The 2022 Washington Mystics season is the franchise's 25th season in the Women's National Basketball Association. The regular season will tip off versus the Indiana Fever on May 6, 2022.
The Mystics won the Draft Lottery and received the 1st Overall pick in the 2022 WNBA draft, despite only having the third best odds to win. This is the first time in franchise history that the Mystics had the #1 Overall pick. The team traded the pick to Atlanta and moved down to the third overall pick in the Draft.
The Mystics started the season on a three-game winning streak, before losing their first game. The continued on to win four of their next six games and finished the month of May 7–3. Their fortunes turned a little in June, with the team not being able to put together a streak of wins and they finished the month 6–6. The team improved in July, finishing 6–3 and winning five of six in the middle of the month. The Mystics finished August 3–2, losing two games in the middle but winning the final two games. Their overall record of 22–14 left them tied for fourth place with Seattle.
Seattle won the tiebreaker for the playoffs, by finishing the regular season 2–1 against the Mystics. The two teams would meet in the first round of the 2022 WNBA Playoffs, with Seattle being the fourth seed and Washington being the fifth seed. The first two games of the series were in Seattle and those were the only two games that were needed out of the possible three-game series. The Mystics lost the first game by three points and the second by thirteen to drop the series 0–2 and end their season.
Transactions WNBA draft
RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/team/country 1 3 Shakira Austin Ole Miss 2 14 Christyn Williams UConn
Trades and Roster Changes DateTransaction January 5, 2022 Extended Qualifying Offers to Myisha Hines-Allen and Megan Gustafson January 6, 2022 Signed Megan Gustafson to a Qualifying Offer January 27, 2022 Hired Shelley Patterson as an assistant coach February 1, 2022 Re-Signed Myisha Hines-Allen to a Multi-Year Deal Signed Elizabeth Williams to a One-Year Deal Signed Klara Lundquist, Lee-Seul Kang, Tianna Hawkins, and Shatori Walker-Kimbrough to training-camp contracts February 14, 2022 Signed Rui Machida to a training-camp contract February 17, 2022 Signed MeMe Jackson to a training-camp contract February 18, 2022 Suspended Klara Lundquist's contract for the Full Season - Personal Decision February 22, 2022 Signed Linnae Harper to a training-camp contract February 24, 2022 Signed Stephanie Mavunga to a training-camp contract February 28, 2022 Waived Sydney Wiese April 6, 2022 Traded the #1 Pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for the #3 and #14 picks in the 2022 WNBA Draft, and the right to exchange 1st Round Picks in 2023 with the Los Angeles Sparks that the Dream received in an earlier trade April 14, 2022 Signed Shakira Austin to a rookie-scale contract Signed Jennifer Coleman to a training-camp contract April 15, 2022 Signed Christyn Williams to rookie-scale contract April 18, 2022 Waived Jennifer Coleman April 20, 2022 Signed Katie Benzan to a training-camp contract April 22, 2022 Waived Christyn Williams April 25, 2022 Waived MeMe Jackson April 28, 2022 Waived Erica McCall, Megan Gustafson, and Lee-Seul Kang May 3, 2022 Waived Stephanie Mavunga and Linnae Harper May 5, 2022 Temporarily Suspend Elizabeth Williams due to Overseas Commitments May 6, 2022 Waived Katie Benzan Claimed Kennedy Burke off of waivers and then temporarily suspended her due to Overseas commitments Signed Stephanie Jones to a Hardship Contract May 8, 2022 Signed Katie Benzan to a Hardship Contract May 13, 2022 Released Stephanie Jones from her Hardship Contract May 16, 2022 Released Katie Benzan from her Hardship Contract Activated Kennedy Burke from her Temporary Suspension May 19, 2022 Activated Elizabeth Williams from her Temporary Suspension June 24, 2022 Waived Kennedy Burke June 27, 2022 Signed Evina Westbrook to a 7-day contract July 4, 2022 Signed Evina Westbrook to a 2nd 7-day contract July 11, 2022 Signed Evina Westbrook to a 3rd 7-day contract July 18, 2022 Signed Evina Westbrook August 10, 2022 Signed Jazmine Jones
