2019 Washington Mystics season

The 2019 WNBA season was the 22nd for the Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season ended with the Mystics winning their first WNBA Championship.

2019 Washington Mystics season
WNBA champions
Coach	Mike Thibault
Arena	St. Elizabeths East Arena
Attendance	4,530 per game
Results
Record	26–8 (.765)
Place	1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	1st seed; WNBA Champions, beat Connecticut Sun 3-2
Team Leaders
Points	Elena Delle Donne – 19.5 ppg
Rebounds	Elena Delle Donne – 8.3 rpg
Assists	Kristi Toliver – 6.0 apg
Media
Television	NBC Sports Washington and Monumental Sports Network
← 2018 season 2020 season →

The Mystics began playing at the St. Elizabeths East Entertainment and Sports Arena in the 2019 season. The arena holds a maximum of 4,200 spectators per game.^[1]

They began the season on May 25, 2019 versus the Connecticut Sun. On August 31, with a victory over the Dallas Wings, the Mystics set a franchise record for wins at 23. The previous record was 22, held jointly by the 2010 and 2018 teams. They entered the playoffs as the top-seeded team, and defeated the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals and the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA Finals.^[2]

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2019 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	10	Kiara Leslie	United States	NC State
3	34	Sam Fuehring	United States	Louisville

Trades/Roster Changes

Date	Details
February 1, 2019	Re-signed G Natasha Cloud[3][4]
February 4, 2019	Re-signed F LaToya Sanders[5][6]

Roster

2019 Washington Mystics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs G 7 Atkins, Ariel 5' 11" (1.8m) 167 lb (76kg) 1996-07-30 Texas 1 G 15 Cloud, Natasha 5' 9" (1.75m) 160 lb (73kg) 1992-02-22 Saint Joseph's 4 G/F 11 Delle Donne, Elena 6' 5" (1.96m) 187 lb (85kg) 1989-09-05 Delaware 6 F 21 Hawkins, Tianna 6' 3" (1.91m) 186 lb (84kg) 1991-03-02 Maryland 5 F 2 Hines-Allen, Myisha 6' 2" (1.88m) 200 lb (91kg) 1996-05-30 Louisville 1 G 5 Leslie, Kiara 6' 0" (1.83m) 175 lb (79kg) 1995-12-06 NC State R F 33 Meesseman, Emma 6' 4" (1.93m) 191 lb (87kg) 1993-05-13 Belgium 5 G 6 Mestdagh, Kim 5' 9" (1.75m) 154 lb (70kg) 1990-03-12 Colorado State R G/F 23 Powers, Aerial 5' 9" (1.75m) 159 lb (72kg) 1994-07-17 Michigan State 3 F/C 30 Sanders, LaToya 6' 2" (1.88m) 170 lb (77kg) 1986-09-11 North Carolina 6 G 20 Toliver, Kristi 5' 7" (1.7m) 130 lb (59kg) 1987-01-27 Maryland 10 G 32 Walker-Kimbrough, Shatori 5' 9" (1.75m) 140 lb (64kg) 1995-05-18 Maryland 2	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

