Washington Mystics

Washington Mystics
Conference	Eastern
Founded	1998
History	Washington Mystics 1998–present
Arena	Verizon Center
City	Washington, D.C.
Team colors	Blue, red, silver, white[1]
Owner(s)	Ted Leonsis
General manager	Mike Thibault
Head coach	Mike Thibault
Assistant coaches	Marianne Stanley Eric Thibault
Championships	0
Conference titles	0
Mascot	Pax
Official website	mystics.wnba.com

The Washington Mystics are a professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C., playing in the Eastern Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded prior to the 1998 season. The team is owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment (led by Ted Leonsis), who also owns the Mystics' NBA counterpart, the Washington Wizards. Sheila C. Johnson, co-founder of BET and ex-wife of Charlotte Sting owner Robert L. Johnson, is the managing partner.^[2]

While the Mystics have qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in only nine of its nineteen years in Washington, the franchise has been home to some high-quality players such as Tennessee standout Chamique Holdsclaw, athletic shooting guard Alana Beard, and nearby Maryland product Crystal Langhorne. The Mystics are the only current WNBA franchise that has not made it to the WNBA Finals. They have been to the Conference Finals once, losing to New York in 2002.

Franchise history

One of the first, one of the worst (1998–2004)

Logo from 1998-2010

The Washington Mystics were one of the first WNBA expansion franchises to be established. In 1998, their first season, they finished with a WNBA worst 3-27 record, despite being led by Olympian Nikki McCray. Although they did not make the playoffs that year, the team had high expectations after drafting University of Tennessee star Chamique Holdsclaw in 1999. Washington improved, but again failed to make the playoffs as they finished with a 12-20 record. Holdsclaw would lead the team to the playoffs in 2000, making the playoffs with a record of 14-18, losing to the New York Liberty in a first round sweep.

After being tied for the worst record in the WNBA in 2001 with a 10-22 record, coach Tom Maher and General Manager Melissa McFerrin both resigned. With the future of the franchise up in the air, Mystics assistant coach Marianne Stanley took over as head coach. With the duo of Holdsclaw and rookie guard Stacey Dales-Schuman, the Mystics made the playoffs in 2002 with a 17-15 record. They would sweep the Charlotte Sting in the first round, but lose to New York again in the Eastern Conference Finals 2 games to 1. In 2003, the Mystics would make a franchise second worst record in franchise history with a 9-25 record, last in the Eastern Conference.

Rumors of Holdsclaw being unhappy playing in Washington came to a head in 2004 when the Mystics star was sidelined with an unspecified ailment, later revealed to be a bout with depression. With their all-star out, rookie and Duke University standout Alana Beard led a depleted Mystics team to a surprising playoff appearance, the third in Mystics history. They finished the 2004 season at 17-17, but lost in the first round to the Connecticut Sun in 3 games.

Changes in the organization (2005–2007)

The 2005 season saw deep changes in the Mystics organization. Former star Holdsclaw joined the Los Angeles Sparks and the team was sold by Washington Sports and Entertainment to Lincoln Holdings LLC, led by Ted Leonsis.^[3] In 2005, the team finished the regular season with a record of 16-18 and failed to make the playoffs.

In 2006, the Mystics posted an 18-16 record thriving under star guard Alana Beard who was drafted in 2004. The Mystics entered the playoffs as the 4th seed. In the first round, Washington was ultimately swept by the Connecticut Sun, the first-seeded team in the East.

The Mystics finished with a 16-18 record in 2007. In a more competitive conference, the team was satisfied by its near-.500 finish. However, at the end of the season, the Mystics had an identical record as the New York Liberty. Since the Liberty won the regular season series against the Mystics, Washington lost the tiebreaker and was eliminated from playoff contention.

At the bottom yet again (2008)

Crystal Langhorne

In 2008, the Mystics looked to build on their near-playoff appearance in a tough Eastern conference. They drafted Crystal Langhorne of Maryland with the 6th pick in the 2008 WNBA Draft. Plagues again by coaches problems, the Mystics fell to the bottom of the East again, finishing only in front of the expansion Atlanta team. The Mystics had gone through 10 coaches in 11 years of existence, the most in the WNBA. The Washington front office knew it needed to completely clean out the

Changes, part two (2009-2012)

During the 2008/2009 WNBA offseason, the Mystics released general manager Linda Hargrove (replaced by Angela Taylor) and interim coach Jessie Kenlaw (replaced by Julie Plank). Under the new general manager, underperforming players were waived as new players were signed. With the second pick in the Houston dispersal draft and the 2009 WNBA Draft, the Mystics selected Matee Ajavon and Marissa Coleman, respectively. The Mystics hoped to take advantage of the team changes and finally find consistency in their play.