Roster
Depth Pos.StarterBench C Shakira Austin Elizabeth Williams PF Elena Delle Donne Myisha Hines-AllenTianna Hawkins SF Alysha Clark Jazmine Jones SG Ariel Atkins Shatori Walker-KimbroughEvina Westbrook PG Natasha Cloud Rui Machida
Schedule Preseason
| 1 | April 24 | @ Atlanta | L 69–88 | Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (13) | Shakira Austin (12) | Myisha Hines-Allen (7) | Gateway Center Arena854 | 0–1 |- | 2 | April 27 | Minnesota | W 78–66 | Elena Delle Donne (21) | Shakira Austin (13) | Natasha Cloud (4) | Entertainment and Sports Arena3,220 | 1–1 |- style="background:#ccc;" | 3 | April 30 | @ New York | colspan=4 | Canceled | Barclays Center | 1–1
Regular season
| 1 | May 6 | Indiana | W 84–70 | Elena Delle Donne (21) | Elena Delle Donne (9) | Natasha Cloud (6) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 1–0 |- | 2 | May 8 | @ Minnesota | W 78–66 | Ariel Atkins (20) | Shakira Austin (10) | Natasha Cloud (6) | Target Center8,134 | 2–0 |- | 3 | May 10 | Las Vegas | W 89–76 | Elena Delle Donne (19) | AtkinsHines-Allen (8) | Myisha Hines-Allen (8) | Entertainment and Sports Arena3,082 | 3–0 |- | 4 | May 13 | Dallas | L 86–94 | Elena Delle Donne (20) | Myisha Hines-Allen (7) | Rui Machida (7) | Entertainment and Sports Arena3,281 | 3–1 |- | 5 | May 17 | @ Dallas | W 84–68 | Shakira Austin (20) | Shakira Austin (8) | Natasha Cloud (7) | College Park Center3,035 | 4–1 |- | 6 | May 20 | @ Atlanta | W 78–73 | Ariel Atkins (18) | Shakira Austin (7) | Natasha Cloud (5) | Gateway Center ArenaN/A | 5–1 |- | 7 | May 22 | Chicago | L 73–82 | Ariel Atkins (20) | Elena Delle Donne (7) | Natasha Cloud (10) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 5–2 |- | 8 | May 24 | Atlanta | W 70–50 | Elena Delle Donne (15) | Shakira Austin (7) | Natasha Cloud (7) | Entertainment and Sports Arena2,687 | 6–2 |- | 9 | May 28 | @ Connecticut | L 71–79 | BurkeAtkins (13) | Shakira Austin (5) | Natasha Cloud (6) | Mohegan Sun Arena5,482 | 6–3 |- | 10 | May 31 | @ Indiana | W 87–75 | Ariel Atkins (28) | Elizabeth Williams (15) | Natasha Cloud (9) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum1,009 | 7–3
| 11 | June 3 | New York | L 70–74 | Natasha Cloud (17) | Elena Delle Donne (8) | Natasha Cloud (8) | Entertainment and Sports Arena3,857 | 7–4 |- | 12 | June 5 | @ Chicago | L 82–91 | Tianna Hawkins (21) | Shakira Austin (7) | Rui Machida (9) | Wintrust Arena6,228 | 7–5 |- | 13 | June 8 | Chicago | W 84–82 | Ariel Atkins (19) | Ariel Atkins (7) | AtkinsCloud (5) | Entertainment and Sports Arena2,984 | 8–5 |- | 14 | June 10 | @ Minnesota | W 76–59 | Myisha Hines-Allen (17) | Shakira Austin (13) | Natasha Cloud (8) | Target Center6,315 | 9–5 |- | 15 | June 12 | Phoenix | L 90–99 (OT) | Myisha Hines-Allen (18) | Myisha Hines-Allen (10) | Natasha Cloud (7) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 9–6 |- | 16 | June 14 | Phoenix | W 83–65 | Shakira Austin (16) | Shakira Austin (10) | Natasha Cloud (10) | Entertainment and Sports Arena3,088 | 10–6 |- | 17 | June 16 | @ New York | L 65–77 | Natasha Cloud (17) | Shakira Austin (6) | Natasha Cloud (7) | Barclays Center4,168 | 10–7 |- | 18 | June 19 | Connecticut | W 71–63 | Elena Delle Donne (15) | Shakira Austin (8) | Ariel Atkins (6) | Entertainment and Sports Arena3,959 | 11–7 |- | 19 | June 21 | @ Los Angeles | L 82–84 | Ariel Atkins (22) | Myisha Hines-Allen (8) | Natasha Cloud (13) | Crypto.com Arena3,745 | 11–8 |- | 20 | June 23 | @ Seattle | L 71–85 | Elena Delle Donne (20) | Shakira Austin (9) | Natasha Cloud (8) | Climate Pledge Arena9,884 | 11–9 |- | 21 | June 25 | @ Las Vegas | W 87–86 (OT) | Alysha Clark (20) | Elena Delle Donne (10) | Natasha Cloud (10) | Michelob Ultra Arena7,171 | 12–9 |- | 22 | June 28 | Atlanta | W 92–74 | Natasha Cloud (18) | AustinHines-Allen (7) | Rui Machida (5) | Entertainment and Sports Arena3,517 | 13–9
