On Sunday afternoon, the Washington Mystics put up their second-straight victory of at least 15 points since returning from the FIBA World Cup.
After beating the Chicago Sky by 30 points last Thursday, they took their dominance to Indiana and beat the No. 5-seed Fever 93-77.
Although the Mystics secured their spot in the postseason many weeks ago, they continue to find truly meaningful wins. The win over Indy, in fact, carried extra significance: Now 26-16, they’ve tied their franchise record for wins in a season—and that matters.
These Mystics can dream of ascending beyond the standard of 2019
The last time the Mystics reached 26 wins was in 2019: the lone championship campaign in 28 seasons of Mystics basketball.
Before this year, they had only broken 20 wins four times and 25 wins once. The 2019 season was still played under the 34-game regular season format, so admittedly their 26-8 record was more notable than today’s 26-16. But history is history regardless of some parameters.
This Mystics team, in all of their youth, has proven an ability to contend with the league’s best teams. They haven’t summited the stratosphere of dominance touched by Elena Delle Donne and Emma Meesseman, but they’re talented enough to win postseason games, and sometimes that’s all you can ask for. Now they have to stay hot through the beginning of October and masquerade the maturity demanded by playoff basketball. Under the right circumstances, they could find themselves as a legitimate dark horse Finals contender.
Arguably more important than their immediate championship potential is their future outlook—and oh how it’s changed since just two seasons ago.
They’ve tied the franchise record behind not just any young core, but the youngest team in league history. Up until they signed Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, 26-year old Michaela Onyenwere was their oldest player. Eight of their 14 players are rookies, and three more are in their second professional season.
A win record for this Mystics team isn’t just a passing affirmation of their current success. It’s a courageous picture of their future.
Shakira Austin, Sonia Citron, and Kiki Iriafen have the chance to mold DC into the center of the WNBA, and an early playoff run will just sharpen their ability to contend with the league’s best. At the rate the Mystics are improving, it’s not unlikely that we’ll see another 2019-esque season in the near future.
The Mystics remain in the middle of an unpredictable battle for playoff seeding
The Mystics sit as the current No. 6 with two games remaining in the regular season.
Losses by the New York Liberty and Dallas Wings on Monday night, give them one less loss than those teams; they’re one game behind the Fever. Washington also holds an important seeding tiebreaker over Indiana after winning the season series 2-1, hence the magnitude of Sunday’s win.
Also aiding head coach Sydney Johnson and his troop is their final two opponents: the Connecticut Sun (10-32) and Chicago Sky (15-27). Washington is 2-0 against Chicago and 1-1 against Connecticut, but their loss to the Sun was a clear outlier in what has been a solid season against struggling teams. While the Mystics have a strong chance to finish the season with two more wins, Indiana has to play league-leading Minnesota twice to close out their schedule. New York has another game against the No. 4-seed Atlanta Dream. Dallas finishes up against the Seattle Storm.
There is clearly so much at stake for a handful of teams that have already clinched a postseason berth. It’s hard to project exact matchups with so much up in the air. Even the very top seeds could shift, especially if Minnesota flops against the Fever and allows the Golden State Valkyries to insert themselves into the No. 1 seed.
Washington will surely be monitoring the battle for the top four seeds just as much as they’ll be prepping for their own final two games. The Mystics are 1-2 on the season against each of the top three teams: Minnesota, Golden State, and Las Vegas. The only of the three to truly blow them out of a game was Golden State, and they’ve actually performed better against Minnesota than Las Vegas (although Napheesa Collier didn’t suit up in any of the three matchups with Washington).
The Mystics are 2-1 against the Dream, who are looking to hold onto the No. 4 spot but could potentially move into third with another win over the Liberty and an Aces loss. Atlanta should be Washington’s preferred playoff opponent, but the season won’t be a scratch if they aren’t able to secure a first-round southern getaway.
Regardless of who is on the other side, the Mystics know that they have stolen wins from each of the top four teams, and they’ll be looking to reprise that success next week.
