WNBA: Washington Mystics rookies outshine all against the Atlanta Dream

The Washington Mystics, a team many predicted to be 2025 bottom-dwellers, are the best team in the WNBA.

Sorry, that really might be my only chance to say that this season. But 1-0 is 1-0, and a 94-90 win over the Dream, who bested Washington in the preseason, is a pleasant surprise. New head coach Sydney Johnson and his rookies won’t have to delay the beloved water bottle shower for their first career WNBA win.

Ready rookies

Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen looked like everything the Mystics were hoping for—and then some. Citron exploded for 19 points in her debut, while Iriafen trailed closely with 14.

Iriafen’s finishing has a lot of room to grow, but her motor is something that just can’t be taught. She fought offensively in the post, ran the floor, and was rewarded with four trips to the free throw line. She also severely limited Brittney Griner’s shot quality—to a point. Griner was 2-for-10 shooting for the majority of the game, but went on a personal 7-0 run with five minutes left in the game to give Iriafen a quick reality check. Iriafen also struggled on the boards, but Washington was severely outmatched, down their two best rebounders (Shakira Austin and Aaliyah Edwards) and facing the center tandem of Griner and Brionna Jones.

Citron was, for lack of a better word, unreal. Her 19 points on 6-for-7 shooting set the record for the most efficient rookie debut of any player to score more than 15 points (per Across the Timeline). The shooting prowess that she boasted at Notre Dame shone under the lights of CareFirst Arena. If anything, the Mystics needed to find ways to get the rookie more shots. If someone only missed one shot, they have to take more than seven.

Both rookies will have to adjust to a professional level of physicality. Citron picked up her fourth foul soon after halftime, which limited her run in the third quarter. Iriafen fouled out with less than two minutes left in the game. The Mystics only have nine healthy players right now, so foul trouble can be a tangible recipe for disaster that they have to clean up. However, that’s a minor, minor mark on what was a tremendous debut for the two first-round picks.

Beloved former Iowa Hawkeye Lucy Olsen didn’t necessarily stun in her first professional minutes, but she looked absolutely serviceable for a handful of stints. Even without Georgia Amoore, who tore her ACL right before the preseason started, the Mystics have three rookies who will contribute mightily. That’s a wonderful sign that their rebuilding timeline may not be as long as advertised.

Slim saves the day

Eight-year veteran Brittney Sykes probably isn’t the player who Mystics fans would expect to have some season opener nerves, but she was completely unable to find her rhythm throughout 38 minutes of the game. Adjusting to a new system takes time for everyone, but she’s also having to mentally work through a new scoring mindset. Sykes is expected to grow into the Mystics “star” this season; after sharing the high-usage scoring load with the now-departed Ariel Atkins last season, Slim is now filling that role alone. She’s assuming the responsibility not just to be confident in her scoring, but also to pick and choose her moments. On Friday night, it seemed like she was struggling with the latter. Sykes went into possessions at 100 miles per hour, missing trajectory on what would usually be routine midranges for the career 12-points-per-game scorer.

If there’s any bright side to Sykes’ inconsistent pace, her bull-in-a-china-shop drives got her to the free throw line a lot. She shot 9-for-12 from the line, despite being an abysmal 6-for-20 from the field. There should be little doubt in anyone’s mind that Sykes will figure out her pace, but it’s certainly something to watch for the first few weeks of the season.

Shooting numbers aside, Sykes made it count when it mattered. She hit the go-ahead layup off a middle drive to put the Mystics up 92-90 with less than 30 seconds remaining. She then immediately stole Atlanta’s inbound pass to win back possession and force the Dream to foul. She sealed a win that could very likely mean something to a team that’s going to be fighting for a postseason berth come the end of the season. If you’re going to look at anything on the box score, look at that. The 2025 Mystics are 1-0.