WNBA: Young talent standing out early for Washington Mystics

The Washington Mystics may be rebuilding, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t competing. The Mystics are one of two WNBA teams to have opened the 2025 season with a 2-0 record (the Minnesota Lynx being the other) and, while it’s still far too early to draw any conclusions, the way they’ve played thus far is reason to be encouraged about their future—specifically, the players who will be part of it.

Washington kicked things off with a home win against the Atlanta Dream, matching the Dream’s 3-point barrage with efficient offense of its own. Despite making only nine threes, the Mystics shot the ball well overall (50.8 percent shooting from the field) and committed only seven turnovers, allowing them to hang around long enough and out-execute the Atlanta down the stretch in a 94-90 victory.

The Mystics then traveled to Connecticut and, just like in their opener, overcame an early double-digit deficit, outscoring the Sun by 10 points in the fourth quarter and ultimately winning 90-85. Once again, Washington eclipsed 50 percent shooting; they also came out on top despite getting called for 32 personal fouls.

It would be easy to chalk these results up to early-season variance, and the Mystics certainly aren’t going to average over 90 points per game for the remainder of the season. There’s a lot to like about how they’ve been playing regardless of the final scores, though, especially when it comes to two of their most important young players: Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen.

Drafted at No. 3 and No. 4 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft, Citron and Iriafen are going to be a significant part of Washington’s future, and both of them are off to strong starts in their respective professional careers. Citron was nearly flawless in her debut, scoring 19 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the Mystics’ win over Atlanta; Iriafen, meanwhile, recorded a 17-point, 14-rebound double-double against Connecticut, going blow-for-blow against the league’s No. 2 all-time scorer, Tina Charles.

In addition to the strong play of their rookies, the Mystics have also gotten big contributions from Jade Melbourne. The Australian guard is now in her third WNBA season, but she’ll have a much larger role this year with the Mystics’ third 2025 draft pick, Georgia Amoore, out with a torn ACL. Melbourne has taken advantage of the opportunity, totaling 26 points in two games on 64.3 percent shooting off the bench, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see her get promoted to the team’s starting lineup somewhere down the line.

What makes these performances even more noteworthy is that Washington hasn’t even been at full strength. Center Shakira Austin, who the Mystics drafted at No. 3 overall in 2022, missed the team’s first game and played just seven minutes in the second, while forward Aliyah Edwards, who they drafted in 2024, has yet to suit up while nursing a back injury. Austin and Edwards are also viewed as building blocks for Washington, and while their absences may have thrown the team’s other youngsters—Iriafen, in particular—into the fire a bit sooner than expected, the way they’ve responded with virtually no experience has been impressive.

Of course, the Mystics are going to lose some games—probably many more than they’ll win. They’re in the first season with an all-new regime, including head coach Sydney Johnson and general manager Jamila Wideman, and seven of their 11 active players (eight, if you include Amoore) are under 25 years old. They’re not built to “win now.”

In the grand scheme of things, though, that’s not a bad thing. Player development is far more important for the Mystics than winning games, at least at the moment, and they have plenty of young talent to bring along. Competing in the standings isn’t a realistic goal, but competing on the court is, and even though it’s early, Washington is looking like a team will play hard no matter how little experience it has; if players like Citron, Iriafen and Melbourne continue growing at the rapid pace they’ve hinted at, the Mystics will be all the better for it in the future.