# 2002 Washington Mystics season

The 2002 WNBA season was the fifth for the Washington Mystics. This was the first time in franchise history (and, until 2017, the only) that the Mystics won a playoff series.
None of Washington's "big four" teams would accomplish the feat of reaching the semifinals in their respective leagues until the Washington Capitals won their first Stanley Cup, with the only trips to the semifinals between Capitals' Stanley Cups being this season and 2017 for the Mystics.

## Offseason
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| First round | 3rd pick overall | Stacey Dales-Schuman | | Canada | |
| First round | 4th pick overall | Asjha Jones | Forward | United States | University of Connecticut |
| Third Round | 33rd pick overall | LaNisha Cartwell | | | |
| Third Round | 36th pick overall | Teresa Geter | | | |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Eastern Conference | W | L | PCT | Conf. | GB |
| New York Liberty $^x$ | 18 | 14 | .563 | 11–10 | – |
| Charlotte Sting $^x$ | 18 | 14 | .563 | 12–9 | – |
| Washington Mystics $^x$ | 17 | 15 | .531 | 12–9 | 1.0 |
| Indiana Fever $^x$ | 16 | 16 | .500 | 12–9 | 2.0 |
| Orlando Miracle $^o$ | 16 | 16 | .500 | 13–8 | 2.0 |
| Miami Sol $^o$ | 15 | 17 | .469 | 11–10 | 3.0 |
| Cleveland Rockers $^o$ | 10 | 22 | .312 | 7–14 | 8.0 |
| Detroit Shock $^o$ | 9 | 23 | .281 | 6–15 | 9.0 |

### Season schedule

| Date | Opponent | Score | Result | Record |
| June 1 | Orlando | 93-82 | Win | 1-0 |
| June 3 | @ Phoenix | 65-71 | Loss | 1-1 |
| June 4 | @ Utah | 97-89 | Win | 2-1 |
| June 7 | Indiana | 89-68 | Win | 3-1 |
| June 9 | Miami | 76-67 | Win | 4-1 |
| June 13 | Houston | 70-64 | Win | 5-1 |
| June 14 | @ Cleveland | 69-63 | Win | 6-1 |
| June 18 | Detroit | 75-67 | Win | 7-1 |
| June 19 | @ Charlotte | 64-78 | Loss | 7-2 |
| June 21 | @ Miami | 65-60 | Win | 8-2 |
| June 23 | Cleveland | 63-45 | Win | 9-2 |
| June 25 | @ Sacramento | 87-86 (OT) | Win | 10-2 |
| June 27 | @ Los Angeles | 69-73 | Loss | 10-3 |
| June 28 | @ Portland | 66-72 | Loss | 10-4 |
| June 30 | Charlotte | 56-55 | Win | 11-4 |
| July 3 | @ Minnesota | 64-63 | Win | 12-4 |
| July 6 | @ Indiana | 45-50 | Loss | 12-5 |
| July 8 | @ Orlando | 63-51 | Win | 13-5 |
| July 9 | Phoenix | 68-54 | Win | 14-5 |
| July 13 | New York | 53-67 | Loss | 14-6 |
| July 18 | Detroit | 63-59 | Win | 15-6 |
| July 20 | Utah | 73-83 | Loss | 15-7 |
| July 25 | @ Detroit | 58-64 | Loss | 15-8 |
| July 27 | Seattle | 71-80 | Loss | 15-9 |
| July 30 | Orlando | 55-70 | Loss | 15-10 |
| August 2 | Portland | 65-67 | Loss | 15-11 |
| August 4 | @ Miami | 50-55 | Loss | 15-12 |
| August 6 | Indiana | 55-64 | Loss | 15-13 |
| August 8 | @ New York | 65-54 | Win | 16-13 |
| August 9 | New York | 66-74 | Loss | 16-14 |
| August 11 | @ Cleveland | 60-54 | Win | 17-14 |
| August 13 | @ Charlotte | 57-67 | Loss | 17-15 |
| August 15 (first round, G1) | Charlotte | 74-62 | Win | 1-0 |
| August 17 (first round, G2) | @ Charlotte | 62-59 | Win | 2-0 |
| August 22 (East Finals, G1) | New York | 79-74 | Win | 3-0 |
| August 24 (East Finals, G2) | @ New York | 79-96 | Loss | 3-1 |
| August 25 (East Finals, G3) | @ New York | 57-64 | Loss | 3-2 |

## Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; MIN= Minutes; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

## Playoffs

* Won WNBA Eastern Conference Semifinals (2-0) over Charlotte Sting
* Lost WNBA Eastern Conference Finals (2-1) to New York Liberty

## Awards and honors

* Coco Miller, WNBA Most Improved Player Award
* Chamique Holdsclaw, WNBA Peak Performer
* Marianne Stanley, WNBA Coach of the Year Award