By the time the season began, the Mystics surprisingly started 3-0. They went 13-18 since the first three games, but their 16-18 record was good enough to reach the playoffs. However, in their playoff comeback, the eventual conference champion Indiana Fever were too much for Washington to handle and the Mystics were swept in the first round.

The Mystics had their best season ever in 2010. Led by Lindsey Harding, Katie Smith, and Crystal Langhorne, the Mystics took first place in the East with a record of 22-12. However, despite holding a 3-1 edge in regular season games, they were swept in the first round, including a 24-point blowout in the elimination game, by the eventual WNBA Finals runner-up, the Atlanta Dream.

Prior to the 2011 season, the Mystics made many controversial changes. Coming off their best season in franchise history, many had hoped the team would finally see some consistency; this was not the case. General manager Angela Taylor could not reach an agreement on a new contract and after head coach Julie Plank refused a request to handle both coach and GM duties which was reported as a cost cutting measure, Mystics assistant coach Trudi Lacey was named to both positions.^[4] When asked if the departure of Plank and Taylor was one of the mistakes she said she had learned from at the 2012 WNBA draft lottery, Mystics owner Sheila Johnson said she couldn't discuss that matter, citing ongoing "human resource issues".^[5] After the coach/GM change Harding and Smith both demanded trades to specific teams which were granted (to Atlanta and Seattle, respectively).^[6][7][8][9] In addition, starting small forward Monique Currie tore her ACL while playing in Europe in January and was lost for most of the WNBA season.^[10] As a result of this off-season turmoil, the Mystics record in 2011 fell to 6-28 from 22-12 the year before.

After an even worse season in 2012 (5-29), Trudi Lacey was fired as the Mystics coach and GM.^[11] Although having the best odds of the four teams involved in the lottery held on September 26, 2012 for the 2013 WNBA draft, the Mystics ended up with the 4th pick, which means they will likely miss out on drafting one of the three highly touted players that will be available in the 2013 WNBA Draft: Brittney Griner, Elena Delle Donne and Skylar Diggins.^[12]

2013–present

In the 2013 WNBA season, the mystics were 17-17 and made the playoffs losing in Conference Semifinals.^[13]

In the 2014 WNBA season, they finished 16-18 and made the playoffs but lost in the Semifinals.^[14]

In the 2015 WNBA season, the Mystics finished 18-16 and made the playoffs.^[15]

Despite mixed success in the 2015-2016 season, they went on a 8-game losing streak.^[16] On August 28, 2016, they lost to the San Antonio Stars where Tayler Hill scored a career-high 26 points.^[17] Vying for a spot in the 2016 WNBA Playoffs, the team have had wins and losses but on September 7, 2016, scored a franchise record of 118 points against the Chicago Sky and made a franchise record of 16 three pointers.^[18] On September 15, 2016, the Mystics lost to the Atlanta Dream officially ending their playoff hopes also lessening their chances of getting a higher draft pick.^[19]

On September 28, 2016, they won the second draft pick in the 2017 WNBA draft.^[20]

Uniforms

• 1998–2010: white with black and gold outlines at home, dark blue with black and gold outlines on the road.
• 2011–2012: white with red and blue outlines at home, red with white and blue outlines on the road. Both jerseys display the Inova Health System name on the front.^[21]
• 2013–2014: A new number font was introduced; Inova retained as jersey sponsor.
• 2015–present: Inova sponsorship expires, and the team name (home jerseys) and city name (road jerseys) return.
• 2016: As part of a league-wide initiative for its 20th season, all games featured all-color uniform matchups. The Mystics retired the white uniform for this season in favor of a red jersey, while retaining the blue jersey as its dark-colored uniform.

"Attendance Champions"

The Washington Mystics led the WNBA in home attendance from 1998 through 2000 and from 2002 through 2004. To celebrate the fans turning out for games, they have hung six banners from the Verizon Center rafters celebrating each year the Mystics were "Attendance Champions."

Verizon Center, home of the Mystics

The banners have been the focal point of much criticism over the years. Many people believe that the rafters are reserved for achievements in sports and not by the fans, and think it is insulting to have banners for championships (such as the '84 Georgetown Hoyas and the '78 Washington Bullets) and retired numbers (for the Washington Wizards and the Washington Capitals) hang next to "attendance champion" banners.

