# 2024 Washington Mystics season

The 2024 Washington Mystics season was the franchise's 27th season in the Women's National Basketball Association, and their second season under head coach Eric Thibault.
The season tipped off on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at home against the New York Liberty. The Mystics lost the game by five-points, and the opening month of May did not improve much after that. The Mystics went on to lose all eight games they played in May, with the closest being a three-point loss to the Phoenix Mercury on May 23. The Mystics' losing streak continued through twelve games and they won their first game of the season on June 11, versus the Atlanta Dream. Including that win, the Mystics won four out of their next five games, with the only loss coming against Indiana. They lost their last two games of the month, including an overtime contest against Connecticut. They finished the month 4–7. Their fortunes did not improve in July, as they finished 2–4 before the league went into its Olympic break. The Mystics lost the first three games out of the break, but then won the next three, including a two point win at Seattle and a four-point road win over Chicago. They could not win their final game of the month and finished with a 3–4 record in August. The Mystics were a greatly improved team in September, as they won four out of their first five games of the month to draw within reaching distance of the eighth playoff seed. However, they lost the next game to fellow 8th seed contenders Atlanta, and then lost two days later to New York, a loss which allowed New York to clinch the first overall seed. The Mystics finished their season with a one-point win over Indiana. The Mystics finished ninth overall with a record of 14–26.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
| 1 | 6 | Aaliyah Edwards | Canada | UConn |
| 2 | 21 | Kaylynne Truong | United States | Gonzaga |
| 3 | 30 | Nastja Claessens | Belgium | Castors Braine (Belgium) |

### Transactions

| Date | Transaction |
| January 11, 2024 | Extended a Qualifying Offer to Li Meng |
| January 13, 2024 | Cored Elena Delle Donne |
| February 1, 2024 | Signed Karlie Samuelson |
| February 1, 2024 | Signed Elissa Cunane to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 1, 2024 | Signed Emily Engstler to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 1, 2024 | Signed DiDi Richards to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 1, 2024 | Signed Julie Vanloo to a Training Camp Contract |
| March 12, 2024 | Signed Stefanie Dolson |
| April 17, 2024 | Signed Kaylynne Truong, Honesty Scott-Grayson, and Jakia Brown-Turner to Rookie Contracts |
| April 18, 2024 | Signed Aaliyah Edwards to a Rookie Contract |
| April 24, 2024 | Exercised Team Option on Shakira Austin |
| May 7, 2024 | Acquired Bernadett Határ from the Connecticut Sun and the Sun's second round 2025 draft pick in exchange for Queen Egbo |
| May 9, 2024 | Waived Honesty Scott-Grayson |
| May 11, 2024 | Acquired Jade Melbourne from Seattle Storm in exchange for third round 2025 draft pick |
| May 12, 2024 | Waived Jakia Brown-Turner, Elissa Cunane, and Kaylynne Truong |
| June 28, 2024 | Signed Jakia Brown-Turner to a hardship contract |
| July 2, 2024 | Released Jakia Brown-Turner from hardship contract |
| July 4, 2024 | Signed Jakia Brown-Turner to a 7-day hardship contract |
| July 12, 2024 | Signed Jakia Brown-Turner to a second 7-day contract |
| August 13, 2024 | Released Jakia Brown-Turner from second 7-day contract |
| August 20, 2024 | Acquired Olivia Époupa, Sika Koné, and a 2026 second round pick from the Minnesota Lynx in exchange for Myisha Hines-Allen |
| August 20, 2024 | Waived Olivia Époupa and DiDi Richards |
| August 20, 2024 | Acquired Sug Sutton and 2025 3rd Round Pick from the Phoenix Mercury in exchange for the rights to Klara Lundquist |

### Roster changes
## Roster
### Depth

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| PG | Brittney Sykes | Julie Vanloo Jade Melbourne |
| SG | Ariel Atkins | Sug Sutton |
| SF | Karlie Samuelson | Shatori Walker-Kimbrough |
| PF | Shakira Austin | Aaliyah Edwards Emily Engstler |
| C | Stefanie Dolson | Sika Koné |

