The Mystics have three first-round picks for the second year in a row, including a lottery pick. They will get to pick fourth overall, and their selection may depend entirely on Shakira Austin’s free agency decision.
Austin is a restricted free agent, which means that the Mystics have a chance to match any offer she gets from another team. The 25-year-old also only had kind words for the Mystics in her exit interview and has the chance to be a part of the team’s young core that already looks like the foundation for a future title contender. Still, there is a chance that she will want to leave or get an offer the Mystics aren’t willing to match.
If she is on her way out, Lauren Betts would be a great draft prospect for the Mystics. If she wants to re-sign, a guard would make more sense.
The Mystics have many different options in the draft
The Mystics started last season with a logjam of young talent in the frontcourt. They ended up trading Aaliyah Edwards to the Sun, making it very clear that they wanted to focus on Austin and All-Star Kiki Iriafen. So, if Austin is in for the long term, drafting Lauren Betts wouldn’t make much sense despite her obvious talent.
The Mystics also already have Sonia Citron, Georgia Amoore, Jacy Sheldon, and Lucy Olsen under contract for next season. Citron has more than proven herself, but Amoore missed her rookie season with an ACL injury, Sheldon only played two games for the team, and Olsen was a second-round pick. Although solid players, Olsen, Sheldon, and Amoore don’t offer the same potential as some of the guards available in the lottery.
The 2026 WNBA Draft is packed with great guards. Olivia Miles, Azzi Fudd, Flau’jae Johnson, Ta’Niya Latson, and Kiki Rice are all projected to be top picks. Any of them could help the Mystics. Miles could be the team’s point guard of the future, Fudd would provide important 3-point shooting, Latson is a prolific scorer, Johnson is a great athlete on the wing and insanely popular, and Rice is a strong two-way point guard.
But the organization will have to content itself with which of them are still available at the fourth pick if it wants to draft a guard. Miles and Fudd aren’t likely to make it past the third pick. Fudd would be a great fit with the Wings, Lynx, or Storm, and both the Lynx and Storm could use a young point guard like Miles.