2018 Washington Mystics season | |
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Coach | Mike Thibault |
Arena | Capital One Arena |
Attendance | 6,136 per game |
Results | |
Record | 22–12 (.647) |
Place | 2nd (Eastern) |
Playoff finish | 3rd seed; lost in WNBA Finals to Seattle Storm 0–3. |
Team Leaders | |
Points | Elena Delle Donne – 20.7 ppg |
Rebounds | Elena Delle Donne – 7.2 rpg |
Assists | Natasha Cloud – 4.6 apg |
Media | |
Television | NBC Sports Washington and Monumental Sports Network |
The 2018 WNBA season is the 21st for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association which began on May 20, 2018. The Mystics qualified for the WNBA Playoffs and reached the WNBA Finals for the first time in franchise history. [1]
The Mystics started the season strong with a 5–1 record in May. Their only loss came to eventual league champions Seattle. However, the team couldn't carry this momentum into June, where they went 5–5. The Mystics lost 4 of their first 5 games in June, but turned it around in the second half of the month, winning 4 of their last 5. The up and down season continued into July, where they again went 5–5. The Mystics finished the season just like they started it, strongly. With a 7–1 August record, the team secured a first round playoff bye, and the third overall seed. The Mystics won seven straight games before dropping their season finale against Minnesota. Their final record of 22–12 tied a franchise best, previously set in 2010.
The Mystics hosted a second round playoff game against the Los Angeles Sparks and won 96–64. This win saw them advance to the semifinals where they met the Atlanta Dream. In the best of five series, the Mystics won the final two games to advance to the 2018 WNBA Finals against the Storm. An injury to star Elena Delle Donne in the semifinals hampered her in the finals, and the Mystics were swept 0–3.
Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 7 | Ariel Atkins | ![]() | Texas |
2 | 19 | Myisha Hines-Allen | ![]() | Louisville |
3 | 31 | Rebecca Greenwell | ![]() | Duke |
Date | Details | |
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February 1, 2018 | C Emma Meesseman to miss 2018 season due to rest. [2] | |
February 1, 2018 | Signed F/G Monique Currie. [3] | |
February 2, 2018 | Re-Signed F Tianna Hawkins, F Allison Hightower, and F LaToya Sanders [4] | |
February 5, 2018 | Re-Signed F Asia Taylor [5] | |
February 5, 2018 | Signed F Devereaux Peters [5] | |
July 23, 2018 | Traded G Tayler Hill and 2019 WNBA draft second round pick and the rights to swap first round picks to Dallas Wings in exchange for F Aerial Powers. [6] |
2018 Washington Mystics roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2018 pre-season game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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May: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
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2018 pre-season schedule |
2018 playoff game log Total: 4–5 (Home: 2–2; Road: 2–3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Second Round: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0)
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Semifinals: 3–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 2–1)
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WNBA Finals: 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–2)
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2018 playoff schedule |
# | Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Atlanta Dream (2) | 23 | 11 | .676 | – | 13–4 | 10–7 | 12–4 |
2 | Washington Mystics (3) | 22 | 12 | .647 | 1 | 12–5 | 10–7 | 12–4 |
3 | Connecticut Sun (4) | 21 | 13 | .618 | 2 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 9–7 |
4 | e – Chicago Sky | 13 | 21 | .382 | 10 | 7–10 | 6–11 | 6–10 |
5 | e – New York Liberty | 7 | 27 | .206 | 16 | 4–13 | 3–14 | 6–10 |
6 | e – Indiana Fever | 6 | 28 | .176 | 17 | 2–15 | 4–13 | 3–13 |
First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21) | Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12) | |||||||||||||||||||||
1 | Seattle Storm | 91 | 91 | 66 | 84 | 94 | ||||||||||||||||||
4 | Connecticut Sun | 86 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 87 | 87 | 86 | 86 | 84 | |||||||||||||||
5 | Phoenix Mercury | 101 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 96 | 1 | Seattle Storm | 89 | 75 | 98 | ||||||||||||||
8 | Dallas Wings | 83 | 3 | Washington Mystics | 76 | 73 | 82 | |||||||||||||||||
2 | Atlanta Dream | 84 | 78 | 81 | 76 | 81 | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Washington Mystics | 96 | 3 | Washington Mystics | 87 | 75 | 76 | 97 | 86 | |||||||||||||||
6 | Los Angeles Sparks | 75 | 6 | Los Angeles Sparks | 64 | |||||||||||||||||||
7 | Minnesota Lynx | 68 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.