2019 pre-season game log
May: 1–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 10 @ Minnesota Lynx L 79–86 Meesseman (19) Meesseman (6) 3 tied (3) Target Center 3,201 0–1 2 May 17 @ Atlanta Dream W 75–64 Walker-Kimbrough (18) Sanders (5) 3 tied (3) Albany Civic Center N/A 1–1
2019 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2019 game log Total: 26–8 (Home: 14–3; Road: 12–5)
May: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 25 @ Connecticut Sun L 69–84 Meesseman (14) Sanders (9) Cloud (8) Mohegan Sun Arena 7,913 0–1
June : 9–2 (Home: 4–1; Road: 5–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 2 June 1 Atlanta Dream W 96–75 Atkins (21) Hines-Allen (8) Toliver (5) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 1–1 3 June 5 Chicago Sky W 103–85 Toliver (19) Delle Donne (7) Toliver (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 2,347 2–1 4 June 7 @ New York Liberty W 94–85 Cloud (26) Delle Donne (8) Cloud (8) Westchester County Center 1,567 3–1 5 June 9 Dallas Wings W 86–62 Hawkins (21) Delle Donne (9) Toliver (6) Westchester County Center 3,564 4–1 6 June 11 @ Connecticut Sun L 75–83 Atkins (18) Sanders (8) Cloud (8) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,224 4–2 7 June 14 Seattle Storm L 71–74 Delle Donne (19) Tied (8) Cloud (5) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 3,654 4–3 8 June 18 @ Los Angeles Sparks W 81–52 Atkins (22) Delle Donne (15) Toliver (9) Staples Center 9,537 5–3 9 June 20 @ Las Vegas Aces W 95–72 Delle Donne (29) Delle Donne (11) Cloud (7) Mandalay Bay Events Center 4,416 6–3 10 June 23 @ Atlanta Dream W 89–73 Delle Donne (21) Delle Donne (10) Cloud (6) State Farm Arena 4,136 7–3 11 June 26 @ Chicago Sky W 81–74 Delle Donne (22) Delle Donne (7) Cloud (5) Wintrust Arena 8,914 8–3 12 June 29 Connecticut Sun W 102–59 Delle Donne (19) Delle Donne (10) Cloud (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 9–3
July : 5–3 (Home: 3–2; Road: 2–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 13 July 5 @ Las Vegas Aces W 99–70 Delle Donne (21) Sanders (7) Cloud (9) Mandalay Bay Events Center N/A 10–3 14 July 7 @ Los Angeles Sparks L 81–98 Powers (24) Tied (8) Toliver (9) Staples Center 10,336 10–4 15 July 10 Phoenix Mercury L 68–91 Hawkins (24) Hawkins (7) Toliver (6) Capital One Arena 15,377 10–5 16 July 13 Las Vegas Aces L 81–85 Cloud (18) Sanders (10) Toliver (7) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 10–6 17 July 19 @ Indiana Fever W 95–88 (OT) Delle Donne (28) Delle Donne (15) Cloud (7) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 6,726 11–6 18 July 21 Atlanta Dream W 93–65 Delle Donne (28) Delle Donne (8) Toliver (7) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 12–6 19 July 24 Minnesota Lynx W 79–71 Toliver (32) Meesseman (6) Toliver (6) Target Center 17,934 13–6 20 July 30 Phoenix Mercury W 99–93 Delle Donne (33) Powers (8) Cloud (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 3,819 14–6
August : 9–2 (Home: 6–0; Road: 3–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 21 August 2 @ Seattle Storm W 99–79 Delle Donne (29) Delle Donne (12) Tied (5) Angel of the Winds Arena 7,488 15–6 22 August 4 @ Phoenix Mercury L 82–103 Tied (18) Tied (7) Cloud (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,025 15–7 23 August 8 Indiana Fever W 91–78 Delle Donne (22) Delle Donne (8) Toliver (11) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 3,013 16–7 24 August 11 Minnesota Lynx W 101–78 Meesseman (25) Delle Donne (10) Cloud (4) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 17–7 25 August 14 Seattle Storm W 88–59 Powers (16) Sanders (8) 5 tied (3) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 3,917 18–7 26 August 16 @ Minnesota Lynx W 86–79 Atkins (18) Delle Donne (8) Tied (8) Target Center 8,803 19–7 27 August 18 Indiana Fever W 107–68 Delle Donne (25) Delle Donne (9) Cloud (8) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,034 20–7 28 August 23 @ Chicago Sky L 78–85 Delle Donne (16) Delle Donne (7) Powers (5) Wintrust Arena 6,131 20–8 29 August 25 New York Liberty W 101–72 Delle Donne (22) Delle Donne (10) Tied (5) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 21–8 30 August 27 Los Angeles Sparks W 95–66 Powers (20) Sanders (9) Cloud (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 22–8 31 August 31 @ Dallas Wings W 91–85 Delle Donne (22) Sanders (11) Meesseman (7) College Park Center 5,205 23–8
September : 3–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 32 September 3 @ New York Liberty W 93–77 Delle Donne (30) Tied (10) Cloud (9) Westchester County Center 1,558 24–8 33 September 6 Dallas Wings W 86–73 Meesseman (25) Meesseman (10) Tied (5) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 3,963 25–8 34 September 8 Chicago Sky W 100–86 Delle Donne (25) Delle Donne (12) Cloud (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 26–8
2019 season schedule