## Schedule
### Pre-season

2024 pre-season game log Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1) :
May: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 4
@ Atlanta
L 84–87
Myisha Hines-Allen (13)
Edwards, Egbo, Hines-Allen (4)
Julie Vanloo (8)
Gateway Center Arena
0–1
2
May 8
Minnesota
L 77–83
Ariel Atkins (20)
Myisha Hines-Allen (6)
Julie Vanloo (6)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,112
0–2 :
2024 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2024 game log Total: 14–26 (Home: 5–15; Road: 9–11) :
May: 0–8 (Home: 0–3; Road: 0–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 14
New York
L 80–85
Ariel Atkins (20)
Brittney Sykes (10)
Brittney Sykes (7)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
0–1
2
May 17
@ Connecticut
L 77–84
Karlie Samuelson (18)
Shakira Austin (9)
Julie Vanloo (8)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,874
0–2
3
May 19
Seattle
L 75–84
Ariel Atkins (19)
Aaliyah Edwards (11)
Julie Vanloo (5)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
0–3
4
May 21
@ Los Angeles
L 68–70
Austin, Vanloo (12)
Shakira Austin (8)
Julie Vanloo (9)
Walter Pyramid 3,627
0–4
5
May 23
@ Phoenix
L 80–83
Ariel Atkins (16)
Julie Vanloo (7)
Myisha Hines-Allen (5)
Footprint Center 7,474
0–5
6
May 25
@ Seattle
L 69–101
Karlie Samuelson (16)
Atkins, Edwards, Hines-Allen (5)
Hines-Allen, Vanloo (3)
Climate Pledge Arena 8,846
0–6
7
May 29
Atlanta
L 67–73
Ariel Atkins (21)
Shakira Austin (9)
Julie Vanloo (5)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
0–7
8
May 31
@ New York
L 79–90
Ariel Atkins (15)
Atkins, Hines-Allen (7)
Julie Vanloo (7)
Barclays Center 9,878
0–8 :
June
: 4–7 (Home: 3–4; Road: 1–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
9
June 4
@ Connecticut
L 59–76
Aaliyah Edwards (14)
Aaliyah Edwards (9)
Julie Vanloo (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 5,346
0–9
10
June 6
Chicago
L 71–79
Aaliyah Edwards (23)
Aaliyah Edwards (14)
Julie Vanloo (7)
Capital One Arena 10,000
0–10
11
June 7
Indiana
L 83–85
Stefanie Dolson (19)
Aaliyah Edwards (12)
Julie Vanloo (6)
Capital One Arena 20,333
0–11
12
June 9
@ New York
L 88–93
Jade Melbourne (21)
Myisha Hines-Allen (8)
Myisha Hines-Allen (7)
Barclays Center 12,477
0–12
13
June 11
@ Atlanta
W 87–68
Atkins, Sykes (18)
Edwards, Hines-Allen, Samuelson (6)
Ariel Atkins (5)
Gateway Center Arena 3,260
1–12
14
June 14
Chicago
W 83–81
Ariel Atkins (29)
Aaliyah Edwards (9)
Stefanie Dolson (5)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
2–12
15
June 19
@ Indiana
L 81–88
Ariel Atkins (27)
Stefanie Dolson (7)
Julie Vanloo (8)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 17,274
2–13
16
June 22
Dallas
W 97–69
Emily Engstler (23)
Stefanie Dolson (10)
Julie Vanloo (6)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
3–13
17
June 23
W 92–84
Stefanie Dolson (18)
Stefanie Dolson (8)
Ariel Atkins (7)
4–13
18
June 27
Connecticut
L 91–94 (OT)
Myisha Hines-Allen (21)
Myisha Hines-Allen (7)
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (6)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
4–14
19
June 29
Las Vegas
L 77–88
Stefanie Dolson (23)
Dolson, Edwards (7)
Julie Vanloo (8)
4–15 :
July
: 2–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
20
July 2
@ Los Angeles
W 82–80
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (17)
Stefanie Dolson (8)
Ariel Atkins (5)
Crypto.com Arena 9,164
5–15
21
July 4
@ Las Vegas
L 77–98
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (19)
Emily Engstler (8)
Jade Melbourne (6)
Michelob Ultra Arena 10,376
5–16
22
July 6
@ Minnesota
L 67–74
Atkins, Walker-Kimbrough (15)
Myisha Hines-Allen (11)
Myisha Hines-Allen (6)
Target Center 7,610
5–17
23
July 10
@ Indiana
W 89–84
Ariel Atkins (26)
Myisha Hines-Allen (9)
Stefanie Dolson (6)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 17,274
6–17
24
July 14
Las Vegas
L 77–89
Ariel Atkins (36)
Stefanie Dolson (6)
Julie Vanloo (7)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
6–18
25
July 16
Phoenix
L 87–96
Myisha Hines-Allen (18)
Myisha Hines-Allen (12)
Ariel Atkins (6)
Capital One Arena 12,586
6–19 :
August
: 3–4 (Home: 1–3; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
26
August 15
@ Minnesota
L 68–79
Ariel Atkins (12)
Shakira Austin (10)
Stefanie Dolson (4)
Target Center 7,224
6–20
27
August 17
Minnesota
L 83–99
Stefanie Dolson (23)
Aaliyah Edwards (7)
Brittney Sykes (7)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
6–21
28
August 20
Seattle
L 77–83
Ariel Atkins (25)
Shakira Austin (9)
Julie Vanloo (6)
6–22
29
August 23
Los Angeles
W 80–74
Brittney Sykes (28)
Shakira Austin (11)
Stefanie Dolson (8)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
7–22
30
August 26
@ Seattle
W 74–72
Brittney Sykes (20)
Stefanie Dolson (10)
Julie Vanloo (4)
Climate Pledge Arena 9,535
8–22
31
August 28
@ Chicago
W 74–70
Stefanie Dolson (17)
Atkins, Dolson (6)
Ariel Atkins (5)
Wintrust Arena 8,763
9–22
32
August 31
Connecticut
L 85–96
Ariel Atkins (15)
Stefanie Dolson (7)
Karlie Samuelson (5)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
9–23 :
September
: 5–3 (Home: 1–3; Road: 4–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
33
September 3
@ Dallas
W 90–86
Emily Engstler (19)
Emily Engstler (10)
3 players (4)
College Park Center 5,129
10–23
34
September 5
@ Phoenix
W 90–77
Karlie Samuelson (19)
Aaliyah Edwards (6)
Julie Vanloo (4)
Footprint Center 7,709
11–23
35
September 8
Minnesota
L 71–78
Brittney Sykes (13)
Stefanie Dolson (7)
Atkins, Vanloo (4)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
11–24
36
September 11
@ Chicago
W 89–58
Aaliyah Edwards (15)
Aaliyah Edwards (10)
Brittney Sykes (7)
Wintrust Arena 7,948
12–24
37
September 13
@ Atlanta
W 72–69
Brittney Sykes (20)
Dolson, Koné (8)
Emily Engstler (4)
Gateway Center Arena 3,260
13–24
38
September 15
Atlanta
L 73–76 (OT)
Ariel Atkins (16)
Stefanie Dolson (6)
Samuelson, Sykes (3)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
13–25
39
September 17
New York
L 71–87
Ariel Atkins (22)
Emily Engstler (8)
Karlie Samuelson (4)
13–26
40
September 19
Indiana
W 92–91
Sika Koné (20)
Sika Koné (7)
Emily Engstler (4)
Capital One Arena 20,711
14–26 :
2024 season schedule :

