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.
Suzanne Brigit Bird is an American former professional basketball player who played her entire career with the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Bird was drafted first overall pick by the Storm in the 2002 WNBA draft and is considered one of the greatest players in WNBA history. As of 2024, Bird is the only WNBA player to win titles in three different decades. She held a front office position for the NBA's Denver Nuggets as their Basketball Operations Associate. She has also played for three teams in the Russian league and holds dual citizenship with both U.S. and Israel.
Tamika Devonne Catchings is an American retired professional basketball player who played her entire 15-year career for the Indiana Fever of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Widely considered as one of the greatest female basketball players and one of the most decorated players in WNBA history, Catchings has won a WNBA championship (2012), WNBA Most Valuable Player Award (2011), WNBA Finals MVP Award (2012), five WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Awards, four Olympic gold medals, the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2002), and an NCAA championship with the University of Tennessee Lady Vols (1998). She is one of only 11 women to receive an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup gold and a WNBA Championship. She has also been selected to ten WNBA All-Star teams, 12 All-WNBA teams, 12 All-Defensive teams and led the league in steals eight times. In 2011, Catchings was voted in by fans as one of the WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time, and would be named to two more all-time WNBA teams, the WNBA Top 20@20 in 2016 and The W25 in 2021.
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.
Lindsey Marcie Harding is an American professional basketball coach and former player. She is an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Throughout her playing career, Harding played for the Minnesota Lynx, Washington Mystics, Atlanta Dream, Los Angeles Sparks, New York Liberty and Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and has played overseas in Turkey and Russia. She was previously a scout and a player development coach for the Philadelphia 76ers. She was born in Mobile, Alabama, but grew up in Houston, Texas, and also holds a Belarusian passport.
Karen Sue Aston is an American basketball player and coach. She is currently the head coach of the UTSA Roadrunners women's basketball team. She has served as the head women's basketball coach at Texas, Charlotte and North Texas. Aston has a career record of 323–203 (.614). In her first 13 seasons as a head coach, Aston's teams have averaged 22 wins per year and have made a combined ten postseason appearances.
Tiffany Jackson-Jones was an American basketball player and coach. She played college basketball for the Texas Longhorns, earning All-American honors. Jackson played professionally in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) for the New York Liberty, Tulsa Shock, and Los Angeles Sparks. She also played in the Israeli Premier League for Maccabi Ashdod. She later returned to Texas as an assistant coach for the Longhorns.
Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks first overall in the 2012 WNBA draft and signed an endorsement deal with Nike soon after. Ogwumike spent 12 seasons with the Sparks and was named WNBA MVP for the 2016 WNBA season and won the WNBA Finals the same year. She was named to The W25, the league's list of the top 25 players of its first 25 years, in 2021.
Leilani Seamah Mitchell is an American-Australian professional basketball player for the Southside Flyers of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). Mitchell was drafted 25th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2008 WNBA draft. A dual citizen of the United States and Australia, she is a member of Australian women's national basketball team. In 2019 Mitchell became the first WNBA player to win the Most Improved Player Award twice.
Tayler Hill is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. Hill previously played for the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Hill was a McDonald's All-American coming out of high school and left high school as the all-time leading scorer in Minnesota basketball history with 3,888 points. She was selected fourth overall in the 2013 WNBA draft by the Mystics.
Stefanie Dolson is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted sixth overall in the 2014 WNBA draft. Dolson played center for the UConn women's basketball team and won back-to-back national championships in 2013 and 2014. She won a gold medal in Women's 3x3 basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Emma Meesseman is a Belgian professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Women's Basketball Super League and EuroLeague Women. After playing basketball in Belgium, Meesseman was drafted by the Washington Mystics with the 19th overall pick in the second round of the 2013 WNBA draft. She has also played for the Belgian national team and several European professional teams. She was named the 2011 FIBA Europe Young Women's Player of the Year and the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP. Meesseman studied physical education at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.
Chelsea Nichelle Gray is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was the eleventh pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft. She missed the 2014 WNBA season due to injury, but she made her debut with the Sun in the 2015 WNBA season. Gray won her first title with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016. She won her second title with the Las Vegas Aces in the 2022 WNBA Finals, where she was named Finals MVP. She won gold medals for 5x5 basketball at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics.
Jewell Loyd nicknamed the “Gold Mamba” is an American professional basketball player for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first overall in the 2015 WNBA draft by the Seattle Storm. She played college basketball at Notre Dame.
A'ja Riyadh Wilson is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Kahleah Copper is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted with the seventh overall pick by the Washington Mystics in 2016, and was traded to the Chicago Sky the next year.
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.
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.
Jacquelyn Young is an American professional basketball player for the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She was drafted first overall by the Las Vegas Aces in the 2019 WNBA draft. A graduate of Princeton Community High School, she played college basketball for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, reaching two NCAA finals and winning one in 2018. She won a gold medal in Women's 3x3 basketball at the 2020 Summer Olympics and a national WNBA championship in 2022. In 2024, she won the gold medal in 5x5 basketball at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
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.
