2018 Washington Mystics season

The 2018 WNBA season is the 21st for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association which began on May 20, 2018. The Mystics qualified for the WNBA Playoffs and reached the WNBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.^[1]

2018 Washington Mystics season
Coach	Mike Thibault
Arena	Capital One Arena
Attendance	6,136 per game
Results
Record	22–12 (.647)
Place	2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	3rd seed; lost in WNBA Finals to Seattle Storm 0–3.
Team Leaders
Points	Elena Delle Donne – 20.7 ppg
Rebounds	Elena Delle Donne – 7.2 rpg
Assists	Natasha Cloud – 4.6 apg
Media
Television	NBC Sports Washington and Monumental Sports Network
← 2017 season 2019 season →

The Mystics started the season strong with a 5–1 record in May. Their only loss came to eventual league champions Seattle. However, the team couldn't carry this momentum into June, where they went 5–5. The Mystics lost 4 of their first 5 games in June, but turned it around in the second half of the month, winning 4 of their last 5. The up and down season continued into July, where they again went 5–5. The Mystics finished the season just like they started it, strongly. With a 7–1 August record, the team secured a first round playoff bye, and the third overall seed. The Mystics won seven straight games before dropping their season finale against Minnesota. Their final record of 22–12 tied a franchise best, previously set in 2010.

The Mystics hosted a second round playoff game against the Los Angeles Sparks and won 96–64. This win saw them advance to the semifinals where they met the Atlanta Dream. In the best of five series, the Mystics won the final two games to advance to the 2018 WNBA Finals against the Storm. An injury to star Elena Delle Donne in the semifinals hampered her in the finals, and the Mystics were swept 0–3.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2018 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	7	Ariel Atkins	United States	Texas
2	19	Myisha Hines-Allen	United States	Louisville
3	31	Rebecca Greenwell	United States	Duke

Trades/Roster Changes

Date	Details
February 1, 2018	C Emma Meesseman to miss 2018 season due to rest.[2]
February 1, 2018	Signed F/G Monique Currie.[3]
February 2, 2018	Re-Signed F Tianna Hawkins, F Allison Hightower, and F LaToya Sanders[4]
February 5, 2018	Re-Signed F Asia Taylor[5]
February 5, 2018	Signed F Devereaux Peters[5]
July 23, 2018	Traded G Tayler Hill and 2019 WNBA draft second round pick and the rights to swap first round picks to Dallas Wings in exchange for F Aerial Powers.[6]

Roster

2018 Washington Mystics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 7 Atkins, Ariel 5' 11" (1.8m) 160 lb (73kg) 1996-07-30 Texas R G 15 Cloud, Natasha 6' 0" (1.83m) 160 lb (73kg) 1992-02-22 Saint Joseph's 3 F 25 Currie, Monique 6' 0" (1.83m) 175 lb (79kg) 1983-02-25 Duke 12 G/F 11 Delle Donne, Elena 6' 5" (1.96m) 187 lb (85kg) 1989-09-05 Delaware 5 F 21 Hawkins, Tianna 6' 3" (1.91m) 193 lb (88kg) 1991-03-02 Maryland 4 F 2 Hines-Allen, Myisha 6' 2" (1.88m) 200 lb (91kg) 1996-05-30 Louisville R G/F 23 Powers, Aerial 6' 0" (1.83m) 157 lb (71kg) 1994-07-17 Michigan State 2 G 14 Ruffin-Pratt, Tierra 5' 11" (1.8m) 180 lb (82kg) 1991-04-11 North Carolina 5 F/C 30 Sanders, LaToya 6' 3" (1.91m) 170 lb (77kg) 1986-09-11 North Carolina 5 C 34 Thomas, Krystal 6' 5" (1.96m) 210 lb (95kg) 1989-06-10 Duke 6 G 20 Toliver, Kristi 5' 7" (1.7m) 130 lb (59kg) 1987-01-27 Maryland 9 G 32 Walker-Kimbrough, Shatori 5' 11" (1.8m) 142 lb (64kg) 1995-05-18 Maryland 1	Head coach Mike Thibault (Saint Martin's) Assistant coaches Marianne Stanley (Immaculata) Eric Thibault (Missouri) Athletic trainer Chalisa Fonza (Western Illinois) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Game log