Members of the press have addressed this controversy many times. Washington City Paper has called them "embarrassing",^[22] a 2005 ESPN.com article by Todd Wright had Wright commenting " it's time to lose those Mystics attendance banners hanging from the rafters",^[23] the Sports Road Trip website mocked the banners by stating "Oh... Mystics... WNBA "attendance champions" in '98 and '99. "Wheeeeeeee!".^[24] When Washington Post writer Jon Gallo was asked about the banners, he stated "The attendance banners were largely achieved because the Mystics gave away approximately 30 percent of their tickets before Sheila Johnson took over the team. If the Mystics had made everyone pay for a ticket, then they would not have had the best attendance in the league.".^[25]

As of February 2008 only three of the attendance banners - the two earliest ones (1998 and 1999) and the one for 2002 (only Mystics team to win a playoff series to date) - hung in the Verizon Center rafters; the other three were removed to make room for a Georgetown Final Four (men's basketball) banner, to go next to that team's 1984 national championship banner.

In the 2009 season, the Mystics once again led the WNBA in attendance at 11,338 per game;^[26] however, in an entry on his blog, Ted Leonsis, whose Lincoln Holdings owns the Mystics, promised that there will be no attendance banner for 2009 should the Mystics conclude the season with the attendance lead.^[27]

In a blog entry of 7 May 2010, Leonsis announced that the banners would be coming down.^[28]

Season-by-season records

Players

Current roster

Washington Mystics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs 1.5 !G 15 USA ! Cloud, Natasha 72 !6' 0" (1.83m) 160 lb (73kg) 02-22-1992 Saint Joseph's 1 !1 2.5 !G/F 2 USA ! Cooper, Kahleah 73 !6' 1" (1.85m) 155 lb (70kg) 08-28-1994 Rutgers 0.5 !R 6.0 !C 31 USA ! Dolson, Stefanie 77 !6' 5" (1.96m) 214 lb (97kg) 08-01-1992 Connecticut 1.5 !2 1.5 !G 8 USA ! Hartley, Bria 68 !5' 8" (1.73m) 148 lb (67kg) 09-30-1992 Connecticut 1.5 !2 1.5 !G 4 USA ! Hill, Tayler 69 !5' 9" (1.75m) 145 lb (66kg) 10-23-1990 Ohio State 2 !3 1.5 !G 12 USA ! Latta, Ivory 66 !5' 6" (1.68m) 138 lb (63kg) 09-25-1984 North Carolina 5 !9 4.0 !F 11 USA ! Malott, Ally 76 !6' 4" (1.93m) 183 lb (83kg) 10-31-1992 Dayton 1 !1 6.0 !C 33 Belgium ! Meesseman, Emma 76 !6' 4" (1.93m) 182 lb (83kg) 05-13-1993 Belgium 2 !3 1.5 !G 5 AUS ! Mitchell, Leilani 65 !5' 5" (1.65m) 138 lb (63kg) 06-15-1985 Utah 4 !7 1.5 !G 14 USA ! Ruffin-Pratt, Tierra 70 !5' 10" (1.78m) 183 lb (83kg) 04-11-1991 North Carolina 2 !3 2.5 !G/F 30 USA ! Sanders, LaToya 75 !6' 3" (1.91m) 170 lb (77kg) 09-11-1986 North Carolina 2.5 !4 6.0 !C 9 USA ! Vaughn, Kia 76 !6' 4" (1.93m) 205 lb (93kg) 01-24-1987 Rutgers 4 !7 East: ATL • CHI • CON • IND • NY • WAS | West: DAL • LA • MIN • PHO • SA • SEA	Head coach Mike Thibault (St. Martin's) Assistant coaches Marianne Stanley (Immaculata) Eric Thibault (Missouri) Athletic trainer Emily Fortunato (George Washington) Strength and conditioning coach Michael Bugielski (Illinois State) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured WNBA roster page

Other rights owned

Nationality		Name		Years pro		Last played		Drafted
		Sara Krnjić		0		N/A		2011
		Jelena Milovanović		1		2014		2009

Former players

• Nicky Anosike (2011)
• Alana Beard (2004–2011), now a member of the Los Angeles Sparks
• Kiesha Brown (2002–2005)
• Vicky Bullett (2000–2002)
• Marissa Coleman (2009–2011), now a member of the Indiana Fever
• Monique Currie (2007–2014), now a member of the San Antonio Stars
• Stacey Dales (2002–2004)
• Lindsey Harding (2009–2010), now a member of the Phoenix Mercury
• Chamique Holdsclaw (1999–2004)
• Asjha Jones (2002–2003), now a member of the Minnesota Lynx
• Crystal Langhorne (2008-2013), now a member of the Seattle Storm
• Kara Lawson (2014–2015)
• Nikki McCray (1998–2001)
• Taj McWilliams-Franklin (2008)
• Chasity Melvin (2004–2007, 2009–2010)
• Coco Miller (2001–2008)
• DeLisha Milton-Jones (2005–2007)
• Murriel Page (1998–2005)
• Nakia Sanford (2003–2010)
• Katie Smith (2010), now an assistant coach for the New York Liberty
• Nikki Teasley (2006–2007)

