The 2024 Washington Mystics season was the franchise's 27th season in the Women's National Basketball Association, and their second season under head coach Eric Thibault.
The season tipped off on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at home against the New York Liberty. The Mystics lost the game by five-points, and the opening month of May did not improve much after that. The Mystics went on to lose all eight games they played in May, with the closest being a three-point loss to the Phoenix Mercury on May 23. The Mystics' losing streak continued through twelve games and they won their first game of the season on June 11, versus the Atlanta Dream. Including that win, the Mystics won four out of their next five games, with the only loss coming against Indiana. They lost their last two games of the month, including an overtime contest against Connecticut. They finished the month 4–7. Their fortunes did not improve in July, as they finished 2–4 before the league went into its Olympic break. The Mystics lost the first three games out of the break, but then won the next three, including a two point win at Seattle and a four-point road win over Chicago. They could not win their final game of the month and finished with a 3–4 record in August. The Mystics were a greatly improved team in September, as they won four out of their first five games of the month to draw within reaching distance of the eighth playoff seed. However, they lost the next game to fellow 8th seed contenders Atlanta, and then lost two days later to New York, a loss which allowed New York to clinch the first overall seed. The Mystics finished their season with a one-point win over Indiana. The Mystics finished ninth overall with a record of 14–26.
Transactions WNBA draft
RoundPickPlayerNationalitySchool/Team/Country 1 6 Aaliyah Edwards UConn 2 21 Kaylynne Truong Gonzaga 3 30 Nastja Claessens Castors Braine
Transactions DateTransaction January 11, 2024 Extended a Qualifying Offer to Li Meng January 13, 2024 Cored Elena Delle Donne February 1, 2024 Signed Karlie Samuelson Signed Elissa Cunane to a Training Camp Contract Signed Emily Engstler to a Training Camp Contract Signed DiDi Richards to a Training Camp Contract Signed Julie Vanloo to a Training Camp Contract March 12, 2024 Signed Stefanie Dolson April 17, 2024 Signed Kaylynne Truong, Honesty Scott-Grayson, and Jakia Brown-Turner to Rookie Contracts April 18, 2024 Signed Aaliyah Edwards to a Rookie Contract April 24, 2024 Exercised Team Option on Shakira Austin May 7, 2024 Acquired Bernadett Határ from the Connecticut Sun and the Sun's second round 2025 draft pick in exchange for Queen Egbo May 9, 2024 Waived Honesty Scott-Grayson May 11, 2024 Acquired Jade Melbourne from Seattle Storm in exchange for third round 2025 draft pick May 12, 2024 Waived Jakia Brown-Turner, Elissa Cunane, and Kaylynne Truong June 28, 2024 Signed Jakia Brown-Turner to a hardship contract July 2, 2024 Released Jakia Brown-Turner from hardship contract July 4, 2024 Signed Jakia Brown-Turner to a 7-day hardship contract July 12, 2024 Signed Jakia Brown-Turner to a second 7-day contract August 13, 2024 Released Jakia Brown-Turner from second 7-day contract August 20, 2024 Acquired Olivia Époupa, Sika Koné, and a 2026 second round pick from the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Myisha Hines-Allen Waived Olivia Époupa and DiDi Richards Acquired Sug Sutton and 2025 3rd Round Pick from the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for the rights to Klara Lundquist
Roster changes
Additions PersonnelSigned/TradeFormer team Stefanie Dolson Signed New York Liberty Aaliyah Edwards Draft Connecticut Huskies Emily Engstler Signed Minnesota Lynx Bernadett Határ Trade Connecticut Sun Sika Koné Trade Minnesota Lynx Jade Melbourne Trade Seattle Storm DiDi Richards Signed — Karlie Samuelson Signed Los Angeles Sparks Sug Sutton Trade Phoenix Mercury Julie Vanloo Signed —
