The Washington Mystics kicked off Training Camp and Media Day today on their new home court at the Sports & Entertainment Arena in Southeast Washington, D.C. On the eve of training camp, the Mystics held an annual team dinner where they watched footage of the Seattle Storm celebrating a league title at their expense as a reminder of what they want to accomplish this season. The Mystics were swept by the Storm in the WNBA Finals last year which left a bitter taste in their mouth. The sentiment was the same as each player talked about the season ahead: ‘we have a chip on our shoulder.’
“We have some unfinished business we need to take care of,” forward Tianna Hawkins said. “We got some work to do but we’re going to get back [to the Finals].”
That’s the main reason the Mystics are using the motto ‘run it back’ to inspire them this season. They want a repeat of last year with a championship as the exclamation point. It’s actually quite possible for that to happen with the Mystics core players returning in 2019: LaToya Sanders, Elena Delle Donne, Kristi Toliver, Ariel Atkins, and Natasha Cloud. All-Star forward Emma Meesseman is also back after taking a year away to play for Team Belgium in the 2018 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup tournament.
With all of the pieces in place, the Mystics understand that last year’s success comes with a price. They now have a target on their back which is a challenge the team welcomes.
“I like it. It means you’re good,” forward Elena Delle Donne explained. “You don’t always want to be that underdog. You want to know that you’ve earned being at the top and people are coming for you. I think that’s a good position to be in.”
Here are more takeaways from Mystics Media Day:
The #Mystics are hungry to get back to the WNBA Finals and their motto this season is ‘run it back.’ Here are three takeways from Mystics Media Day with comments from Kristi Toliver and LaToya Sanders. #SticsSZN #TogetherDC pic.twitter.com/Hy1aBP0BdE
— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) May 6, 2019
There are high expectations of the #Mystics heading into this season. Natasha Cloud talked to me about not letting the pressure impact the outcome of this year and what they want to improve upon. “We’re built for this.” #SticsSZN #TogetherDC pic.twitter.com/MNyzPYnYaS
— Carita Parks (@CaritaCParks) May 6, 2019