It’s no secret that European players are having a moment in the WNBA.
Although the league has always uplifted international talent, European players were previously expected to prove themselves to a superhuman extent to get their first W contract.
Now, through a combination of factors such as an increase in roster spots, the advancement of international scouting resources and the adoption of many European coaches and concepts, a strengthened pipeline is forming between younger European prospects and the world’s
top women’s basketball league.
One of the latest, under-the-radar examples is in the nation’s capital: the Washington Mystics’ Alicia Flórez.
How Alicia Flórez went from an under-the-radar signing to filling a critical role
While the Mystics marquee core is rightfully centered around a group of well-established young talents coming off of illustrious NCAA careers, the newest face in Washington is a reflection of the growing trust in European prospects.
On May 7, Washington announced the signing of Alicia Flórez to a developmental contract. Flórez had most recently played for Ensino Lugo, a club in northwest Spain competing in the Liga Femenina, Spain’s top women’s basketball league. She averaged just over 11 points, five rebounds and five assists in the Liga Femenina season that just recently ended. Given her age (she just turned 22 in April) and 5-foot-9 stature, those are overly impressive numbers.
Flórez fits one of the Mystics most pressing needs: bench ball-handling.
Washington took a shot on Rori Harmon in the draft for that same reason, but Harmon’s smaller size and inconsistent scoring leave something to be desired as a prospect. While neither have established any kind of true job security, Flórez has proved her ability to produce on a professional level against older competition and there is absolutely an inherent trust that comes with that resume. She’s by no means an amazing scorer herself, but she was a high volume passer in Spain and played in more of a WNBA-coded system. (Although, it could be fairly assessed that the WNBA is actually embracing European-coded systems).
Flórez shot 45 percent on 2-pointers, 30 percent from 3 and 70 percent from the free-throw line in her time at Ensino Lugo. Ensino Lugo finished sixth in the Liga Femenina before losing to the Seattle Storm’s Awa Fam and Valencia in the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
Flórez’s combination of age and production is not enough to claim her as a surefire WNBA rotation piece—if that was the case, she would have been taken in the draft. However, she’s a more-than intriguing candidate for the Mystics backup ball handling role behind Georgia Amoore, and she plays an already-mature style of basketball that lacks some of the shaky mistakes seen in most younger players.
How Alicia Flórez is making an unexpected impact beyond her modest stats
Flórez was signed to a developmental contract, but through two games, she’s been asked to provide immediate stimulus off the bench for a team that’s desperately trying to win games.
In her first career WNBA game, she was thrown in against Seattle and ended up playing 22 minutes, recording nine points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. She led the team in field goal attempts and makes off the bench, going 4-for-9 from the field. She finished the game +7 off the bench, and Washington won by 14. While head coach Sydney Johnson may not have expected that kind of impact from a relatively unknown developmental player, it seemed like a “proof of concept” moment for what Flórez can bring to this Mystics team.
On Friday, Flórez made her second appearance in as many games, now tallying 25 minutes off the bench against Los Angeles. While she quite frankly couldn’t buy a basket, her impact stretched noticeably beyond her scoring struggles. She was second on the team with seven assists despite only having a 19.6 percent usage rate (meaning less than 20 percent of the possessions she was on the floor for ended with her “doing something”).
She also rallied the team late in a close game by drawing offensive fouls on Los Angeles in back-to-back possessions, helping Washington crawl back into the game even if their ultimate effort came up two possessions short. CareFirst Arena was thundering behind her energy when she jumped up from the floor after drawing the second offensive foul. Very rarely do you see a player win over a crowd that quickly.
Even given her inability to hit quality shots against the Sparks, Flórez very clearly had a positive impact on the team’s energy, connectivity and defense. She’s quickly earned minutes, and it won’t be any surprise if she keeps playing 20 or more minutes off the bench for the near future.
Flórez actually played more minutes than starting point guard Georgia Amoore on Friday—which is equally concerning for Amoore’s outlook as it is promising for Flórez. Amoore has had moments where she’s struggled with the physicality of the game. While her energy and passing ability are just as they were promised when she was drafted last year, it’s no secret that her size and recent injury will not make it easy for her to hold her ground in certain situations.
If Flórez continues to share the ball and find scorers at the rate that she has through two games, it wouldn’t be a shocker to see her take the starting point guard spot, or at least to see the Mystics experiment with that idea.
