In short, is Eric Thibault the right head coach? And trading out of top draft picks has cost the team roster depth recently.
Back in October 2021, I wrote a piece on how the Washington Mystics were still a victim of the D.C. sports curse, despite winning a championship in 2019. And here we are almost five years later since that championship win and the curse still lingers even now…in a way. Most teams tend to capitalize and defend titles or even repeat but COVID, injuries, and even bad decision-making has been costly.
We all know the 2020 season was the “wubble” year so no need to rehash all that. However what needs to be addressed are some areas that contributed to the continued demise such as nepotism and drafting decisions that didn’t seem to keep longevity in mind. It was more so of a win now mentality that has backfired. So here’s the harsh truth.
Nepotism at the top.
Since 2013, Mike Thibault has been the general manager and head coach until he retired from coaching after the 2022 season. He remains currently as the general manager and his son, Eric Thibault, was promoted to head coach. Eric was an assistant from 2013-2019 and then associate head coach from 2019-2022 for the Mystics.
BREAKING: WNBA legend Mike Thibault is retiring from coaching, and Eric Thibault will be the new head coach of the Washington Mystics. Mike will remain in the organization as GM. pic.twitter.com/ZvXCpXZa0t
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) November 15, 2022
It’s understandable that sports teams look internally before external, but when it comes to D.C. teams, names matter for some reason. Examples in the D.C. basketball world are John Thompson III and Wes Unseld Jr. who are sons of notable coaches and players of D.C. teams. Names don’t always equal the same results.
Some may think that declaring nepotism as part of the Mystics demise as unfair because Eric has only been a head coach for one season. However, it makes you wonder with Eric’s father as GM and him as head coach, is the decision-making and coaching still being done by Mike?
A fresh face with a totally different mindset could’ve been a better choice for the franchise instead of the easier and simple route of hiring someone who is familiar. Or is family.
The Mystics haven’t committed to keeping their top draft picks. That has cost them roster depth.
What may seem like the best decisions for a team when draft day comes overall looking back may not always have been good. Looking back on Washington’s drafting decisions since 2020, only one player remains on the team, Shakira Austin, from the 2022 WNBA Draft.
In 2020, the Mystics drafted Jaylin Agnew out of Creighton and Sug Sutton out of Texas, second and third round picks, but then waived both by the roster deadline that year. In 2021, the Mystics didn’t draft at all due to trading away their picks in 2020 for Tina Charles. Charles didn’t play in 2020 due to being medically exempt and only played in 2021 while the Mystics didn’t re-sign her in 2022.
The 2022 season was an interesting one as the Mystics had the first overall pick in the draft. Many, if not all, had Rhyne Howard out of Kentucky being the first overall pick. But the Mystics ended up trading down with the Atlanta Dream to the third overall pick and instead drafted Shakira Austin and then Christyn Williams out of UConn in the second round. Williams ended up tearing her ACL in a practice and never played for Washington.
THE MYSTICS SELECT SHAKIRA AUSTIN WITH THE NO. 3 PICK! #WNBADraft pic.twitter.com/2fcKur4t3t
— espnW (@espnW) April 11, 2022
Some people question whether the Mystics should have kept their top pick and kept Howard instead of trading down for Austin to help with the guard spot and have some longevity in that position.
The 2023 season was the first season under a new head coach, Eric Thibault. Washington had the fourth overall pick and drafted Stephanie Soares from Iowa State but immediately traded her to the Dallas Wings. They then drafted Elena Tsineke in the second round and Txell Alarcón in the third, both not making the team as well.
Having only one player in the last few years of the draft isn’t good despite roster sports only being at 12. Washington doesn’t have much to show for it. And based on their decision making currently (losing Natasha Cloud to free agency and Elena Delle Donne sitting out) the heart and depth of the team is in shambles.
The future of this team is blurry and hopefully some newly refined decisions can make it more clear.