WNBA Season Preview 2019: Every team's best case scenario

WNBA Season Preview 2019: Every team’s best case scenario

By Miles Wray | May 21, 2019

UNCASVILLE, CT - MAY 14: Kia Nurse #5 of the New York Liberty shares a laugh with Teresa Weatherspoon before the game against the Atlanta Dream on May 14, 2019 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images) /

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MINNEAPOLIS, MN- MAY 10: The Washington Mystics stand for the national anthem before the game against the Minnesota Lynx on May 10, 2019 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Jordan Johnson/NBAE via Getty Images) /

Tier 1: The steady favorite

This leaves us with one last team: the only 2018 contender who kept together all the ingredients of their winning formula.

Washington Mystics: Win the championship

As the league churned in chaos around them, the Mystics arguably won the offseason by staying put. Elena Delle Donne was able to recover from the knee injury that limited her in the Finals, and the team returns Emma Meesseman after she sat out the 2018 season to help her fellow Belgians train for the FIBA World Cup. Considering that the Mystics got to the Finals with an absent Meesseman and hobbled Delle Donne, a Finals victory is absolutely within reach for 2019. This could finally be the year the WNBA’s all-time winningest coach, Mike Thibault, finally gets his first ring. With everybody back on board from last year, the Mystics start this season a step ahead of the pack.