Legend | |||||||
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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 |
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Elena Delle Donne | 29 | 29 | 32.2 | .488 | .405 | .887 | 7.2 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 1.4 | 20.7 |
Kristi Toliver | 33 | 33 | 32.9 | .433 | .360 | .918 | 2.3 | 4.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 13.9 |
Ariel Atkins | 29 | 24 | 22.5 | .432 | .357 | .824 | 2.4 | 2.1 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 11.3 |
LaToya Sanders | 28 | 25 | 24.5 | .607 | .000 | .869 | 6.4 | 1.6 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 10.2 |
Natasha Cloud | 27 | 22 | 26.5 | .436 | .386 | .778 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 8.6 |
Monique Currie | 32 | 9 | 15.9 | .395 | .293 | .831 | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 6.6 |
Tianna Hawkins | 32 | 4 | 16.6 | .443 | .357 | .824 | 3.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 6.3 |
Aerial Powers | 9 | 0 | 12.7 | .450 | .438 | 1.00 | 3.2 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 6.1 |
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt | 33 | 10 | 18.1 | .341 | .314 | .855 | 2.0 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 5.5 |
Myisha Hines-Allen | 24 | 1 | 10.5 | .450 | .333 | .654 | 2.9 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 3.8 |
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough | 19 | 1 | 8.8 | .429 | .304 | 1.00 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 3.5 |
Krystal Thomas | 24 | 7 | 9.9 | .429 | .000 | .636 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1.8 |
Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Elena Delle Donne | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | June 18, 2018 | [8] |
July 2, 2018 | [9] | ||
WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month - June | July 3, 2018 | [10] | |
WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | July 9, 2018 | [11] | |
Elena Delle Donne | WNBA All-Star Captain | July 17, 2018 | [12] |
Kristi Toliver | WNBA All-Star Selection | ||
Elena Delle Donne | WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week | August 13, 2018 | [13] |
WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month - August | August 20, 2018 | [14] | |
Ariel Atkins | All-Defensive Second Team | August 30, 2018 | [15] |
All-Rookie Team | September 9, 2018 | [16] | |
Elena Delle Donne | All-WNBA First Team | September 12, 2018 | [17] |
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 of the 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 Women's National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player (MVP) is an annual Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) award given since the league's inaugural season in 1997. MVP voting takes place immediately following the regular season. The award recipient is decided by a panel of sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States. Panel members were asked to select their top five choices for the award, with 10 points being awarded for a first place vote, seven for second, five for third, three for fourth and one for fifth.
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.
The 2013 WNBA season was the 17th season of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began on May 24 and conclued on September 15, and playoffs started on September 19 and concluded on October 10. The Minnesota Lynx won their second league championship, defeating the Atlanta Dream three games to none in the 2013 WNBA Finals. The year represented a positive turning point for the long-struggling league. Both attendance and television viewership were up, driven by an influx of talented rookies, multiple teams reported that they were near a break-even point, and at least one franchise announced that it was profitable.
The 2017 WNBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game played on July 22, 2017. The Seattle Storm hosted a WNBA All-Star Game for the first time.
The 2018 WNBA season of the Minnesota Lynx was their 20th season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Lynx finished the 2017 season with a record of 27–7, finishing first in the Western Conference and qualifying for the playoffs, before ultimately beating Los Angeles in the WNBA Finals to win their league-tying best fourth championship.
The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Minnesota Lynx are the defending champions. The regular season began on May 18, with the Phoenix Mercury hosting the Dallas Wings. The season ended with the Seattle Storm defeating the Washington Mystics 3-0 in the WNBA Finals. This was the third championship for the Storm. Seattle's Breanna Stewart was named regular season and finals MVP.
The 2018 WNBA season was the 11th season for the Atlanta Dream of the Women's National Basketball Association. The team began its season on May 20, 2018, against the Dallas Wings.
The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Las Vegas Aces franchise of the WNBA. This was the franchise's inaugural season in Las Vegas, after moving from San Antonio during the off season. The season tips off on May 20.
The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Phoenix Mercury franchise of the WNBA. The season tipped off on May 14.
The 2018 WNBA season was the 19th season for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season began May 20 and ended on August 19.
The 2018 WNBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2018 season. The Seattle Storm won the team's third WNBA title, sweeping the Washington Mystics 3–0 in the best-of-five WNBA Finals.
Ariel Atkins is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Super League and EuroLeague Women for the off season. In addition to her playing career, she served as a player development coach at the University of Michigan during the 2023–2024 off-season.
The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The Seattle Storm were the defending champions. The regular season began on May 24, with the Atlanta Dream hosting the Dallas Wings and the New York Liberty hosting the Indiana Fever. The season ended with the Washington Mystics securing their first WNBA Title over the Connecticut Sun three games to two, in a closely contested finals. Emma Meesseman was named Finals MVP and teammate Elena Delle Donne was named regular season MVP.
The 2019 WNBA season was the 22nd for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Mystics winning their first WNBA Championship.
The 2019 WNBA Playoffs were the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2019 season. The Washington Mystics won the team's first WNBA title in their 22-year franchise history.
The 2019 WNBA Finals, officially the 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 2020 Washington Mystics season was the franchise's 23rd season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The regular season tipped off versus the Indiana Fever on July 25, 2020.
The 2023 Las Vegas Aces season was the franchise's 27th season in the Women's National Basketball Association and the sixth year the franchise is based in Las Vegas - after relocating from San Antonio and Utah. This was also the second season under head coach Becky Hammon. They were the defending WNBA champions, after defeating the Connecticut Sun in the 2022 WNBA Finals.