Get ready for a fun four-game Friday night in the W! We’ve got Mystics at Sun (7 p.m. ET), Sparks at Sky (8 p.m. ET), Lynx at Storm (10 p.m. ET) and Fever at Aces (10:30 p.m. ET). Of most interest, can LA and Minnesota finally find their ways to the win column?
WNBA 2021 Season Preview
As the 2021 WNBA season approaches, this article will attempt to give an overarching view of some of the year to come in the WNBA. After a unique 2020 campaign, we have another one on tap due to the Summer Olympics interruption in July, cutting the season from 34 to 32 games. This also means there will likely be players coming and going at various times to participate for their respective countries. Regardless, it should be another fun season ahead!
Odds
Unsurprisingly, the
Las Vegas Aces and
Seattle Storm – last year s WNBA Finals participants – are the two favorites to bring home the championship again this season. Seattle holds a slight betting edge on all four of the sites RotoWire tracks, but the Aces and
In this part, we will focus primarily on predictions for the team and what things may make or break the season. Thanks, and we hope you enjoy the preview! Related
5. We talked about best and worst-case scenarios in Part One yesterday. So how well do you think the Mystics will actually do this season?
None of the writers in our panel believe the Mystics will win the WNBA championship this year, though it isn’t out of the question either. If anything, we’re thinking the Aces are the preseason favorites.
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images
Steph: I see them losing in the semifinals. This year’s group is very good but I think some teams like the Lynx, Sky and Aces have strengthened so much in the offseason that it will be difficult to do better than them. Though I said it will be difficult for Washington to make the Finals, it will not be impossible.
Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images
The Washington Mystics won the WNBA championship in 2019, the last time it had franchise-altering superstar Elena Delle Donne on the court. Now Delle Donne will be joined by another former league MVP in Tina Charles after both players opted out of the 2020 season, a season in which the Mystics were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. The Mystics have high expectations, but are flying under the radar compared to some of the other top teams.
Here is a roundtable discussion on the team entering 2021:
1. What are the Mystics’ strengths heading into this season?
Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images
The Washington Mystics announced Sunday that they have waived forward Tyra Whitehead. The news comes just two weeks after the team signed her to a training camp contract and a few days before the Mystics pre-season opener against the Atlanta Dream.
OFFICIAL: We ve signed Tyra Whitehead to a training camp contract pic.twitter.com/FySlkJXtP1 Washington Mystics (@WashMystics) April 18, 2021
Whitehead concluded her collegiate career at San José State as one of the most accomplished players in the program’s history, averaging a double-double of 14.1 points and 10.1 rebounds game. Her aggressiveness on the defensive end helped her yield 2.2 steals per game and 1.2 blocks per game.