Though the rebuilding Washington Mystics started the 2026 season a surprising 2-1, head coach Sydney Johnson expressed caution before Monday’s game against the Dallas Wings.
“We certainly haven’t arrived,” he told reporters. “… This group hasn’t quite seen it all yet, in terms of the [WNBA].”
The Mystics are the second-youngest team in WNBA history, with an average age of just 24 years old. But their 2-1 record included road wins over the Toronto Tempo and Indiana Fever and an overtime loss at home to the New York Liberty. That, combined with the 61 points per game the Mystics were getting from their “Big Three” of forward/center Shakira Austin, guard Sonia Citron and forward Kiki Iriafen, had many people suddenly believing in the Mystics and even speculating about a playoff berth.
The team’s success came in large part from its ability to score in and protect the paint. Through Sunday, the Mystics led the WNBA in points per game in the paint and allowed the fewest paint points of any team. They were outscoring opponents in the paint by 22.7 points per game, and no other team was doing so by even 10 points.
The Mystics also ranked third in second-chance points per game and fourth in defensive rating, which measures points allowed per 100 possessions.
However, Johnson’s words proved prescient on Monday, as the Mystics faltered in a 92-69 loss to the Wings. They got off to a difficult start, scoring just 9 points in the first quarter, and never recovered.
Dallas packed the paint to try to limit Austin and Iriafen, and that took the Mystics’ offense completely out of rhythm. The Mystics hadn’t had a team pack the paint against them yet, and they didn’t make the right adjustments in time.
“We just didn’t have enough recognition of what to do or where to go,” Austin told reporters postgame. “So we just got to get back to practice and get all on the same page. I think we just were never really in sync when it came to that.”
The Mystics scored 34 paint points, down considerably from their average of 50.7 entering the game. And though Austin and backup center Lauren Betts combined for 23 points on 10-for-17 shooting, Iriafen and Citron had relatively quiet nights.
The Mystics also committed 19 turnovers, which turned into 23 Dallas points. Turnovers have been an issue all season, though the Big Three’s efficiency in the first three games largely compensated for that. Through four games, the Mystics are allowing 9.5 more points off turnovers than they’re scoring off opponents’ turnovers, which is the worst differential in the WNBA.
On Monday, those turnovers, as well as the Wings’ 11 offensive rebounds, meant that Dallas got 70 shot attempts to Washington’s 49. That put a lot of pressure on the Mystics’ defense to play well and on their offense to maximize limited opportunities.
The Wings ended up outscoring the Mystics by 2 points in the paint and by 1 in second-chance points, and forward Jessica Shepard had her way with 12 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. All in all, Dallas essentially did to Washington what Washington had done to other teams in the first three games, and the scoreboard reflected it.
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But just as Friday’s overtime win over the Fever was part of the Mystics’ rebuilding process, so was Monday’s loss. The Big Three will continue to anchor the team, but they won’t be as incandescent in all 44 games as they were in the first three. And with youth — especially the amount of youth the Mystics have — there tends to be inconsistency.
That’s partly because there is a lot to learn for young players in the WNBA. The Mystics’ nine rookies are facing every opponent for the first time, and the Mystics overall are battling teams that are up to 5 1/2 years older than them on average. That’s a huge gap in knowledge and experience.
After Monday’s game, Betts described what that learning curve has been like for her: “Every single game is just very, very competitive. … Everyone’s a lot more physical, and it’s a lot faster than college. So I think [I’m] just trying to get with the style of play and just trusting myself and still playing my game, while also just trying to learn my teammates and gain chemistry with them.”
At this stage of the rebuild, the Mystics are focused on player development, not on wins and losses, just like last season. That starts from the top of the organization with owner Ted Leonsis and Monumental Basketball president Michael Winger. Johnson has known that since he was hired, and he has always embraced it. He said after the Indiana game that he and his staff are doing some type of player development every single day, whether it’s on-court work, film study or even just one-on-one conversations.
“When they offered me this job, I came running,” Johnson said on May 2. “And [I] understood that even last year, we would be a little bit younger, [though we] would have some vets. This year, we’ve tripled down on that … and put a coaching staff together that really wanted to pour into teaching.
“And so we’re built for this is what I’m trying to say. We’re truly built for this. … We’re all in on player development, and it’s fun. It really is. And we’ve got a great, receptive group.”
That focus is why Johnson has substituted liberally, sometimes with what look like hockey line changes, and given 11 players at least eight minutes per game. He wants everyone to get minutes early in the season to help accelerate their development.
That has been particularly challenging in the frontcourt, where Austin and Iriafen’s elite play has made it tough to sub them out. But Johnson said after Monday’s game that he is “fully committed” to getting Betts and rookie forward Angela Dugalić enough minutes to develop their games, too. Through four games, Betts is averaging 14.8 minutes, the most of any player who hasn’t started a game, and Dugalić is averaging 10.5.
Johnson has been impressed so far with how quickly his team is learning. Before the Dallas game, he noted how the players have been able to adjust during games to how opponents are scoring on them. They didn’t do that as well against the Wings, but they’ll use that film to teach them how to defend similar offenses better going forward. Johnson also mentioned players like rookie guard Cotie McMahon, who has been asked to play differently than she did in college and is adjusting well.
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The early-season schedule has also benefited the Mystics. They had four days between their second and third games of the season, which is a relatively long layoff by WNBA standards, and now have nearly a week between the Dallas loss and their next game on Sunday against the Seattle Storm.
They’ve used that time to practice, and it’s been almost like an extension of training camp. That time is critical because they’d had to start from a different baseline than more experienced teams when camp opened. Johnson said after the Liberty game on May 10 that he and his staff had spent time explaining terminology like a rip screen or “77,” which refers to a double drag screen. They find that rewarding, not frustrating, because the ultimate goal this season is development.
So nothing about the Mystics’ approach will change because of Monday’s loss, even though before that, many people had viewed them as an early-season feel-good story. Every game, Johnson wants the Mystics to display the same identity that they started to create last season, and if they do, that’s a victory for him.
“I’m trying to hold them to being tough and together, regardless as to what comes and regardless as to the outcome,” he said before Monday’s game. “And we can hang our hat on that.”
Against the Wings, Johnson saw that identity in flashes, particularly defensively, but it didn’t show up for all 40 minutes. Consistently putting 40 minutes together is one of the toughest parts of building a championship contender, and it’ll be something the Mystics work toward all season.
“In terms of that toughness [and] togetherness, we probably got tested a bit and probably wanted to get a few minutes back,” Johnson said postgame. “And we will. We will. I mean, our habits are our habits. That’s not going away.”
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