| 23 | July 3 | @ Connecticut | L 72–74 (OT) | Ariel Atkins (18) | Myisha Hines-Allen (13) | Natasha Cloud (6) | Mohegan Sun Arena5,814 | 13–10 |- | 24 | July 6 | @ Atlanta | W 85–66 | Elena Delle Donne (26) | Elena Delle Donne (8) | Natasha Cloud (4) | Gateway Center Arena1,810 | 14–10 |- | 25 | July 12 | @ Los Angeles | W 94–81 | Elena Delle Donne (26) | Shakira Austin (8) | Natasha Cloud (9) | Crypto.com Arena5,004 | 15–10 |- | 26 | July 14 | @ Phoenix | L 75–80 | Elena Delle Donne (19) | Elena Delle Donne (12) | Natasha Cloud (7) | Footprint Center5,994 | 15–11 |- | 27 | July 17 | Minnesota | W 70–57 | Elena Delle Donne (21) | Elena Delle Donne (10) | Natasha Cloud (8) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 16–11 |- | 28 | July 21 | New York | W 78–69 | Elena Delle Donne (25) | Myisha Hines-Allen (8) | Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (5) | Capital One Arena7,431 | 17–11 |- | 29 | July 28 | @ Dallas | W 87–77 | AtkinsCloudHines-Allen (14) | Shakira Austin (5) | Natasha Cloud (7) | College Park Center4,382 | 18–11 |- | 30 | July 30 | Seattle | L 77–82 | Elena Delle Donne (22) | AustinHines-Allen (10) | Natasha Cloud (11) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 18–12 |- | 31 | July 31 | Seattle | W 78–75 | Ariel Atkins (23) | Shakira Austin (9) | Natasha Cloud (10) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 19–12
| 32 | August 2 | Las Vegas | W 83–73 | Natasha Cloud (16) | Elena Delle Donne (11) | Natasha Cloud (9) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 20–12 |- | 33 | August 5 | @ Chicago | L 83–93 | Myisha Hines-Allen (21) | Hines-AllenE. Williams (6) | Rui Machida (5) | Wintrust Arena8,042 | 20–13 |- | 34 | August 7 | Los Angeles | L 76–79 | AtkinsHines-Allen (20) | Shakira Austin (10) | Natasha Cloud (9) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 20–14 |- | 35 | August 12 | @ Indiana | W 82–70 | Elena Delle Donne (24) | Shakira Austin (11) | Natasha Cloud (6) | Hinkle Fieldhouse1,700 | 21–14 |- | 36 | August 14 | Indiana | W 95–83 | Elena Delle Donne (22) | Shakira Austin (6) | Rui Machida (6) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 22–14
Playoffs
| 1 | August 18 | @ Seattle | L 83–86 | Elena Delle Donne (26) | Shakira Austin (7) | Elena Delle Donne (5) | Climate Pledge Arena8,917 | 0–1 |- | 2 | August 21 | @ Seattle | L 84–97 | Natasha Cloud (21) | Shakira Austin (8) | Ariel Atkins (7) | Climate Pledge Arena12,490 | 0–2
Standings
Playoffs
Statistics
Regular season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG Elena Delle Donne 25 25 27.8 .480 .368 .913 6.3 2.3 0.5 1.1 17.2 Ariel Atkins 36 36 30.0 .420 .365 .845 3.3 2.3 1.4 0.3 14.6 Natasha Cloud 34 34 31.3 .399 .319 .824 3.6 7.0 1.0 0.3 10.7 Myisha Hines-Allen 34 15 19.3 .415 .367 .703 5.3 1.9 0.8 0.3 8.9 Shakira Austin 36 32 21.6 .547 .000 .624 6.5 0.9 0.7 0.8 8.7 Alysha Clark 29 29 26.4 .464 .303 .913 4.5 2.0 0.9 0.3 8.0 Shatori Walker-Kimbrough 35 3 20.1 .402 .347 .902 1.8 1.5 1.1 0.3 6.9 Katie Benzan‡ 3 0 9.0 .556 .714 .750 0.7 0.3 0.0 0.3 6.0 Elizabeth Williams 30 0 14.9 .482 .000 .581 3.8 0.5 0.6 0.7 5.4 Kennedy Burke‡ 16 4 13.9 .446 .344 .588 2.2 0.4 1.0 0.3 5.4 Tianna Hawkins 25 0 12.8 .386 .264 .952 2.4 0.8 0.4 0.1 4.9 Evina Westbrook≠ 6 0 5.3 .667 .500 .833 0.0 0.5 0.3 0.2 3.3 Stephanie Jones‡ 3 0 6.3 .429 .500 .000 0.7 0.3 0.3 0.0 2.3 Rui Machida 36 2 12.9 .310 .206 .667 1.1 2.6 0.4 0.1 1.8 Jazmine Jones≠ 1 0 3.0 .000 .000 .000 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 ‡Waived/Released during the season †Traded during the season ≠Acquired during the season
Playoffs