The words “greatest of all time” have been circling around the Washington Mystics (24-8) as the best offense in WNBA history. Are they really the best team to ever come through the league? So far it has been a historic season that has seen individual and team records broken with each week.
It is evident that this team is not only looking to get back to the WNBA Finals but win it all this season.
Most recently, the Mystics defeated the New York Liberty (9-23) 93-77 in the first game of September.
As we have seen several times this season, four players finished in double figures for Washington. Elena Delle Donne had a double-double. Coming off her third consecutive Eastern Conference Player of the Month award, Delle Donne finished with a game-high 30 points, 10 rebounds. The frontrunner for WNBA MVP has been named player of the month for each month this season so far.
Guard Ariel Atkins finished with 23 points, 7 rebounds. Emma Meesseman and Natasha Cloud chipped in with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Natasha Cloud was one assist away from a double-double.
Marine Johannes led the Liberty with 22 points.
Looking back at the month of August, the Mystics averaged 92.6 points per game on 48% shooting from the field. They averaged 22 assists per game and finished the month shooting 91.3% from the free-throw line.
All season, the Mystics have dominated opponents as they won by 20 or more points in 11 games this season, including three wins against teams ranked in the top four in their respective conference. With the depth across the scoreboard and more threats than just potential MVP Delle Donne, who is averaging a league’s second-highest 19.5 ppg, it is hard to defend the Mystics.
Seven Mystics average nine or more points per game. Across their 32 games so far this season, Washington has also scored over 90 points in 17 games with an average of 93.8 points per game.
Aside from their offensive prowess, several other honors have been achieved. Kristi Toliver (6.0 apg) and Natasha Cloud (5.6 apg) are two games away from becoming the first teammates in WNBA history to record five or more assists in each game they play.
On the coaching staff, Head Coach Mike Thibault was named WNBA Coach of the Month for the second time this month. Thibault and the Mystics had a league-best 9-2 record in August and became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.
Washington is just two wins away from a franchise record of 13 wins at home in one regular season. Fortunately, the Mystics close out the regular season with a home doubleheader this weekend. Friday night, Washington hosts Arike Ogunbowale and the Dallas Wings (10-22) at 7:00 pm ET. Sunday afternoon they are back at Entertainment and Sports Arena to take on Diamond DeShields and the Chicago Sky(19-13).
The accolades continue to roll in with the success the Washington Mystics have had this regular season. Following their game versus the Sky, the real fun begins with the WNBA Playoffs and the next step towards winning it all.