Preseason

2018 pre-season game log
May: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 6 vs. Minnesota W 90–85 Ruffin-Pratt (17) Peters (6) Tied (3) Wells Fargo Arena 4,203 1–0 2 May 12 vs. Indiana W 91–56 Tied (15) Hawkins (6) Currie (3) Acierno Arena (University of Delaware) 3,323 2–0
2018 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2018 game log Total: 22–12 (Home: 12–5; Road: 10–7)
May: 5–1 (Home: 3–0; Road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 20 Indiana W 82–75 Toliver (16) Delle Donne (5) Delle Donne (7) Capital One Arena 7,400 1–0 2 May 22 Las Vegas W 75–70 Delle Donne (23) Delle Donne (11) Cloud (5) Capital One Arena 4,509 2–0 3 May 24 @ Indiana W 93–84 Delle Donne (26) Delle Donne (10) Tied (4) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 4,415 3–0 4 May 27 Minnesota W 90–78 Toliver (19) Hines–Allen (13) Cloud (8) Capital One Arena 5,723 4–0 5 May 29 @ Seattle L 77–81 Toliver (20) Hines–Allen (11) Ruffin-Pratt (5) KeyArena 4,453 4–1 6 May 30 @ Phoenix W 103–95 Toliver (30) Hawkins (12) Atkins (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,188 5–1
June : 5–5 (Home: 3–4; Road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 7 June 1 @ Las Vegas L 73–74 Currie (24) Currie (8) Toliver (4) Mandalay Bay Events Center 5,575 5–2 8 June 3 Connecticut L 64–88 Atkins (14) Tied (4) Tied (3) Capital One Arena 5,176 5–3 9 June 7 Minnesota L 80–88 Cloud (17) Cloud (5) Cloud (9) Capital One Arena 8,587 5–4 10 June 13 @ Connecticut W 95–91 Delle Donne (36) Delle Donne (5) Toliver (4) Mohegan Sun Arena 6–4 11 June 15 Los Angeles L 86–97 Delle Donne (18) Sanders (11) Toliver (8) Capital One Arena 5,289 6–5 12 June 19 Chicago W 88–60 Toliver (19) Delle Donne (7) Toliver (8) Capital One Arena 4,206 7–5 13 June 22 @ Chicago W 93–77 Delle Donne (30) Sanders (11) Delle Donne (6) Wintrust Arena 5,831 8–5 14 June 26 Connecticut W 92–80 Delle Donne (25) Sanders (8) Toliver (8) Capital One Arena 4,139 9–5 15 June 28 New York W 80–77 Delle Donne (22) Sanders (6) Tied (3) Capital One Arena 4,473 10–5 16 June 30 Phoenix L 74–84 Delle Donne (27) Delle Donne (13) Cloud (4) Capital One Arena 6,218 10–6
July : 5–5 (Home: 2–1; Road: 3–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 17 July 5 New York W 86–67 Delle Donne (21) Cloud (6) Cloud (10) Capital One Arena 4,674 11–6 18 July 7 @ Los Angeles W 83–74 Toliver (20) Sanders (8) Tied (3) Staples Center 10,163 12–6 19 July 8 @ Seattle L 91–97 Delle Donne (29) Delle Donne (7) Toliver (6) KeyArena 8,724 12–7 20 July 11 Atlanta L 89–106 Cloud (17) Delle Donne (9) Toliver (5) Capital One Arena 11,354 12–8 21 July 13 Chicago W 88–72 Tied (25) Sanders (8) Cloud (7) Capital One Arena 5,858 13–8 22 July 15 @ Atlanta L 77–80 Delle Donne (23) Delle Donne (11) Toliver (6) McCamish Pavilion 3,880 13–9 23 July 19 @ Dallas L 81–90 Sanders (25) Delle Donne (13) Toliver (9) College Park Center 4,411 13–10 24 July 21 @ New York W 95–78 Delle Donne (30) Delle Donne (10) Toliver (8) Westchester County Center 2,005 14–10 25 July 24 @ Connecticut L 68–94 Delle Donne (21) Sanders (6) Tied (4) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,125 14–11 26 July 31 @ Atlanta W 86–71 Delle Donne (28) Delle Donne (16) Toliver (4) McCamish Pavilion 3,648 15–11
August : 7–1 (Home: 4–0; Road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 27 August 3 Las Vegas W via forfeit [7] – – – Capital One Arena 0 16–11 28 August 5 @ Dallas W 76–74 Toliver (16) Powers (6) Toliver (5) College Park Center 5,623 17–11 29 August 7 @ Phoenix W 103–98 Delle Donne (30) Sanders (5) Cloud (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena 7,769 18–11 30 August 9 Seattle W 100–77 Delle Donne (30) Sanders (12) Cloud (8) Capital One Arena 6,808 19–11 31 August 12 Dallas W 93–80 Atkins (26) Sanders (9) Toliver (7) Capital One Arena 6,362 20–11 32 August 15 @ Indiana W 76–62 Delle Donne (25) Sanders (13) Cloud (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 7,636 21–11 33 August 17 Los Angeles W 69–67 Delle Donne (16) Tied (10) Tied (5) Capital One Arena 7,400 22–11 34 August 19 @ Minnesota L 83–88 Toliver (17) Tied (5) Toliver (4) Target Center 13,013 22–12
2018 season schedule

