The Washington Mystics made a lot of changes since last season. They traded veteran Ariel Atkins for the third-overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, hired a new coach, and solidified their young core. Despite the team’s youth, the Mystics have been competitive all season long. They beat tough teams like Indiana, Las Vegas, Seattle, Atlanta, and Minnesota, and are in the running for a playoff spot.
That success alone makes the Mystics’ decision to hire Sydney Johnson as the new head coach look brilliant. Rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen further proved that Johnson was a great choice when they appeared on Sure Bird’s podcast and gave a glowing review of their coach.
Citron and Iriafen were both selected as All-Stars in their rookie season and have been a huge part of the Mystics’ success. They attributed a lot of their early success to Coach Johnson and his approach to coaching a young roster.
“We’re not afraid of going out there and making mistakes,” Citron said. “We just go out there with no fear. Coach doesn’t get mad at us for making a mistake as long as we’re playing hard and doing what we can control.”
Iriafen added, “Joy is something that’s super big…We’re going to have joy. Even through the highs and lows, we can find joy, and that’s something that he [Sydney Johnson] always refers to.”
Developing young players should be a priority for the Mystics
The Mystics’ roster only features three players over the age of 25: Brittney Sykes, Stefanie Dolson, and Sug Sutton. This is a team relying heavily on young players and building for the future. To guarantee the franchise’s future success, the young players, especially Citron and Iriafen, must be developed correctly.
For them to reach their full potential, it is important that Citron, Iriafen, and the other young Mystics players, get the minutes necessary to grow their games and have the freedom to work through mistakes and adversity with a coach who is supporting them fully. Judging by their comments, Coach Johnson is exactly that kind of coach.
Playing without fear of making mistakes and with joy are often two of the keys to a successful season. Being a rookie in the WNBA is not easy, but it is even more difficult if players are constantly afraid of making mistakes and cannot enjoy their time on the court.
Washington is already in a great position to make the playoffs
Sydney Johnson’s squad is one of the surprise teams of the season. Entering the season, the expectation was that Washington would struggle, which is not unusual for a team playing a lot of rookies and young players. While the season has been far from flawless, the Mystics have played some impressive games.
The Mystics currently have an 11-11 record, which is good enough for the seventh-best regular-season record. Washington is firmly established in the playoff race, even holding on to a higher seed than Las Vegas.