The Mystics are having a better than expected 2025 season, the Belgian Cats are winning and the Lynx are flying high. A win-win-win.
When then Washington Mystics Head Coach Mike Thibault stepped down before the 2023 WNBA season and passed the torch to his son Eric, it felt like the end of an era, even though Mike remained the General Manager, Washington became an aging, injury-riddled team with a murky future. Two years later, Mike and Eric parted ways with the Mystics.
At first, many WNBA fans believed believed that the Mystics would be rebuilding and be a doormat. But they aren’t under Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger, now General Manager Jamila Wideman and now head coach Sydney Johnson. The Mystics are playing well under the circumstances. And the Thibaults themselves are also thriving in their new landing spots.
Here’s how the breakup turned into what could very well be a rare win-win-win for all sides.
The 2025 Mystics: From projected doormat to surprisingly competent (at least from the outside)
Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Let’s be clear: the Mystics are not championship contenders. But they were expected to be worse. Much worse. Fans were disappointed that the team couldn’t get a flashy hire at General Manager or Head Coach. Many fans and even analysts projected that the Mystics would have a rough 2025 season.
But for the Mystics, they got alignment with Monumental Basketball’s strategy. Under Winger, the Mystics now operate with the same long-term strategy and structural discipline as the Wizards. That might not sound encouraging because the Wizards are still in the early stages of rebuilding themselves. But both teams are now playing the slow game: Evaluate existing talent and develop from the ground up.
After a protracted search, Winger brought in Jamila Wideman as General Manager and Sydney Johnson as head coach. And while both were surprise hires, the new front office has already made two key drafting decisions:
- Kiki Iriafen looks like a legit franchise core player — athletic, relentless, and confident.
- Sonia Citron is one of the smartest rookies in the league and could even be Rookie of the Year.
Meanwhile, Brittney Sykes is the leader by default. She’s not a franchise player, but she brings defense, toughness, and consistency. The roster still lacks top-end depth, but considering they were expected to be a doormat, this version of the Mystics is already exceeding expectations.
They’re young, scrappy, and — for the first time in a while — moving with purpose. That makes Washington an attractive team for top free agents in 2026 when again, EVERYONE OF SIGNIFICANCE IS A FREE AGENT OF SOME KIND.
Mike Thibault: Thriving in Europe and reunited with Emma Meesseman
After two decades of grinding in the WNBA, Mike Thibault didn’t fade away — he leveled up, in his own way. Now head coach of the Belgium women’s national basketball team, Thibault is thriving in an international setting that plays to his strengths: strategy, ball movement, and high-IQ basketball.
It helps that he’s reunited with Emma Meesseman, one of the key Mystics stars he drafted, and developed into becoming the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP. The Belgian Cats are rolling under his leadership:
- The Cats don’t seem to break at inopportune moments anymore — something that has happened during international tournaments before Thibault arrived.
- They’ve clinched a 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup berth by advancing to the Women’s EuroBasket FINALS which are tomorrow.
- Well, the Cats have a hashtag called #OmdatHetKan” on their social medial accounts. That translates to “because it can” in Dutch. Don’t be surprised to see the Cats follow through and win an Olympic Medal in Los Angeles in 2028. With Thibault, alles is mogelijk (everything is possible)!
The team also features former Mystic Julie Vanloo, now playing for the Golden State Valkyries. And we have written briefly about 2024 draftee Nastja Claessens, who plays for Thibault on the Cats AND the Mystics still have her rights. For Thibault, it’s a perfect gig — coaching elite, familiar talent, without the stress of cap management, franchise politics, or reading about fans complaining about why he signed another Belgian player to the Mystics.
Now, Thibault just gets to coach the Belgian Cats, lead them to a potential Women’s EuroBasket Gold Medal tomorrow, a potential medal in the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup, AND hell, maybe even a 2028 Olympic medal in LA before he calls it a coaching career.
And yes, Thibault left the WNBA with a ring in Washington in 2019 as well. Sure, he may have done things as a GM some fans didn’t like his signings of European players. But I always thought they were done with the right mindset. And in short, I’m stoked that Thibault is coaching the Cats and dominating Europe with them.
Eric Thibault: Escape from the injury nightmare and being part of another championship contending team’s coaching staff
Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images
Let’s set the record straight: Eric Thibault wasn’t a terrible WNBA head coach. He just got handed a ticking time bomb.
Elena Delle Donne sat 2024 out. Shakira Austin and Ariel Atkins couldn’t stay healthy.
And every time the Mystics found rhythm, they had an another setback. The 2024 season started out 0-12 though Eric led them back to playoff contention until the last day of the season. In the end, he was out.
Now Eric is the Associate Head Coach of the Minnesota Lynx, the top regular season team in the WNBA with a 13-2 record (including a loss to the Mystics!). Cheryl Reeve brought him in to modernize the offense and develop young guards. Eric’s already making an impact. And if the Lynx win it all, he’ll get a championship ring outside his father’s shadow.
In a league where coaching stability is rare and narratives get rewritten fast, Eric Thibault is building his reputation the right way.
Final Take: Burn it down, but build it better
No one thought the 2019 Mystics core would fall out of favor this fast due to the coronavirus pandemic and untimely injuries. But by 2024, it was clear the window had closed. What’s surprising is that everyone walked away with something better.
The Mystics are rebuilding with a modern vision and legitimate prospects.
Mike Thibault is coaching one of the top national teams in the world with arguably the best player he ever drafted and coached.
And Eric Thibault is thriving with a title contender and could still be a top head coach in his own right someday. He’s still young for a coach.
Sometimes, the best thing that can happen is letting go — and watching each part find a better fit somewhere else.