Playoffs

2018 playoff game log Total: 4–5 (Home: 2–2; Road: 2–3)
Second Round: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 August 23 Los Angeles W 96–64 Donne (19) Donne (12) Toliver (9) Charles Smith Center 3,548 1–0
Semifinals: 3–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 August 26 @ Atlanta W 87–84 Delle Donne (32) Delle Donne (13) Toliver (6) McCamish Pavilion 5,086 1–0 2 August 28 @ Atlanta L 75–78 Delle Donne (27) Delle Donne (14) Tied (6) McCamish Pavilion 3,813 1–1 3 August 31 Atlanta L 76–81 Powers (18) Hawkins (9) Toliver (6) Charles Smith Center 3,867 1–2 4 September 2 Atlanta W 97–76 4 Tied (12) Delle Donne (10) Toliver (7) Charles Smith Center 3,722 2–2 5 September 4 @ Atlanta W 86–81 Atkins (20) Delle Donne (11) Cloud (5) McCamish Pavilion 4,435 3–2
WNBA Finals: 0–3 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 7 @ Seattle L 76–89 Atkins (23) Delle Donne, Hawkins (7) Cloud (5) KeyArena 11,486 0–1 2 September 9 @ Seattle L 73–75[permanent dead link‍] Delle Donne (17) Sanders (5) Toliver (3) KeyArena 14,212 0–2 3 September 12 Seattle L 82–98[permanent dead link‍] Delle Donne (23) Delle Donne (5) Toliver (5) EagleBank Arena 9,164 0–3
2018 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Eastern Conference v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
1	Atlanta Dream (2)	23	11	.676	–	13–4	10–7	12–4
2	Washington Mystics (3)	22	12	.647	1	12–5	10–7	12–4
3	Connecticut Sun (4)	21	13	.618	2	13–4	8–9	9–7
4	e – Chicago Sky	13	21	.382	10	7–10	6–11	6–10
5	e – New York Liberty	7	27	.206	16	4–13	3–14	6–10
6	e – Indiana Fever	6	28	.176	17	2–15	4–13	3–13

Playoffs

Main article: 2018 WNBA Playoffs

	First round: Single elimination (Aug. 21)					Second round: Single elimination (Aug. 23)					Semifinals: Best-of-five (Aug. 26 – Sept. 4)									WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 7 – Sept. 12)
											1	Seattle Storm	91	91	66	84	94
						4	Connecticut Sun	86			5	Phoenix Mercury	87	87	86	86	84
	5	Phoenix Mercury	101			5	Phoenix Mercury	96												1	Seattle Storm	89	75	98
	8	Dallas Wings	83																	3	Washington Mystics	76	73	82
											2	Atlanta Dream	84	78	81	76	81
						3	Washington Mystics	96			3	Washington Mystics	87	75	76	97	86
	6	Los Angeles Sparks	75			6	Los Angeles Sparks	64
	7	Minnesota Lynx	68

Note: Teams re-seeded after second round and semi-finals.

Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Elena Delle Donne	29	29	32.2	.488	.405	.887	7.2	2.3	0.9	1.4	20.7
Kristi Toliver	33	33	32.9	.433	.360	.918	2.3	4.4	1.2	0.0	13.9
Ariel Atkins	29	24	22.5	.432	.357	.824	2.4	2.1	1.3	0.3	11.3
LaToya Sanders	28	25	24.5	.607	.000	.869	6.4	1.6	1.3	1.1	10.2
Natasha Cloud	27	22	26.5	.436	.386	.778	3.2	4.6	0.8	0.1	8.6
Monique Currie	32	9	15.9	.395	.293	.831	3.0	0.8	0.4	0.2	6.6
Tianna Hawkins	32	4	16.6	.443	.357	.824	3.5	0.8	0.5	0.4	6.3
Aerial Powers	9	0	12.7	.450	.438	1.00	3.2	0.9	0.7	0.4	6.1
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt	33	10	18.1	.341	.314	.855	2.0	1.5	0.6	0.2	5.5
Myisha Hines-Allen	24	1	10.5	.450	.333	.654	2.9	0.4	0.4	0.2	3.8
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough	19	1	8.8	.429	.304	1.00	0.8	0.4	0.4	0.3	3.5
Krystal Thomas	24	7	9.9	.429	.000	.636	2.5	0.2	0.2	0.1	1.8

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Elena Delle Donne	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	June 18, 2018	[8]
		July 2, 2018	[9]
	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month - June	July 3, 2018	[10]
	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	July 9, 2018	[11]
Elena Delle Donne	WNBA All-Star Captain	July 17, 2018	[12]
Kristi Toliver	WNBA All-Star Selection
Elena Delle Donne	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	August 13, 2018	[13]
	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month - August	August 20, 2018	[14]
Ariel Atkins	All-Defensive Second Team	August 30, 2018	[15]
	All-Rookie Team	September 9, 2018	[16]
Elena Delle Donne	All-WNBA First Team	September 12, 2018	[17]