Subtractions PersonnelReasonNew team Natasha Cloud Free Agency Phoenix Mercury Elena Delle Donne Contract Suspended — Queen Egbo Trade Connecticut Sun Tianna Hawkins Free Agency — Myisha Hines-Allen Trade Minnesota Lynx Li Meng Free Agency — Kristi Toliver Retirement
Roster
Depth Pos.StarterBench PG Brittney Sykes Julie VanlooJade Melbourne SG Ariel Atkins Sug Sutton SF Karlie Samuelson Shatori Walker-Kimbrough PF Shakira Austin Aaliyah Edwards Emily Engstler C Stefanie Dolson Sika Koné
Schedule Pre-season
| 1 | May 4 | @ Atlanta | L 84–87 | Myisha Hines-Allen (13) | Edwards, Egbo, Hines-Allen (4) | Julie Vanloo (8) | Gateway Center Arena | 0–1 |- | 2 | May 8 | Minnesota | L 77–83 | Ariel Atkins (20) | Myisha Hines-Allen (6) | Julie Vanloo (6) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,112 | 0–2
Regular season
| 1 | May 14 | New York | L 80–85 | Ariel Atkins (20) | Brittney Sykes (10) | Brittney Sykes (7) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 0–1 |- | 2 | May 17 | @ Connecticut | L 77–84 | Karlie Samuelson (18) | Shakira Austin (9) | Julie Vanloo (8) | Mohegan Sun Arena6,874 | 0–2 |- | 3 | May 19 | Seattle | L 75–84 | Ariel Atkins (19) | Aaliyah Edwards (11) | Julie Vanloo (5) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 0–3 |- | 4 | May 21 | @ Los Angeles | L 68–70 | Austin, Vanloo (12) | Shakira Austin (8) | Julie Vanloo (9) | Walter Pyramid3,627 | 0–4 |- | 5 | May 23 | @ Phoenix | L 80–83 | Ariel Atkins (16) | Julie Vanloo (7) | Myisha Hines-Allen (5) | Footprint Center7,474 | 0–5 |- | 6 | May 25 | @ Seattle | L 69–101 | Karlie Samuelson (16) | Atkins, Edwards, Hines-Allen (5) | Hines-Allen, Vanloo (3) | Climate Pledge Arena8,846 | 0–6 |- | 7 | May 29 | Atlanta | L 67–73 | Ariel Atkins (21) | Shakira Austin (9) | Julie Vanloo (5) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 0–7 |- | 8 | May 31 | @ New York | L 79–90 | Ariel Atkins (15) | Atkins, Hines-Allen (7) | Julie Vanloo (7) | Barclays Center9,878 | 0–8
| 9 | June 4 | @ Connecticut | L 59–76 | Aaliyah Edwards (14) | Aaliyah Edwards (9) | Julie Vanloo (5) | Mohegan Sun Arena5,346 | 0–9 |- | 10 | June 6 | Chicago | L 71–79 | Aaliyah Edwards (23) | Aaliyah Edwards (14) | Julie Vanloo (7) | Capital One Arena10,000 | 0–10 |- | 11 | June 7 | Indiana | L 83–85 | Stefanie Dolson (19) | Aaliyah Edwards (12) | Julie Vanloo (6) | Capital One Arena20,333 | 0–11 |- | 12 | June 9 | @ New York | L 88–93 | Jade Melbourne (21) | Myisha Hines-Allen (8) | Myisha Hines-Allen (7) | Barclays Center12,477 | 0–12 |- | 13 | June 11 | @ Atlanta | W 87–68 | Atkins, Sykes (18) | Edwards, Hines-Allen, Samuelson (6) | Ariel Atkins (5) | Gateway Center Arena3,260 | 1–12 |- | 14 | June 14 | Chicago | W 83–81 | Ariel Atkins (29) | Aaliyah Edwards (9) | Stefanie Dolson (5) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 2–12 |- | 15 | June 19 | @ Indiana | L 81–88 | Ariel Atkins (27) | Stefanie Dolson (7) | Julie Vanloo (8) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 2–13 |- | 16 | June 22 | rowspan=2| Dallas | W 97–69 | Emily Engstler (23) | Stefanie Dolson (10) | Julie Vanloo (6) | rowspan=2| Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 3–13 |- | 17 | June 23 | W 92–84 | Stefanie Dolson (18) | Stefanie Dolson (8) | Ariel Atkins (7) | 4–13 |- | 18 | June 27 | Connecticut | L 91–94 (OT) | Myisha Hines-Allen (21) | Myisha Hines-Allen (7) | Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (6) | rowspan=2| Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 4–14 |- | 19 | June 29 | Las Vegas | L 77–88 | Stefanie Dolson (23) | Dolson, Edwards (7) | Julie Vanloo (8) | 4–15
