Here are five concerns about the Mystics after the 2024 WNBA season

Earlier this week, I wrote about four things we can be proud of the Washington Mystics for in the 2024 WNBA season. Today, I will write about six things that we need to be concerned about the Mystics after the 2024 season, some of which will still be on my mind in 2026. So let’s go.

Washington had the 9th best offensive rating in 2024, in part because they were the worst team in turnovers with 15.1 per game. Julie Vanloo, Ariel Atkins and Brittney Sykes all averaged over 2 turnovers per game, with Vanloo having a turnover rate of 24.6 percent. Sykes’ and Atkins’ turnover rates were around 15 percent.

The Mystics also struggle to get to the free throw line in 2024, only attempting 601 such shots, lowest in the WNBA. Meanwhile, they allowed other teams to attempt 800 free throws.

Turnovers is one thing that drives a coach crazy, which we mentioned in the previous section.. The other is a lack of rebounds Washington averaged 31.9 rebounds in the 2024 season, worst in the WNBA, while giving up 35.4 themselves. It’s one thing if Washington played at a slow pace, which also drives stats down. However, the Mystics were 6th in pace, so this further indicates that they clearly weren’t built to out-rebound their opponents.

In general, I want the best players in the world to play in the WNBA. I am certainly in the camp that the best women’s players in the world should be in the W. Emma Meesseman is one of the best European players in WNBA history and wouldn’t be a Top 5 player in the world right now if she never played for the Mystics from 2013-20.

That said, international talent, especially those from Europe, are increasingly fickle regarding their commitment to the WNBA, if they have them in the first place. The top European leagues in Turkey, France and Russia will likely still pay more than the WNBA even after 2026. And yet, the Mystics seem to be looking to fill in their talent gaps, especially at guard with an international player who is generally a one-and-done.

Rui Machida was on the Mystics in 2022 and didn’t do much contributor. Li Meng was here in 2023 and had her moments, but she never played in 2024 (and I doubt she will next year). And this past season, Vanloo and Jade Melbourne have had their moments, but I’m not sold on either being in Washington for very long.

I don’t see Vanloo returning to the Mystics next year because of her native Belgium likely being in Women’s EuroBasket. And though Melbourne is Australian — and Opals players generally are more committed to the WNBA than Europeans — I’m not sure if Melbourne will still be a Mystics player beyond 2025.

The WNBA is growing and that’s a good thing. However, I don’t see the WNBA itself growing that much beyond the USA, Canada and perhaps some other Anglophone countries like Australia given things like prioritization, the basketball season calendar in most of the world and continental tournaments.

In the 2024 WNBA season, Washington claimed to have sold out all of their games at the Entertainment and Sports Arena and Capital One Arena. That’s great. especially the sellouts at Capital One Arena given that it holds over 20,000 seats.

However, the reality is that the Mystics were a lottery team in the 2024 season and were the only WNBA team without an All-Star. Two of the Capital One Arena games were against the Indiana Fever, who were led by their franchise player Caitlin Clark. Clark’s presence on the Fever has helped many WNBA teams sell out home games against her team. And the Fever of course are now selling tickets like they haven’t before at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

So let’s be honest. The Mystics’ growth season is mostly due to players on other teams, not the players they already have. Will it always be this way? Of course not. After all, the Mystics were a championship team just five years ago.

The Wizards’ and Capitals’ potential move to Alexandria was one of the biggest news stories in the 2024 calendar year. But the news of the teams staying at Capital One Arena was also bad news for the Mystics. They will have to stay at ESA for the foreseeable future at the expense of Wizards and Capitals fans who aren’t WNBA fans AND wanted their teams to stay in Chinatown. Or more accurately, they will be at ESA for the foreseeable future because some politicians in Virginia and D.C. wanted it that way.

I admit that I wanted the Virginia arena to pass, but it’s not because of the Wizards and Capitals moving to the state I live in. Rather, because it would allow the Mystics to grow their paid fanbase and remain competitive against other teams who will be in newer and bigger facilities.

As you know, the WNBA will add three new teams in the next two years. The Golden State Valkyries open shop in 2025, while two teams in Toronto and Portland open shop in 2026 when a new Collective Bargaining Agreement is likely to take effect. All three of these teams are playing in NBA arenas full-time. Meanwhile, the Mystics are in the second smallest arena in the league despite being in on one of the larger markets. That could send the wrong message to players who are looking for new contracts.

There is one thing I didn’t include as a concern from the past season: the Mystics’ late season playoff push. Here’s why.

If the Mystics did a similar push in past seasons, I’d be concerned because WNBA championship teams typically are built with multiple top draft picks. But the 2026 expansion and new CBA will turn all of that on its head. Furthermore, the Mystics are the only teams to win a WNBA championship (and the only team in recent memory to do so) without relying on a homegrown lottery draft pick to be a foundational championship piece when they did so in 2019. If anything, the Mystics are be better positioned to do this than most other teams.

So how do you feel about the Mystics’ concerns after the 2024 season? Let us know in the comments below.