The Washington Mystics went into the All-Star break flying high. Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen are All-Stars once again, and they logged consecutive wins against the Golden State Valkyries and the Las Vegas Aces, two of the top three teams in the standings.Â
The Mystics beat the Valkyries by eight points, but their win against the Aces came down to the final possession. Sonia Citron got free on a cut to the basket but missed the layup. No one boxed out Shakira Austin, so she was able to get the offensive rebound, score, and get fouled. The Aces forced up a three that missed on the other end, and the Mystics walked away with an impressive win. They outexecuted a team full of championship veterans.Â
Golden State and Las Vegas aren’t even the only playoff teams the Mystics beat. They secured a two-point overtime win against the Indiana Fever in their third game, beat New York and Minnesota in back-to-back games in June, and took down the Atlanta Dream to tip off July. The only playoff team they haven’t beaten yet is Dallas, but they haven’t even played the Wings yet.Â
Now, the Mystics really only have one path forward after the All-Star break: make a serious playoff push.Â
The Mystics couldn’t be in a better position
The Mystics have the youngest roster in the WNBA. Seven of their twelve players are rookies, and Michaela Onyenwere and Shakira Austin are the only players who entered the season with more than one year of experience. And yet, you can already see that this team isn’t what you would expect from the youngest team in the league. Yes, they have some issues to sort out, but which team doesn’t? With Citron, Iriafen, and Austin playing at an extremely high level, the Mystics are ready for more than another season in which the main goal is to chase a lottery pick. It’s time to get them some playoff experience.Â
With a 14-12 record, the Mystics are eighth in the standings and hold the final playoff spot. They are just half a game behind the seventh-placed Liberty and have a 2.5-game cushion over the Portland Fire. They have a solid shot at making the playoffs.Â
The cherry on top: the Mystics can make the playoffs and still get another lottery pick. When they traded Ariel Atkins to the Chicago Sky, they got the pick that became Citron and a 2027 first-round pick swap. Despite their best efforts to build a competitive team, the Sky are thirteenth with a 9-18 record. They are 5.5 games behind the final playoff spot and don’t look like a team that will climb much higher than where it is right now.Â
So, the Mystics can force their way into the postseason and still get another high pick in a draft that could feature JuJu Watkins, Madison Booker, and Hannah Hidalgo, among many other talented players.Â
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