2020 Washington Mystics season

2020 Washington Mystics season
2020 Washington Mystics season
Coach	Mike Thibault
Arena	Originally: St. Elizabeths East Arena; Rescheduled to: IMG Academy gymnasiums, Bradenton, Florida
Attendance	0 per game
Results
Record	9–13 (.409)
Place	3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	8th Seed, Lost in First Round to Phoenix Mercury
Team Leaders
Points	Myisha Hines-Allen – 17.0 ppg
Rebounds	Myisha Hines-Allen – 8.9 rpg
Assists	Leilani Mitchell – 5.4 apg
	← 2019 season 2021 season →

The 2020 Washington Mystics season was the franchise's 23rd season in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The regular season tipped off versus the Indiana Fever on July 25, 2020.^[1]

This WNBA season will feature an all-time high 36 regular-season games.^[2] However, the plan for expanded games was put on hold on April 3, when the WNBA postponed its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3] Under a plan approved on June 15, the league is scheduled to hold a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, starting on July 24.^[4]^[5]

The Mystics were without star Elena Delle Donne for the season, as she sat out due to COVID-19 concerns. Expectations were lowered when it was announced that the 2019 MVP would be out for the season. However, the Mystics defied those expectations in their first three games, winning all three. However, the season took a drastic turn for the worse after that, with the team going 1–11 in their August games. At 4–11 overall, the Mystics were on the outside looking in for the playoffs. The Mystics went 5–2 in September, including a four game win-streak to finish the season and secure the eight seed in the playoffs. As the eight seed, they lost in the first round to the Phoenix Mercury.

Transactions

WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
2	24	Jaylyn Agnew	United States	Creighton
3	36	Sug Sutton	United States	Texas

Trades and roster changes

Date	Details
February 11, 2020	Re-Signed F Elena Delle Donne^[6]
February 13, 2020	Signed G Leilani Mitchell^[7]
February 17, 2020	Re-signed G Emma Meesseman^[8]
April 15, 2020	Engaged in a three team trade where they acquired Tina Charles in exchange for their first-round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft and their first, second, and third round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft and G Shatori Walker-Kimbrough.^[9]
June 22, 2020	G Natasha Cloud and F/C LaToya Sanders announce they will opt out of the 2020 season.^[10]
June 26, 2020	Signed G/F Essence Carson.^[11]
June 29, 2020	Signed C Alaina Coates and G Shey Peddy.^[12]

Roster

2020 Washington Mystics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	DOB	From	Yrs
G	7	Atkins, Ariel	5' 8" (1.73m)	167 lb (76kg)	07-30-1996	Texas	2
C	31	Charles, Tina	6' 4" (1.93m)	192 lb (87kg)	12-05-1988	Connecticut	10
C	81	Coates, Alaina	6' 4" (1.93m)	225 lb (102kg)	04-07-1995	South Carolina	2
G/F	11	Delle Donne, Elena	6' 5" (1.96m)	187 lb (85kg)	09-05-1989	Delaware	7
F	88	Gemelos, Jacki	6' 0" (1.83m)	165 lb (75kg)	11-22-1988	USC	1
F	21	Hawkins, Tianna	6' 3" (1.91m)	186 lb (84kg)	03-02-1991	Maryland	6
F	2	Hines-Allen, Myisha	6' 2" (1.88m)	200 lb (91kg)	05-30-1996	Louisville	2
G	4	Johnson, Stella	5' 10" (1.78m)	158 lb (72kg)	07-11-1998	Rider	R
G	1	Leslie, Kiara	6' 0" (1.83m)	175 lb (79kg)	12-06-1995	NC State	R
F	33	Meesseman, Emma	6' 4" (1.93m)	191 lb (87kg)	05-13-1993	Belgium	6
G	5	Mitchell, Leilani	5' 5" (1.65m)	138 lb (63kg)	06-15-1985	Utah	11
G/F	23	Powers, Aerial	5' 9" (1.75m)	159 lb (72kg)	07-17-1994	Michigan State	4
G	0	Sutton, Sug	5' 8" (1.73m)	140 lb (64kg)	12-17-1998	Texas	R

Head coach: Mike Thibault (St. Martin's)
Assistant coaches: Eric Thibault (Missouri)
Asjha Jones (Connecticut)

