The 2025 WNBA Draft is just about two weeks away. For the Washington Mystics, it is a big draft. The Mystics are in the midst of a rebuild, hoping to form a winning team around youngsters like Shakira Austin, Aaliyah Edwards, and Jade Melbourne. When the Mystics traded Ariel Atkins to the Chicago Sky, they sent the clear message that they wanted to build for the future rather than focus on winning now.
As a result of that trade, the Mystics have three early first-round picks in the 2025 WNBA Draft, securing picks three, four, and five. With three high draft picks, the Mystics have the unique chance to add as much young talent as possible to the roster and spend the 2025 season figuring out which players should be the cornerstones of their franchise for now.
With the draft so close, the Mystics likely already had a pretty steady idea of who they would pick. Now, those plans are scrambled. Olivia Miles, the projected number two pick in the draft, decided not to declare and instead entered the transfer portal. Miles will leave Notre Dame, but not for the WNBA.
Mystics will have to rethink their draft strategy
Miles had a great season at Notre Dame, averaging 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while also drastically improving her 3-point shot. She looked like the most WNBA-ready player after Paige Bueckers and would have been a great fit with the Seattle Storm.
The Storm could use a young guard with star potential they can develop. After all, they lost Jewell Loyd this offseason, and Skylar Diggins-Smith is already 34 years old. Landing Miles would have been the perfect consolation for Loyd wanting out of Seattle.
With the Wings’ and Storms’ decisions seemingly obvious, the Mystics could have been fairly certain that the players they wanted would be available. The only team that could have interfered somewhat with their plans was the Golden State Valkyries, who hold the fifth pick in the draft and are looking for a young star to build their franchise around.
Now, that looks quite different. At least one of the players the Mystics were eying will likely be heading to Seattle now, shifting the entire draft board. Depending on how well the Mystics can predict the Storm’s decision, the organization may be in for some surprises during the draft.
For the next two weeks, the Mystics front office will likely be busy rethinking their draft board and speculating who will be the number two pick now that Miles is not available. Dominique Malonga or Kiki Iriafen have solid cases to fly up the draft boards now.