| Washington Mystics | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 2024 Washington Mystics season | ||||
 | ||||
| Conference | Eastern | |||
| Leagues | WNBA | |||
| Founded | 1998 | |||
| History | Washington Mystics 1998–present | |||
| Arena | Entertainment and Sports Arena | |||
| Location | Washington, D.C. | |||
| Team colors | Red, navy blue, silver, white[1][2][3] | |||
| Main sponsor | GEICO[4] | |||
| President | Michael Winger | |||
| Assistant(s) | LaToya Sanders (Associate HC) Shelley Patterson Ashlee McGee | |||
| Ownership | Monumental Sports & Entertainment (Ted Leonsis) | |||
| Championships | 1 (2019) | |||
| Website | mystics | |||
| ||||
The Washington Mystics are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Mystics compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The team was founded prior to the 1998 season, and is owned by Ted Leonsis through Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which also owns the Mystics' NBA counterpart, the Washington Wizards. The team plays in the Entertainment and Sports Arena in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Washington DC. Sheila C. Johnson, co-founder of BET and ex-wife of Charlotte Sting owner Robert L. Johnson, is the managing partner.[5]
The Mystics have qualified for the WNBA Playoffs in 13 of its 23 seasons of existence, and the franchise has been home to such high-quality players as two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne, Tennessee standout Chamique Holdsclaw, athletic shooting guard Alana Beard, and nearby Maryland product Crystal Langhorne. Until 2018, the Mystics were the only current WNBA franchise that had never made it to the WNBA Finals. They lost in the semifinals twice, to New York in 2002 and to the eventual champion Minnesota Lynx in 2017. After reaching the WNBA Finals for the first time in 2018, they won their first championship in 2019.
- ^ "Mystics Unveil New Colors". WNBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. December 2, 2010. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
- ^ "Team Directory" (PDF). 2020 Washington Mystics Media Guide. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. August 3, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2021.
- ^ "Washington Mystics Reproduction Guideline Sheet". WNBA Enterprises, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
- ^ "Monumental Sports and Entertainment Announces GEICO as First-Ever Jersey Patch Partner". Mystics.WNBA.com. NBA Media Ventures, LLC. November 2, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
- ^ "Sheila Johnson: America's first Black female billionaire – Biography". Ebony. 2003. Archived from the original on 2004-10-15.