The Washington Mystics’ season is officially over. The Atlanta Dream swept them with a 93-75 victory in Game 2 of their first-round series. Sonia Citron was big with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal, but also turned the ball over five times. Kiki Iriafen contributed 15 points and 16 rebounds, and 21-year-old Cassandre Prosper played some productive minutes off the bench. Shakira Austin, meanwhile, struggled mightily in her 33 minutes on the court.
Both Citron and Iriafen looked crushed in the postgame media availability. It was a tough loss and a disappointing end to an otherwise strong season.
However, this first-round exit shouldn’t take anything away from what the Mystics accomplished. They played a great second season with their core of Citron, Iriafen, and Austin, and a big playoff disappointment is part of the building process.
The Mystics’ season was still a resounding success
The Mystics came into the season with only two players on the roster who weren’t in their first or second season. Later on, they added a championship veteran with Betnijah Laney-Hamilton.
The team was young and inexperienced. Nevertheless, Sydney Johnson was able to implement a strong defensive identity, and the players all bought in—and won a ton of games in the process. The Mystics didn’t get into the playoffs by accident. They won 28 games and finished with a higher seed than the Indiana Fever, Dallas Wings, and New York Liberty. They regularly gave more experienced playoff teams trouble in the regular season.
They exceeded expectations in every way possible.
The Mystics will be very scary very soon
Just making the playoffs put the Mystics ahead of schedule. While being swept is crushing, the Mystics can learn from it. Citron and Iriafen and all the rookies on the roster got their first taste of playoff basketball. Many players drafted to a rebuilding team have to wait years for that. This experience will only make the Mystics more dangerous next season and prepare them for their future postseason appearances.
Plus, the Mystics will have another lottery pick in the 2027 draft—thanks to the Chicago Sky’s many questionable decisions—and can go into free agency knowing exactly what this team needs around its young core. Despite the youth and inexperience of its best players, this Mystics team is not all that far away from becoming a potential championship contender.
The rest of the league is undoubtedly watching the Mystics, worrying about how much better they will be next season and in the following years. After all, they already played very well against playoff teams in the regular season with a supporting cast of rookies. Just imagine what this team could be with more experience and offensive firepower around Citron, Iriafen, and Austin.
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