Athletic trainer: Chalisa Fonza (Western Illinois)

Strength and conditioning coach: Vacant

Legend

(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured

Game log

Regular season

2020 game log
Total: 9–13

July

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
1	July 25	Indiana Fever	W 101–76	Hines-Allen (27)	Hines-Allen (10)	Mitchell (4)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	1–0
2	July 28	Connecticut Sun	W 94–89	Powers (27)	Hines-Allen (8)	Meesseman (8)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	2–0
3	July 30	Seattle Storm	W 89–71	Atkins (22)	Powers (8)	Mitchell (6)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	3–0

August

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
4	August 1	Chicago Sky	L 86–88	Atkins (24)	Hines-Allen (10)	Meesseman (6)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	3–1
5	August 5	Las Vegas Aces	L 77–83	Meesseman (24)	Meesseman (13)	Mitchell (4)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	3–2
6	August 7	New York Liberty	L 66–74	Powers (20)	Hines-Allen (8)	Mitchell (5)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	3–3
7	August 9	Indiana Fever	L 84–91	Meesseman (19)	Hawkins (10)	Mitchell (5)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	3–4
8	August 11	Minnesota Lynx	L 48–68	Hines-Allen (12)	3 tied (6)	3 tied (3)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	3–5
9	August 13	Los Angeles Sparks	L 64–81	Atkins (20)	Meesseman (11)	Tied (5)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	3–6
10	August 15	Las Vegas Aces	L 73–88	Atkins (17)	Meesseman (9)	Tied (5)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	3–7
11	August 19	Atlanta Dream	W 98–91	Johnson (25)	Meesseman (6)	Meesseman (10)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	4–7
12	August 21	Dallas Wings	L 92–101 (OT)	Hines-Allen (35)	Hines-Allen (12)	Mitchell (4)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	4–8
13	August 23	Phoenix Mercury	L 87–88	Hawkins (19)	Hines-Allen (13)	Hines-Allen (8)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	4–9
14	August 28	Phoenix Mercury	L 72–94	Mitchell (17)	Tied (6)	Mitchell (5)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	4–10
15	August 30	Connecticut Sun	L 63–76	Tied (14)	Hines-Allen (13)	Hines-Allen (6)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	4–11

September

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
16	September 2	Seattle Storm	L 64–71	Meesseman (17)	Hines-Allen (6)	Mitchell (5)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	4–12
17	September 4	Chicago Sky	W 79–69	Mitchell (20)	Hines-Allen (10)	Mitchell (12)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	5–12
18	September 6	Dallas Wings	L 94–101 (OT)	Atkins (22)	Hines-Allen (13)	Mitchell (9)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	5–13
19	September 8	Minnesota Lynx	W 89–86	Hines-Allen (26)	Hines-Allen (9)	Mitchell (10)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	6–13
20	September 10	Los Angeles Sparks	W 80–72	Hines-Allen (30)	Hines-Allen (8)	Mitchell (9)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	7–13
21	September 12	New York Liberty	W 75–58	Hines-Allen (25)	Hines-Allen (11)	Meesseman (7)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	8–13
22	September 13	Atlanta Dream	W 85–78	Atkins (26)	Hines-Allen (10)	Tied (7)	IMG Academy No In-Person Attendance	9–13

2020 season schedule

Playoffs

2020 playoff game log
Total: 0–1

First Round

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	September 15	Phoenix Mercury	L 84–85	Mitchell (25)	Hines-Allen (9)	4 tied (4)	IMG Academy	0–1

2020 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB	Conf.
1	x – Las Vegas Aces	18	4	.818	–	8–2
2	x – Seattle Storm	18	4	.818	–	8–2
3	x – Los Angeles Sparks	15	7	.682	3	5–5
4	x – Minnesota Lynx	14	8	.636	4	4–6
5	x – Phoenix Mercury	13	9	.591	5	4–6
6	x – Chicago Sky	12	10	.545	6	6–4
7	x – Connecticut Sun	10	12	.455	8	7–3
8	x – Washington Mystics	9	13	.409	9	6–4
9	e – Dallas Wings	8	14	.364	10	1–9
10	e – Atlanta Dream	7	15	.318	11	5–5
11	e – Indiana Fever	6	16	.273	12	4–6
12	e – New York Liberty	2	20	.091	16	2–8

Notes

x – Clinched playoff berth

e – Eliminated from playoffs

Home and Away records not shown, as all games played at a neutral location.

Updated to include results from September 13, 2020

Source

Playoffs


First round: Single elimination (September 15)			Second round: Single elimination (September 17)			Semifinals: Best-of-five (September 20–29)							WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (October 2–11)



						1	Las Vegas Aces	62	83	68	84	66

			4	Minnesota Lynx	80	7	Connecticut Sun	87	75	77	75	63

5	Phoenix Mercury	85	5	Phoenix Mercury	79								1	Las Vegas Aces	80	91	59

8	Washington Mystics	84											2	Seattle Storm	93	104	92

						2	Seattle Storm			88	89	92

			3	Los Angeles Sparks	59	4	Minnesota Lynx			86	79	71

6	Chicago Sky	81	7	Connecticut Sun	73

7	Connecticut Sun	94

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

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
Myisha Hines-Allen	22	22	30.0	51.0	42.6	82.8	8.9	2.6	1.5	0.2	17.0
Aerial Powers	6	6	29.8	46.4	34.6	83.3	4.8	2.5	1.5	0	16.3
Ariel Atkins	22	22	31.0	43.8	41.1	88.6	2.9	2.4	1.8	0.3	14.8
Emma Meesseman	20	20	31.0	45.4	28.9	82.9	5.3	4.5	1.2	0.8	13.0
Leilani Mitchell	22	22	30.6	40.8	30.5	87.2	2.8	5.4	0.8	0	9.5
Stella Johnson	5	2	18.8	48.5	64.3	100	2.0	2.4	1.0	0.4	9.2
Tianna Hawkins	17	5	19.4	40.8	29.8	84.6	3.5	1.0	0.8	0.4	8.5
Kiara Leslie	19	10	21.8	35.2	36.2	92.3	3.0	1.1	0.5	0.4	5.5
Jacki Gemelos	12	1	16.1	31.3	20.7	50.0	1.4	1.2	0.3	0.1	3.2
Sug Sutton	12	0	9.4	36.4	29.4	71.4	0.8	1.0	0.1	0	2.8
Alaina Coates	20	0	9.9	52.9	0	53.8	2.8	0.5	0.4	0.2	2.5

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Myisha Hines-Allen	Eastern Conference Player of the Week	August 3, 2020	^[13]
	Eastern Conference Player of the Week	September 14, 2020	^[14]
	Eastern Conference Player of the Month – September	September 15, 2020	^[15]
Ariel Atkins	2nd Team All-Defense	September 29, 2020	^[16]
Myisha Hines-Allen	All-WNBA Second Team	October 4, 2020	^[17]

References

^ "2020 Washington Mystics Schedule". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
^ "Atlanta Dream Announce 2020 Schedule - Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
^ "WNBA Statement Regarding the Start of the 2020 Regular Season". April 3, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
^ "WNBA Announces Plan To Tip Off 2020 Season". WNBA. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
^ "WNBA announces plans for 2020 season to start late July in Florida". NBC Sports Washington. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
^ "MYSTICS RE-SIGN REIGNING MVP ELENA DELLE DONNE". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
^ "LEILANI MITCHELL RETURNS TO MYSTICS". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
^ "MYSTICS RE-SIGN 2019 FINALS MVP EMMA MEESSEMAN". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
^ "Washington Mystics Acquire 7x All-Star Tina Charles in Three-Team Deal". wnba.com. WNBA. April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
^ "CLOUD, SANDERS TO OPT OUT OF 2020 SEASON". wnba.com. WNBA. June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
^ "Mystics Sign Veteran Essence Carson". wnba.com. WNBA. June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
^ "MYSTICS SIGN ALAINA COATES AND SHEY PEDDY". wnba.com. WNBA. June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.
^ "Stewart, Hines-Allen Earn First Players Of The Week Honors Of The Season". wnba.com. WNBA. August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
^ "Hines-Allen, Wilson Earn Player Of The Week Honors For Week 7". wnba.com. WNBA. September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
^ "WNBA Announces Players Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
^ "Two Atlanta Dream Players And Seattle Storm's Alysha Clark Headline 2020 WNBA All-Defensive Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
^ "A'ja Wilson And Candace Parker Unanimously Selected To 2020 All-WNBA First Team". wnba.com. WNBA. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.

External links

Official website of the Washington Mystics

[1] "2020 Washington Mystics Schedule". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved February 14, 2020.

[2] "Atlanta Dream Announce 2020 Schedule - Atlanta Dream". dream.wnba.com. Retrieved February 1, 2020.

[3] "WNBA Statement Regarding the Start of the 2020 Regular Season". April 3, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.

[4] "WNBA Announces Plan To Tip Off 2020 Season". WNBA. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 17, 2020.

[5] "WNBA announces plans for 2020 season to start late July in Florida". NBC Sports Washington. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.

[6] "MYSTICS RE-SIGN REIGNING MVP ELENA DELLE DONNE". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. February 11, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.

[7] "LEILANI MITCHELL RETURNS TO MYSTICS". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. February 13, 2020. Retrieved February 14, 2020.

[8] "MYSTICS RE-SIGN 2019 FINALS MVP EMMA MEESSEMAN". mystics.wnba.com. WNBA. February 17, 2020. Retrieved February 17, 2020.

[9] "Washington Mystics Acquire 7x All-Star Tina Charles in Three-Team Deal". wnba.com. WNBA. April 15, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.

[10] "CLOUD, SANDERS TO OPT OUT OF 2020 SEASON". wnba.com. WNBA. June 22, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.

[11] "Mystics Sign Veteran Essence Carson". wnba.com. WNBA. June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.

[12] "MYSTICS SIGN ALAINA COATES AND SHEY PEDDY". wnba.com. WNBA. June 29, 2020. Retrieved June 30, 2020.

[13] "Stewart, Hines-Allen Earn First Players Of The Week Honors Of The Season". wnba.com. WNBA. August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.

[14] "Hines-Allen, Wilson Earn Player Of The Week Honors For Week 7". wnba.com. WNBA. September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.

[15] "WNBA Announces Players Of The Month". wnba.com. WNBA. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.

[16] "Two Atlanta Dream Players And Seattle Storm's Alysha Clark Headline 2020 WNBA All-Defensive Team". wnba.com. WNBA. September 29, 2020. Retrieved September 29, 2020.

[17] "A'ja Wilson And Candace Parker Unanimously Selected To 2020 All-WNBA First Team". wnba.com. WNBA. October 4, 2020. Retrieved October 5, 2020.

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v t e Washington Mystics
Founded in 1998 Based in Washington, D.C.
Franchise	Franchise Current season
Arenas	Capital One Arena (1998–2018) Entertainment and Sports Arena (2019–present)
Head coaches	Jim Lewis Cathy Parson Nancy Darsch Darrell Walker Tom Maher Marianne Stanley Michael Adams Richie Adubato Tree Rollins Jessie Kenlaw Julie Plank Trudi Lacey Mike Thibault Eric Thibault
Administration	Sponsor: Inova Health System Owner: Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Ted Leonsis) President: Michael Winger General manager: Melissa McFerrin Judy Holland-Burton Linda Hargrove Angela Taylor Trudi Lacey Mike Thibault
All-Stars	Ariel Atkins Alana Beard Tina Charles Monique Currie Stacey Dales Elena Delle Donne Stefanie Dolson Lindsey Harding Chamique Holdsclaw Crystal Langhorne Ivory Latta Nikki McCray Emma Meesseman DeLisha Milton-Jones Kristi Toliver
Culture & lore	"Swag Surfin"
Seasons	1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Playoff appearances	2000 2002 2004 2006 2009 2010 2013 2014 2015 2017 2018 2019 2020 2022 2023
Conference Championships	2018 2019
WNBA Championships	2019
Rivals	Chicago Sky Connecticut Sun Detroit Shock Indiana Fever
Media	Monumental Sports Network
Category Commons

v t e 2020 WNBA season by team
Draft Transactions Playoffs Finals
Eastern	Atlanta Dream Chicago Sky Connecticut Sun Indiana Fever New York Liberty Washington Mystics
Western	Dallas Wings Las Vegas Aces Los Angeles Sparks Minnesota Lynx Phoenix Mercury Seattle Storm
← 2019 WNBA season 2021 →