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Washington Mystics promote Asjha Jones to assistant coach

By Jenn Hatfield

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 30: Asjha Jones of the Washington Mystics speaks to young fans during the WNBA Her Time to Play Clinic on September 30, 2019 at the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 30: Asjha Jones of the Washington Mystics speaks to young fans during the WNBA Her Time to Play Clinic on September 30, 2019 at the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, DC. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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A talented coach earns promotion

On Tuesday, the Washington Mystics announced that Asjha Jones has been promoted to assistant coach after two seasons as a player development assistant. Working primarily with the team’s post players, Jones helped the Mystics advance to the WNBA Finals in 2018 and 2019 and win the championship last season. Jones’s promotion fills the vacancy that was created last week when Marianne Stanley left to become the head coach of the Indiana Fever.

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Jones played 12 seasons in the WNBA, most recently in 2015 with the Minnesota Lynx. For her career, she averaged 10.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists and contributed 21.0 win shares. She also played in 43 career playoff games, winning the championship with the Lynx in her final season, and was a two-time All-Star. She began her career as the No. 4 pick out of UConn and coincidentally spent her first two WNBA seasons in Washington playing under then-head coach Marianne Stanley. Jones was then traded to Connecticut and spent the next nine seasons playing for then-head coach Mike Thibault, who is now the Mystics’ general manager and head coach. In 2011, Thibault called Jones “one of my favorite players I’ve ever coached” because of her professionalism and consistency.

Jones will have big shoes to fill in Washington, as Stanley had been with the Mystics since 2010 and was an integral part of their 2019 championship. In the press conference after the clinching Game 5, WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne memorably called Stanley “an X’s and O’s genius” and credited her with a lot of the team’s success. Stanley has been a WNBA coach for 19 seasons and was a college coach for 21, winning the 1985 national championship at Old Dominion.

However, Thibault is confident that Jones will excel in the role based on her track record both as a coach and as a player. In the team’s press release, Thibault said, “Asjha has been a big contributor to our success the past two seasons as a player development assistant. She is more than ready for this position as a full-time assistant coach … I am excited that she will be a part of the future growth of the Washington Mystics.” Thibault also cited Jones’s championship pedigree: per the Mystics, she is the only woman to have won an NCAA title, a WNBA championship, and an Olympic gold medal as a player and a WNBA title as a coach.

In the 2020 season, Jones will continue to impart her wisdom on a deep group of Mystics forwards that includes All-Stars Delle Donne and Emma Meesseman; 2019 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year candidate Tianna Hawkins; veteran center LaToya Sanders; and third-year forward Myisha Hines-Allen. Jones will also put her personal streak of four straight WNBA Finals appearances (2012 and 2015 as a player, 2018 and 2019 as a coach; she was not in the WNBA in the intervening seasons) on the line as the Mystics look to repeat as champions.

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