It feels like most people expect the Washington Mystics to be one of the league's worst teams. There's good reason for that, which is that Mystics almost certainly will be one of the league's worst teams!
But this isn't Connecticut or Golden State. The Mystics feel like a franchise that knows where it needs to go — it's just not there right now. While I'd predict the team finishes with the third-worst record in the league, the team should be relatively competitive most nights.
Here are three important questions for the Washington Mystics.
Can Sonia Citron live up to her draft status?
In the WNBA GM survey, three players received votes for Rookie of the Year. 73 percent of the votes went to Paige Bueckers — no surprise there. 18 percent went to Dominique Malonga, who is certainly the top non-Bueckers candidate.
But one vote went to Sonia Citron.
Honestly, I think it's easy to guess where that vote came from. GMs can't pick their own player, so I wouldn't be surprised if Wings GM Curt Miller picked Citron, worried like I am that Malonga won't get enough minutes to win the award.
But even if that Citron vote was only made for that reason (and who knows, maybe Miller picked Malonga and someone else just happened to see super high on Citron), seeing her name in the results is a reminder that she exists, something it feels like hasn't been discussed enough.
Citron isn't built to be a team's best player, but she is built to be a team's best role player, a three-and-D wing who can thrive in any system. Her usage this season is likely to be a little higher than it ideally would be because of the lack of backcourt depth — more on that soon — which could give her a viable shot at the award if Bueckers falters.
How will the young frontcourt rotation look?
The biggest strength for the Mystics heading into this new season is definitely its rotation of bigs, with Shakira Austin, Aaliyah Edwards, Kiki Iriafen and veteran Stefanie Dolson.
Austin spent most of last season injured, but if she's healthy, she's one of the best young two-way bigs in the league. She can muck it up in the post defensively while also scoring efficientlt at the rim and in the midrange.
Edwards is coming off a strong rookie campaign that saw her flash a lot of defensive upside while being right around league average as a finisher at the rim.
Iriafen is an intriguing prospect, someone with good shooting touch and defensive versatility, but she's very much still a project, somone who has to improve her consistency on offense and work on protecting the rim better.
All three have upside, but how will they fit together? Remember, Austin only played 12 games last year, so this isn't as simple as slotting Iriafen into an established frontcourt. Austin and Edwards have to learn to play together as well.
Who gets backup guard minutes?
With rookie Georgia Amoore hurt, the Mystics are really thin at guard. Brittney Sykes and Sonia Citron should be the starters, but then you're looking at the trio of Sug Sutton, Jade Melbourne and Lucy Olsen.
No offense to Olsen — don't come attack me, Iowa fans!!! — but the third guard role will be down to Sutton and Melbourne. Both are intriguing players, but there's also a reason both are reserves in the league's worst backcourt.
Sutton had a big 2023 season as a backup for the Mercury, but wasn't able to replicate that at all in 2024, when she was one of the league's worst shooters.
Melbourne had some moments last year for the Mystics and has some upside as a 3-point shooter, but is she ready for a larger role?