Washington Mystics

The Washington Mystics is an American pro basketball team that is a members of the Women’s National Basketball Association, the WNBA. It is a franchise that calls the Eastern Conference home and was founded in 1998. Its home arena is the Verizon Center, located in Washington DC. Its official team colors are white, blue, red and gray. Ted Leonsis is the franchise’s owner with Mika Thibault as both the head coach and general manager. Marianne Stanley is the assistant coach of this franchise.

Their mascot is Pax. The team is owned by Ted Leonsis as Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the Washington Wizards, an NBA franchise. They have qualified for the WNBA Playoffs a record six times and have been home to such famous payers as Crystal Langhorne, shooting guard Alana Beard and Chamique Holdsclaw. They have also competed in the Conference Finals with their players winning a number of honors and awards.

The Washington Mystics is one of the first expansion franchises to be founded in the WNBA. During their first season, they were led by Nikki McCray, an Olympian. In 1999, Chamique Holdsclaw, formerly of the University of Tennessee, joined the team, playing in games such as those against New York Liberty. In 2002, Marianne Stanley took over as the head coach and lead the team to a remarkable record and playoffs, defeating such teams as the Charlotte Sting. In 2004, Alana Beard, from the Duke University, lead the team to yet another remarkable playoff, made even more amazing by the fact that she was drafted during the same year.

In 2006, the franchise was lead again by Alana Beard to another appearance at the WNBA Playoffs. In the 2009 WNBA Draft, Marissa Coleman and Matee Ajavon were picked, leading to a better team gameplay, with a marvelous 3–0 start during the next season, followed by an appearance at the WNBA Playoffs that included playing against the Indiana Fever, the then conference champions.  In 2010, the franchise saw a highly successful season, led by Katie Smith, Lindsey Harding and Crystal Langhorne, ranking first in the Eastern Conference with a 22–12 record.

They have had the largest attendances in the WNBA, from 1998 to 2000 and then from 2002 to 2004. Fans thus often dub them the Attendance Champions, with their attendance topping the WNBA in 2009 at over eleven thousand per game. Their players have won such awards as Rookie of the Year, Peak Performer, Most Improved Player and Coach of the Year, explaining why many often buy Washington Mystics tickets.