The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded prior to the 1998 season, and is owned by Ted Leonsis through Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the Mystics' NBA counterpart, the Washington Wizards. The team plays in the Entertainment and Sports Arena in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington DC. Sheila C. Johnson, co-founder of BET and ex-wife of Charlotte Sting owner Robert L. Johnson, is the managing partner.
The Portland Fire were a professional basketball team in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) based in Portland, Oregon that joined the league in 2000 as the counterpart to the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. They played their games at the Rose Garden. The team folded after the 2002 season, its third in the league. They were the only WNBA team that ceased operations without having made the playoffs.
Alana Monique Beard is an American former professional basketball player. After playing college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils, she was drafted second overall by the Washington Mystics in the 2004 WNBA draft. She signed on with the Los Angeles Sparks as a free agent in 2012. Beard was the 2017 and 2018 WNBA Defensive Player of the Year. Beard announced her retirement from the WNBA on January 23, 2020.
Elena Delle Donne is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Delle Donne played college basketball for the Delaware Blue Hens from 2009 to 2013. She was drafted by the Chicago Sky with the second overall pick of the 2013 WNBA draft, and led the Sky to the 2014 WNBA Finals, where they were defeated by the Phoenix Mercury. Delle Donne was traded to the Washington Mystics in 2017 and led them to their first WNBA championship in 2019.
Michael Francis Thibault is an American former basketball head coach and current basketball general manager. He coached the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA, and the Washington Mystics. In 2013, Thibault became the all-time WNBA leader with his 212th head-coaching victory.
Kendra Renee Wecker is a former American professional basketball player in the WNBA. She formerly played forward for the San Antonio Silver Stars and Washington Mystics. In the off season, she played in the Spanish league with UB F.C Barcelona.
Nikki Kesangane McCray-Penson was an American basketball player and coach. She was the head coach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs women's basketball team from 2020 to 2021 and a professional basketball player from 1996 to 2006. She played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for eight seasons. In 2008 after leaving the WNBA, McCray joined the coaching staff as an assistant coach for the South Carolina Gamecocks. McCray-Penson was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
The Maryland Terrapins women's basketball are an American basketball team. The team represents the University of Maryland in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I competition. Maryland, a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), left the ACC in 2014 to join the Big Ten Conference. The program won the 2006 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament championship and has appeared in the NCAA Final Four five times ; Maryland also appeared once in the AIAW Final Four (1978). As members of the ACC, the Terrapins won regular season conference championships and an ACC-record ten conference tournament championships. The program won the Big Ten Conference regular season and tournament championships in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2020, and 2021.
Crystal Allison Langhorne is an American former basketball player of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played for the University of Maryland Terrapins. In 2008 she was drafted by the Washington Mystics.
Tonya Massaline, née Tonya Washington, is an American former professional basketball player who was a forward in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for four seasons.
The 1999 WNBA season was the second for the Washington Mystics. In the 1999 WNBA draft, Chamique Holdsclaw was selected by the Washington Mystics 1st overall. In her first season, she was named the Rookie of the Year and was a starter in the inaugural WNBA All-Star Game. She averaged 16.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game in her first season.
Shelley Patterson is an American basketball coach, currently an assistant coach with the Washington Mystics of the WNBA.
Alessandra Santos de Oliveira is a Brazilian former basketball player who spent 17 years in the national team, winning the 1994 FIBA World Championship for Women and two Olympic medals, silver in Atlanta 1996, and bronze in Sydney 2000, along with a fourth place in the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 1998 and 2006 World Championships. She has also competed in 10 different countries, including three WNBA teams - Washington Mystics (1998–99), Indiana Fever (2000) and Seattle Storm (2001).
The 2014 WNBA season was the 18th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season started in May and concluded in September to accommodate the 2014 Women's World Championship.
Ariel Atkins is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In addition to her playing career, she serves as a player development coach at the University of Michigan during the off-season.
The 2018 WNBA Finals was the best-of-five championship series for the 2018 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). It featured the top-seeded Seattle Storm and the three-seeded Washington Mystics. The series began on September 7, 2018, and ended on September 12, 2018. After winning the first two games at home, the Storm went on the road and completed the 3–0 series sweep. It was the franchise's first title in eight years and third overall.
The 2019 WNBA Finals, officially WNBA Finals 2019 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-five championship series for the 2019 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Finals featured the top seeded Washington Mystics facing off against the second seed Connecticut Sun. The Washington Mystics defeated the Connecticut Sun through five turbulent games, with the Mystics winning the odd-numbered games and the Sun emerging victorious through the even-numbered games, exploiting a temporary absence of Elena Delle Donne and drawing upon unrelenting resolve to keep the series going, to make their bid for a championship that ultimately failed after the Mystics resurged in Game 5's final quarter. This was the first-ever Finals win for the Washington Mystics, as well as the Connecticut Sun's third Finals appearance.
The 2021 Washington Mystics season was the franchise's 24th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The regular season tipped off versus the Chicago Sky on May 15, 2021.
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.
Eric Thibault is an American basketball head coach for the Washington Mystics of the WNBA. Thibault was previously an assistant coach for the Mystics since the 2013 season.
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