Coaches and staff

Owners

• Abe Pollin, owner of the Washington Wizards (1998–2005)
• Monumental Sports & Entertainment/Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Wizards (2005–present)

Head coaches

General managers

• Melissa McFerrin (1998–2001)
• Judy Holland-Burton (2002–2004)
• Linda Hargrove (2005–2008)
• Angela Taylor (2009–2010)
• Trudi Lacey (2011–2012)
• Mike Thibault (2013–present)

Assistant coaches

Statistics

Media coverage

Currently, some Mystics games are broadcast on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (CSN-MA), a local television station for Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland. Usually, NBA TV will pick up the feed from the local broadcast, which is shown nationally. Broadcasters for Mystics games are Frank Hanrahan and Christy Winters Scott.

All games (excluding blackout games, which are available on ESPN3.com) are broadcast to the WNBA LiveAccess game feeds on the league website. Furthermore, some Mystics games are broadcast nationally on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. The WNBA has reached an eight-year agreement with ESPN, which will pay right fees to the Mystics, as well as other teams in the league.^[29]

All-time notes

Regular season attendance

• A sellout for a basketball game at Verizon Center is 20,356.

Draft picks

• 1998 Expansion Draft: Heidi Burge (2), Penny Moore (4), Deborah Carter (6), Tammy Jackson (8)
• 1998: Murriel Page (3), Rita Williams (13), Angela Hamblin (23), Angela Jackson (33)
• 1999: Chamique Holdsclaw (1), Shalonda Enis (13), Andrea Nagy (25), Jennifer Whittle (37)
• 2000: Tausha Mills (2), Tonya Washington (18)
• 2001: Coco Miller (9), Tamara Stocks (25), Jamie Lewis (41), Elena Karpova (44)
• 2002: Stacey Dales-Schuman (3), Asjha Jones (4), LaNisha Cartwell (33), Teresa Geter (36)
• 2003 Miami/Portland Dispersal Draft: Jenny Mowe (8)
• 2003: Aiysha Smith (7), Zuzana Zirkova (21), Trish Juline (32), Tamara Bowie (36)
• 2004 Cleveland Dispersal Draft: Chasity Melvin (2)
• 2004: Alana Beard (2), Kaayla Chones (15), Evan Unrau (28)
• 2005: Temeka Johnson (6), Erica Taylor (19), Tashia Moorehead (32)
• 2006: Tamara James (8), Nikki Blue (19), Myriam Sy (33)
• 2007 Charlotte Expansion Draft: Teana Miller (6)
• 2007: Bernice Mosby (6), Megan Vogel (19), Gillian Goring (33)
• 2008: Crystal Langhorne (6), Lindsey Pluimer (19), Krystal Vaughn (33)
• 2009 Houston Dispersal Draft: Matee Ajavon (2)
• 2009: Marissa Coleman (2), Camille Lenoir (23), Jelena Milavanovic (24), Josephine Owino (28)
• 2010 Sacramento Dispersal Draft: Kristin Haynie (6)
• 2010: Jacinta Monroe (6), Jenna Smith (14), Shanavia Dowdell (18), Alexis Gray-Lawson (30)
• 2011: Victoria Dunlap (11), Karima Christmas (23), Sarah Krnjic (35)
• 2012: Natalie Novosel (8), LaSondra Barrett (10), Anjale Barrett (26), Briana Gilbreath (35)
• 2013: Tayler Hill (4), Nadirah McKenith (17), Emma Meesseman (19)
• 2014: Stefanie Dolson (6), Carley Mijovic (30), Kody Burke (32)
• 2015: Ally Malott (8), Natasha Cloud (15), Marica Gajić (32)
• 2016: Kahleah Cooper (7), Lia Galdeira (19), Danaejah Grant (31)

All-Stars

Honors and awards

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Washington Mystics.

• Washington Mystics Official Website
• Kenlaw replaces Rollins as Mystics head coach

Sports teams based in the Washington, D.C. area
Baseball	MLB Washington Nationals EL Bowie Baysox CL Frederick Keys Potomac Nationals ALPB Southern Maryland Blue Crabs
Basketball	NBA Washington Wizards WNBA Washington Mystics
Football	NFL Washington Redskins AFL Washington Valor WFA D.C. Divas
Hockey	NHL Washington Capitals
Soccer	MLS D.C. United NWSL Washington Spirit
Roller derby	WFTDA DC Rollergirls
Rugby league	USA Rugby League Washington D.C. Slayers
Tennis	WTT Washington Kastles
College athletics	NCAA Div. I American Georgetown George Mason George Washington Howard Maryland Mount St. Mary's Navy NCAA Div. II UDC NCAA Div. III Catholic University Gallaudet University Marymount University
See also: Sports in Washington, D.C.