| 20 | July 2 | @ Los Angeles | W 82–80 | Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (17) | Stefanie Dolson (8) | Ariel Atkins (5) | Crypto.com Arena9,164 | 5–15 |- | 21 | July 4 | @ Las Vegas | L 77–98 | Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (19) | Emily Engstler (8) | Jade Melbourne (6) | Michelob Ultra Arena10,376 | 5–16 |- | 22 | July 6 | @ Minnesota | L 67–74 | Atkins, Walker-Kimbrough (15) | Myisha Hines-Allen (11) | Myisha Hines-Allen (6) | Target Center7,610 | 5–17 |- | 23 | July 10 | @ Indiana | W 89–84 | Ariel Atkins (26) | Myisha Hines-Allen (9) | Stefanie Dolson (6) | Gainbridge Fieldhouse17,274 | 6–17 |- | 24 | July 14 | Las Vegas | L 77–89 | Ariel Atkins (36) | Stefanie Dolson (6) | Julie Vanloo (7) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 6–18 |- | 25 | July 16 | Phoenix | L 87–96 | Myisha Hines-Allen (18) | Myisha Hines-Allen (12) | Ariel Atkins (6) | Capital One Arena12,586 | 6–19
| 26 | August 15 | @ Minnesota | L 68–79 | Ariel Atkins (12) | Shakira Austin (10) | Stefanie Dolson (4) | Target Center7,224 | 6–20
| 27 | August 17 | Minnesota | L 83–99 | Stefanie Dolson (23) | Aaliyah Edwards (7) | Brittney Sykes (7) | rowspan=2| Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 6–21
| 28 | August 20 | Seattle | L 77–83 | Ariel Atkins (25) | Shakira Austin (9) | Julie Vanloo (6) | 6–22 |- | 29 | August 23 | Los Angeles | W 80–74 | Brittney Sykes (28) | Shakira Austin (11) | Stefanie Dolson (8) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 7–22 |- | 30 | August 26 | @ Seattle | W 74–72 | Brittney Sykes (20) | Stefanie Dolson (10) | Julie Vanloo (4) | Climate Pledge Arena9,535 | 8–22 |- | 31 | August 28 | @ Chicago | W 74–70 | Stefanie Dolson (17) | Atkins, Dolson (6) | Ariel Atkins (5) | Wintrust Arena8,763 | 9–22
| 32 | August 31 | Connecticut | L 85–96 | Ariel Atkins (15) | Stefanie Dolson (7) | Karlie Samuelson (5) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 9–23
| 33 | September 3 | @ Dallas | W 90–86 | Emily Engstler (19) | Emily Engstler (10) | 3 players (4) | College Park Center5,129 | 10–23 |- | 34 | September 5 | @ Phoenix | W 90–77 | Karlie Samuelson (19) | Aaliyah Edwards (6) | Julie Vanloo (4) | Footprint Center7,709 | 11–23
| 35 | September 8 | Minnesota | L 71–78 | Brittney Sykes (13) | Stefanie Dolson (7) | Atkins, Vanloo (4) | Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 11–24 |- | 36 | September 11 | @ Chicago | W 89–58 | Aaliyah Edwards (15) | Aaliyah Edwards (10) | Brittney Sykes (7) | Wintrust Arena7,948 | 12–24 |- | 37 | September 13 | @ Atlanta | W 72–69 | Brittney Sykes (20) | Dolson, Koné (8) | Emily Engstler (4) | Gateway Center Arena3,260 | 13–24
| 38 | September 15 | Atlanta | L 73–76 (OT) | Ariel Atkins (16) | Stefanie Dolson (6) | Samuelson, Sykes (3) | rowspan=2| Entertainment and Sports Arena4,200 | 13–25
| 39 | September 17 | New York | L 71–87 | Ariel Atkins (22) | Emily Engstler (8) | Karlie Samuelson (4) | 13–26 |- | 40 | September 19 | Indiana | W 92–91 | Sika Koné (20) | Sika Koné (7) | Emily Engstler (4) | Capital One Arena20,711 | 14–26
Standings
Statistics
Regular season Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PF PPGAriel Atkins 404029.9.437.357.8483.43.11.50.42.32.814.9Brittney Sykes181823.4.405.271.7504.13.10.90.42.21.412.2Shakira Austin121119.9.430.250.6676.80.91.30.92.42.511.8Stefanie Dolson393925.9.475.465.7864.92.60.50.51.72.99.5Sika Koné≠10016.0.433.571.8894.31.10.40.20.92.08.6Karlie Samuelson291924.5.409.398.9232.62.10.90.00.91.78.4Myisha Hines-Allen†271019.1.489.359.8294.92.70.60.11.41.98.0Aaliyah Edwards341721.8.490.000.5075.61.40.70.81.52.77.6Shatori Walker-Kimbrough40222.1.415.330.8061.71.91.10.51.41.07.5Julie Vanloo403423.2.346.324.6671.64.30.50.02.62.27.4Emily Engstler32314.5.490.474.8184.01.50.60.80.71.56.2Jade Melbourne37014.1.434.357.7141.51.60.60.11.71.55.4DiDi Richards‡19710.4.408.000.4291.50.70.10.20.40.82.4Jakia Brown-Turner≠ ‡ 204.0.000—1.0000.50.00.50.00.00.01.0Sug Sutton≠707.3.286.000—0.61.40.30.00.70.10.6 ‡Waived/Released during the season †Traded during the season ≠Acquired during the season
Awards and honors Recipient Award Date awarded Ref.
References
External links Official website of the Washington Mystics