## Standings

| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
| 1 | yx – New York Liberty | 32 | 8 | .800 | — | 16–4 | 16–4 | 16–4 | 5–0 |
| 2 | cx – Minnesota Lynx | 30 | 10 | .750 | 2 | 14–6 | 16–4 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 28 | 12 | .700 | 4 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 4 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 27 | 13 | .675 | 5 | 12–8 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 2–3 |
| 5 | x – Seattle Storm | 25 | 15 | .625 | 7 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 11–9 | 4–1 |
| 6 | x – Indiana Fever | 20 | 20 | .500 | 12 | 11–9 | 12–8 | 8–12 | 3–2 |
| 7 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 19 | 21 | .475 | 13 | 10–10 | 10–10 | 9–11 | 3–2 |
| 8 | x – Atlanta Dream | 15 | 25 | .375 | 17 | 7–13 | 8–12 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 9 | e – Washington Mystics | 14 | 26 | .350 | 18 | 7–13 | 5–15 | 9–11 | 1–4 |
| 10 | e – Chicago Sky | 13 | 27 | .325 | 19 | 5–15 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 11 | e – Dallas Wings | 9 | 31 | .225 | 23 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 2–18 | 0–5 |
| 12 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 8 | 32 | .200 | 24 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 3–17 | 2–3 |
* v
* t
* e
Notes
    (#) – League Standing
    c – Commissioner's Cup winners
    y – Regular Season Champion
    x – Clinched playoff berth
    e – Eliminated from playoff contention
    Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
| Ariel Atkins | 40 | 40 | 29.9 | .437 | .357 | .848 | 3.4 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 14.9 |
| Brittney Sykes | 18 | 18 | 23.4 | .405 | .271 | .750 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 12.2 |
| Shakira Austin | 12 | 11 | 19.9 | .430 | .250 | .667 | 6.8 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 11.8 |
| Stefanie Dolson | 39 | 39 | 25.9 | .475 | .465 | .786 | 4.9 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 2.9 | 9.5 |
| Sika Koné$^≠$ | 10 | 0 | 16.0 | .433 | .571 | .889 | 4.3 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 2.0 | 8.6 |
| Karlie Samuelson | 29 | 19 | 24.5 | .409 | .398 | .923 | 2.6 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 0.9 | 1.7 | 8.4 |
| Myisha Hines-Allen$^†$ | 27 | 10 | 19.1 | .489 | .359 | .829 | 4.9 | 2.7 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 8.0 |
| Aaliyah Edwards | 34 | 17 | 21.8 | .490 | .000 | .507 | 5.6 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 7.6 |
| Shatori Walker-Kimbrough | 40 | 2 | 22.1 | .415 | .330 | .806 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 7.5 |
| Julie Vanloo | 40 | 34 | 23.2 | .346 | .324 | .667 | 1.6 | 4.3 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 2.6 | 2.2 | 7.4 |
| Emily Engstler | 32 | 3 | 14.5 | .490 | .474 | .818 | 4.0 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 6.2 |
| Jade Melbourne | 37 | 0 | 14.1 | .434 | .357 | .714 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 5.4 |
| DiDi Richards$^‡$ | 19 | 7 | 10.4 | .408 | .000 | .429 | 1.5 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 2.4 |
| Jakia Brown-Turner$^≠$ $^‡$ | 2 | 0 | 4.0 | .000 | — | 1.000 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
| Sug Sutton$^≠$ | 7 | 0 | 7.3 | .286 | .000 | — | 0.6 | 1.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.6 |
$^‡$Waived/Released during the season $^†$Traded during the season $^≠$Acquired during the season

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |