WNBA Notebook: Mystics are brightest storyline after opening ‘25 campaign 2-0
Mystics rookie Kiki Iriafen (right) battles for position against Dream veteran Brittney Griner in a WNBA game on May 16, 2025. PHOTO: Courtesy Atlanta Dream
By W.G. RAMIREZ
The New York Liberty may have raised their banner and received their ginormous championship rings, and another Angel-Reese-Caitlin Clark headline might have overshadowed the series-opener between the Chicago Sky and Indiana Fever, but the Washington Mystics were every bit as big of a storyline on opening weekend.
Considering they opened the 2024 season with 12 consecutive losses, came into this campaign a bit dinged up, and are 2-0 after wins over the Atlanta Dream and Connecticut Sun, the Mystics are a fantastic argument as the best storyline heading into Week 2.
Led by veteran Brittney Sykes, the Mystics have gotten contributions from other vets, rookies and reserves during their 94-90 win over Atlanta and 90-85 victory in Connecticut.
"They're smart, they're strong, they have a glow about them, and it shows," said Washington coach Sydney Johnson, who became the first Mystics head coach since Julie Plank (2009) to win their first two games in their debut season. "When tough things come their way, they're pouring into each other. And they're showing the character.
"But it's not new, and it is them. And you can't take that away."
After two games, the Mystics have four players averaging double digits, led by Sykes, who is averaging 24.5 points, 6.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 block per game.
Rookies Sonia Citron (17.0) and Kiki Iriafen (15.5) are second and third in scoring, respectively, while third-year player Jade Melbourne is averaging 13.0 points per game.
Iriafen, who has opened her WNBA career by having to face Brittney Griner and Tina Charles, is also grabbing 9.0 rebounds per contest.
"The fearlessness and the poise that they carry and just their willingness to be a sponge, I'm gonna go blue in the face just saying that, but they literally showed you out there today," Sykes said of her rookie teammates. "We joked with Kiki, her first two games, she had to go against BG and Tina Charles. Like, that's a hell of a welcome to the league moment. And she brought it to them. You know whether or not Tina was scoring (23 points), Tina had to work.
"Sony, she ended the game fearless, cold, stealth mode. Like you can only dream of having rookies like that, and we are lucky enough to have gotten them so. I love them."
Sykes, now in her ninth year, is one of just two players on the roster with more than three years of experience, along with 12th-year vet Stefanie Dolson.
The 31-year-old guard is not only leading on the court, but has become somewhat of an extension of the coaching staff, someone her younger teammates can look up to in the heat of games.
"My intention in everything that I said in those huddles was literally me pouring into them, letting them know that, 'I believe in you,'" Sykes said after the team's in Connecticut. "Literally that last huddle we had when I fouled out, I looked at each one of them, I don't care how awkward it might have been for some, I looked in everybody's eyes, and I said, 'I believe in you.' Because in those moments is where we start to truly become who we're trying to become.
"And we're doing that. First two games, we're hella battle-tested, and it's only going to get tougher. We got three more games on the road against three really good teams, but now we're building up a reputation that it don't matter where we play."
The Mystics have been without Georgia Amoore, who was lost for the season with an ACL injury, and Aaliyah Edwards, who is nursing a lower back contusion. Shakira Austin missed the first game with a right leg injury, but came off the bench in the second game.
The Mystics bring their show to the West Coast this week, as they'll face the expansion Golden State Valkyries on Wednesday, the Las Vegas Aces on Friday and the Phoenix Mercury on Sunday.
NOT-SO MISSING LYNX - Four days after coach Cheryl Reeve ended practice early and criticized her players for a lack of energy, the Lynx responded with an impressive season-opening 15-point win at Dallas. Two nights later, the league's defending runner-up went into Los Angeles and dispatched of the Sparks in a 14-point victory.
The Lynx now play three straight at home, starting Wednesday in a return game with the Wings, followed by Connecticut on Friday and Seattle next Tuesday. And Reeve has laid out her expectations for the Lynx on their court.
"Valuing home games, starting with our home opener," Reeve said. "I know our fans are excited to see us, they've had to wait a week and watch us on League Pass. So to be able to be there with our fans, come correct from the first minute of the game, and have a collective effort, that's what I'd like to see us do."
SPARK PLUG PLUM - Kelsey Plum made quite a debut with the Los Angeles Sparks, scoring 37 points in their season-opening 84-67 win over the Golden State Valkyries in San Francisco. The two-time WNBA champion, who won her titles in Las Vegas, gave Sparks fans plenty to be happy about, as she finished with the second-highest scoring game of her career.
Plum, who played all 40 minutes, finished with 37 points, five steals and six assists, becoming the first player in WNBA history to register 35+ points, 5+ steals and 5+ assists in a game, and doing so in front of a sellout Chase Center crowd of 18,064.
"You know, I love basketball, love to play basketball, love to compete," Plum said. "We just have a great group. I could go down the line of the women in the locker room who have just a tremendous attitude and joy for life, and the game.
"Coaches also just really brought a very light and like fun environment and making jokes and all the things. And so just wanted to come out and have fun."
MORE THAN A SKIRMISH - Though the Fever-Sky game came away with a storyline of Clark and Reese's skirmish, and the league announcing an investigation into allegations of fans hurling racial slurs, the sophomore stars reached milestones that deserved more positive headlines.
Clark registered 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the season-opening against Sky and is now tied for third on the WNBA all-time triple-double list.
Reese, meanwhile, started her second campaign as a pro also breaking records, as she became the fastest player ever to record 450 points and 450 rebounds after scoring 12 points and grabbing 17 rebounds.
FIRST-EVER HOME GAME - In the inaugural game of Golden State's history, the Valkyries had the second-highest attendance for a team’s debut, with 18,064 fans on hand to see the Bay Area's newest team, second only to the Mystics' home debut in 1998 (20,674).
A’HUNDRED - Despite the Aces' loss in their season-opener in New York, reigning MVP A’ja Wilson had an A'One performance in scoring 31 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. The performance helped her secure her 100th career double-double. She is just the sixth player in WNBA history to accomplish the milestone.
POWER RANKINGS - The weekly WGRamirez.com power rankings will arrive every Tuesday, one day after the weekly notebook. But part of the notebook will tease the first half of the rankings, giving you a peek at the top six teams.
1. Liberty (1-0) - Until someone proves them otherwise, the defending champs are the best team in the WNBA
2. Lynx (2-0) - Reeve said she'd like her team to be better all 48 minutes. It'll have its chance with three home games this week.
3. Aces (0-1) - Losing to the defending champs is understandable. But this team is not as bad as its shooting suggested in the season opener.
4. Fever (1-0) - An impressive home opener is great, but it came it also came against a team still trying to find an identity with a new coach. Saturday's game against the Liberty will tell us more.
5. Mercury (1-0) - A defensive swarm led to a 22-point win over a very talented Seattle team on Saturday. The scary thing is it was done without Kahleah Copper.
6. Mystics (2-0) - It took 13 games, spanning 29 days, for this team to win its first game last season. It's already 2-0 this season.
