Delle Donne to debut with Mystics in opener vs. Stars (May 13, 2017)
The Washington Mystics made the splashiest move of the WNBA offseason by acquiring 2015 Most Valuable Player Elena Delle Donne.
With Sunday's regular-season opener against the visiting San Antonio Stars, they get to show off their new acquisition. The Stars are still waiting for No. 1 overall pick Kelsey Plum's debut.
Delle Donne, one of the league's elite players and shooters, spent her first four seasons with the Chicago Sky.
With the 6-foot-5 star seeking a chance to play closer to her native Delaware, Washington capitalized and made the deal in February. The Mystics traded center Stefanie Dolson, guard Kahleah Copper and the second overall selection in the 2017 WNBA draft for Delle Donne.
With the deal, expectations jumped dramatically for a franchise with only one winning season since 2010 and coming off a 13-21 campaign. That was before WNBA general managers selected Delle Donne as the MVP favorite for the 2017 season.
"Clearly, this is one of the biggest moves in the history of this organization," general manager and coach Mike Thibault said at the time of the trade.
Delle Donne averaged 21.5 points and shot 42.6 percent from the 3-point arc last season for the Sky. There's no doubt she's the centerpiece in Washington.
It's also clear this won't be a one-woman band.
Emma Meesseman led the WNBA in 3-point shooting percentage (44.8) last season and finished second on Washington in scoring (15.2) behind Tayler Hill's 15.4 points.
The Mystics signed free agent guard Kristi Toliver after the veteran won a WNBA title with the Los Angeles Sparks last season. Like Meesseman and Delle Donne, Toliver ranked among the top five 3-point shooters in the league last season.
There are pieces for a title run. Now comes finding the right fit.
"We are going to be a work in progress," Thibault told ESPN. "Anybody who thinks that all of the things we did are immediately going to click -- that's not going to happen. ... But the end product could be pretty good."
The Stars (0-1) struggled mightily last season, finishing with a league-worst 7-27 record. San Antonio got off on the wrong foot Saturday to begin the season, falling 73-64 at the New York Liberty. Monique Currie led the Stars with 23 points and Isabelle Harrison added 15.
San Antonio played without Plum and last season's top two scorers Kayla McBride and Moriah Jefferson. All three will miss Sunday's game at Washington.
The 5-foot-8 Plum finished her career at the University of Washington as the NCAA's all-time leading scorer with 3,527 points. The reigning college basketball national player of the year finished her preseason averaging 19 points, but was sporting a walking boot on her right ankle after suffering an injury in practice.
The matchup against New York was largely one-sided in the first game under new coach Vickie Johnson. San Antonio whittled an 18-point deficit to nine in the fourth quarter against Johnson's former team.
"It was amazing," Johnson told ESPN about facing the team with which she spent over nine seasons. "This is where I started at, you know? I played a lot of games in the Garden and played hard. I think I played the right way. I think the fans and the organization appreciate that."
McBride remains away from the team after concluding her season in Turkey. Jefferson sat out with right knee soreness.