Playoffs

2019 playoff game log Total: 6–3 (Home: 4–1; Road: 2–1)
Semifinals: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 17 Las Vegas Aces W 97–95 Meesseman (27) Meesseman (10) Delle Donne (6) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 3,968 1–0 2 September 19 Las Vegas Aces W 103–91 Meesseman (30) Delle Donne (10) Cloud (11) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 2–0 3 September 22 @ Las Vegas Aces L 75–92 Delle Donne (22) Meesseman (8) Cloud (6) Mandalay Bay Events Center 6,175 2–1 4 September 24 @ Las Vegas Aces W 94–90 Delle Donne (25) 3 tied (6) Tied (9) Mandalay Bay Events Center 5,465 3–1
WNBA Finals: 3–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 29 Connecticut Sun W 95–86 Delle Donne (22) Delle Donne (10) Cloud (7) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 1–0 2 October 1 Connecticut Sun L 87–99 Meesseman (23) Meesseman (8) Toliver (7) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 1–1 3 October 6 @ Connecticut Sun W 94–81 Meesseman (21) Powers (8) Toliver (10) Mohegan Sun Arena 9,170 2–1 4 October 8 @ Connecticut Sun L 86–90 Powers (15) Cloud (7) Cloud (9) Mohegan Sun Arena 8,458 2–2 5 October 10 Connecticut Sun W 89–78 Meesseman (22) Delle Donne (9) Toliver (4) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 4,200 3–2
2019 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Eastern Conference v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
1	Washington Mystics (1)	26	8	.765	–	14–3	12–5	13–3
2	Connecticut Sun (2)	23	11	.676	3	15–2	8–9	11–5
3	Chicago Sky (5)	20	14	.588	6	12–5	8–9	11–5
4	e –Indiana Fever	13	21	.382	13	7–10	6–11	7–9
5	e –New York Liberty	10	24	.294	16	4–13	6–11	3–13
6	e –Atlanta Dream	8	26	.235	18	5–12	3–14	3–13

Playoffs

Main article: 2019 WNBA Playoffs

	First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11)					Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15)					Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24)								WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10)
											1	Washington Mystics	97	103	75	94
						4	Las Vegas Aces	93			4	Las Vegas Aces	95	91	92	90
	5	Chicago Sky	105			5	Chicago Sky	92											1	Washington Mystics	95	87	94	86	89
	8	Phoenix Mercury	76																2	Connecticut Sun	86	99	81	90	78
											2	Connecticut Sun		84	94	78
						3	Los Angeles Sparks	92			3	Los Angeles Sparks		75	68	56
	6	Seattle Storm	84			6	Seattle Storm	69
	7	Minnesota Lynx	74

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
Elena Delle Donne	31	31	29.1	51.5	43.0	97.4	8.3	2.2	0.6	1.3	19.5
Emma Meesseman	23	6	23.6	55.2	42.2	90.5	4.2	3.2	0.9	0.7	13.1
Kristi Toliver	23	23	29.5	49.4	36.0	85.7	2.9	6.0	1.2	0.1	13.0
Aerial Powers	30	7	19.8	43.4	36.2	86.7	3.2	1.5	0.8	0.2	11.4
Ariel Atkins	33	33	24.4	41.6	35.7	81.1	2.8	1.9	1.5	0.5	10.3
Tianna Hawkins	31	1	15.4	51.4	36.3	92.5	4.2	0.7	0.5	0.1	9.5
Natasha Cloud	34	34	32.1	39.4	32.6	68.3	2.5	5.6	1.0	0.2	9.0
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough	34	1	17.1	43.2	31.0	93.0	1.6	1.2	0.8	0.2	6.7
LaToya Sanders	34	34	23.6	50.6	0	89.2	5.5	1.9	0.9	1.4	6.1
Myisha Hines-Allen	27	0	7.8	36.2	37.5	58.3	2.1	0.9	0.3	0.4	7.8
Shey Peddy	15	0	4.7	61.5	50.0	100	0.6	0.5	0.3	0.0	1.7
Kim Mestdagh	15	0	4.7	38.9	40.0	100	0.3	0.4	0.1	0.0	1.5

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Elena Delle Donne	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	June 24, 2019	[7]
		July 1, 2019	[8]
	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month - June	July 1, 2019	[9]
Mike Thibault	WNBA Coach of the Month - June	July 2, 2019	[10]
Elena Delle Donne	WNBA All-Star Selection	July 15, 2019	[11]
Kristi Toliver
Elena Delle Donne	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	July 22, 2019	[12]
	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month - July	August 1, 2019	[13]
	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	August 5, 2019	[14]
		August 12, 2019	[15]
		August 19, 2019	[16]
	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month - August	September 4, 2019	[17]
Mike Thibault	WNBA Coach of the Month - August	September 4, 2019	[18]
Elena Delle Donne	WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week	September 9, 2019	[19]
	WNBA MVP	September 19, 2019	[20]
Emma Meesseman	WNBA Finals MVP	October 10, 2019	[21]