics’ 15 overtime points in a win against the Fever on May 15. She has spoken about how a big focus she had this offseason was getting stronger and better prepared for the physicality she faces in the W. We’ve seen Citron in the paint more already this season, handling herself and using more force.

Iriafen is battling a hands-in-the-face type of contested look every time she’s under the basket, just to get right back on defense and pull down valuable boards. She recorded three straight double-doubles to start the season, making her the youngest player to ever do so. 

The dynamic duo is shooting around 60 percent from the floor to start the season. Against Indiana on May 15, Citron and Iriafen each put up new career-highs in points, with 30 and 25, respectively. As the season progresses, it will be entertaining to see them develop into even more dominant versions of themselves.

Shakira Austin is reminding everyone who she is

Shakira Austin joins Iriafen and Citron as the third member of the Mystics’ Big 3. This might be the healthiest version of Austin we’ve seen through her W career, which has been a bit riddled with injury. It’s safe to say, she’s putting the world on notice. 

Fans were unsure how the frontcourt of her and Iriafen would work. There were times last year when things looked a bit clunky in the paint. The chemistry is proving itself to be there so far this season. With both parties contributing and scoring, it’s easy for one of the two to find themselves in open positions. 

This season, their spacing as a duo has improved. When it comes to Austin herself, she’s been incredibly consistent, averaging over 17 points per game while shooting above 50 percent from the floor. She’s been active on both ends, having recorded three blocks against Indiana.

Fearless rookies making immediate impacts

If these rookies thought they were coming into the league to take a backseat, they were sadly mistaken. They’ve embraced this reality. Georgia Amoore, who is technically a rookie after missing last season with a torn ACL, has come in with confidence. 

As you can imagine, sitting on the sidelines and watching this Mystics system from afar last season had to have helped with that. So far, she’s reading the floor well and finding her teammates in wide-open spaces. She’s proven not to be afraid of taking contact, either. Her defense has been aggressive and disruptive. 

When asked if she’s had any jitters stepping on the court for the first time, especially after injury, Amoore told NBC, “No… some people were trying to make it up like ‘it’s your first game back, like what are you thinking?’” “This is business, we’re back to work. This is all I’ve been doing for 20-something years… It’s just what you do when you get confident, back in your movements, what is there to be nervous about?” 

As games go on, Amoore is acting more and more as Washington’s primary general and visionary. The more confidence she goes into each game with, the more her teammates will benefit.

When it comes to players who were sitting in college lectures mere weeks ago, some grace is obviously due. The rookie mistakes are there; there is no denying that. At the same time, you can’t say they’re all playing scared. Head Coach Sydney Johnson is seemingly putting more and more trust in them as time goes on. We’ll see the high turnover rate decrease and the shooting reliability increase as the season goes on

Lauren Betts is a great example. The fourth overall pick is in a bit of an adjustment period, which is expected and works out in her favor, as there are no extra pressures put on her with such an elite frontcourt of Iriafen and Austin at the helm. She’s learning how to use her dominant size in an entirely new system that can be more physical. 

Rori Harmon has also played valuable minutes in these early games. Her defense and reading of the floor have been the focal points of her role with the Mystics this year. She’s averaging 2.3 assists and 1.7 steals in just over 16 minutes per game. 

Cotie McMahon brings a new energy and dominance to this roster. She made her debut against the Indiana Fever after sitting out the first two games with an injury. On her first shot attempt, she drained a triple, setting her off to have a strong night. In 30 minutes, she recorded 13 points, five rebounds and two assists. 

Keeping it Together

To kick off their 2026 campaign, the Mystics won two close battles in unlikely settings. First, they upset the Toronto Tempo and their eager crowd who were looking for their first-ever franchise win. Washington sent them home with a 68-65 loss. Next, after a close loss to Breanna Stewart and the New York Liberty, the Mystics were back on the road, with a visit to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. There might be no place more difficult to win at than Indiana when Caitlin Clark gets hot from three. Nonetheless, Washington silenced the crowd, sending the Fever off with a 104-102 loss in overtime.

You might be thinking, “Taking it down to the wire every game can’t be a good thing.” That might not be the case for the Washington Mystics. New York and Indiana are two well-oiled teams with players who have familiarity with one another. They’re both playoff-caliber squads with pieces who have spent years together, like with Breanna Stewart and Jonquel Jones in New York and Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston in Indiana. Keeping it close, battling and ultimately winning against one of these teams is an impressive feat. 

Despite some mistakes, the Mystics had been rallying late, when it’d be far easier to throw in the towel after Clark’s seventh made three-ball, or another one of Stewie’s tough drives to the basket. This again plays into Washington’s composure.

The Mystics’ most recent battle was against the Wings in Dallas. It looked quite different from the first three as they went home with a 92-69 loss. The Wings were coming into the matchup fresh off two losses, looking to bounce back. They quickly shut down the Mystics’ Big 3, with Austin, Iriafen and Citron scoring only 12, nine and seven points respectively. 

The three of them still deserve major props. They’re quickly becoming one of the most dominant trios in the league, opening up the season with All-Star-type performances. This team is breathing through them, and perhaps that was the plan all along. 

Citron and Iriafen are running the offense like seasoned veterans, and the front office invested in Austin, in the form of a three-year, $3.5 million contract, to be exact.

It’s situations like the one Dallas put the team in on May 18 that will require the rookies to step it up and minimize their mistakes. We’ve seen glimpses of what they can do; they haven’t wavered too much in high-pressure moments. When the three primary stars have their backs against the wall, more responsibility falls on them. We didn’t see them pick it up against the Wings. But does that mean the commitment to developing these young players isn’t paying off? No way.

One game doesn’t dismiss all the potential we’ve seen — they just need to lean into what’s made them mesh thus far. The Mystics have brought in a whole class of the NCAA’s best talent. When players look to the person next to them, they know that their teammate has recently been through something similar. Whether it be fighting for a roster spot, coming to an entirely new environment, or battling late in games with some of the league’s best, these relationships, trust and likeness are showing up on the court.  It also provides a deeper desire to help clean up those aforementioned ‘rookie mistakes.’ 

Although a lot of these players are playing together for the first time, they’ve all played against each other in recent years. They’re familiar with each other’s playing styles, which made them all the top dogs at their respective colleges. They know what makes their teammates hard to play against. McMahon and Betts know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of each other’s dominance in the paint. Citron and Amoore know what gets on the other’s nerves while guarding the perimeter. They can continue to utilize that knowledge to ensure their opponents have a rough night.

They know they’re being called the “youngest team in the league” and “underdogs” during every broadcast. They’ve embraced it and it will only make them hotter. The young energy exuding from this team might be exactly what makes them mesh so well. Sydney Johnson told the Washington Times, “We don’t have a lot of time. We’re going to need games for that. That is a big difference between us and some of the older teams; that’s life… We’re going to take that head-on. I’m not going to lie or say anything different. We’ll work through it as a group.” 

When asked about the young culture brewing in Washington, second-year guard Lucy Olsen cited joy as a core value in the locker room. She said, “It’s just the energy we have. It’s like we don’t have to force having fun.”

Washington is committed to learning, experiencing and evolving together as the season progresses. Every huddle isn’t run by one loud voice, but instead a collection of voices. It’s still early in the season and these rookies are bound to improve. The more this ‘togetherness’ leads to efficiency and production on the court, the more fearful other teams should be of the Washington Mystics.

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