The Mystics’ heartwarming on-court moment is a reminder that WNBA rebuilding is about more than wins and losses

After the Washington Mystics lost to the New York Liberty, the team shared a learning moment.

For teams who aren’t in the championship conversation, a season isn’t solely measured in wins and losses. For the Washington Mystics, especially, their better-than-expected 2025 season has been filled with learning opportunities. The Mystics have a team filled with young and talented players, with seasoned veterans to help guide them. That was apparent after their loss to the New York Liberty on Thursday, when the team shared a special moment.

The team lost, 86-78, to the now 8-0 New York Liberty, and after the final buzzer, Stef Dolson brought the team together into a huddle on the court. She was caught on camera giving a speech to the young team, which includes May Rookie of the Month Kiki Iriafen as well as the No. 3 overall pick from the draft, Sonia Citron.

While you can’t initially see what she is telling her team, you can tell that the young players are all engaged. It can be hard to keep a team together during a losing season, especially for these young players who didn’t lose very much in college. It seemed like a bonding moment for this team as well as a time to take some lessons from a veteran who has won on every level, like Dolson has.

Shortly after, Jade Melbourne let the media in on what Dolson was telling the team in the huddle. She wanted to make sure the team knew how much better they looked on the court against the Liberty than they did just last week, reminding them that they were in the game until the end. When you’re a rebuilding squad facing a team as dominant as New York, which recently beat Connecticut by 48 points, those are the things you need to celebrate.

Growth is especially important for this Mystics team. After trading for the No. 3 overall pick ahead of the 2025 Draft, they ended up picking Sonia Citron, then Kiki Iriafen at No. 4 and Georgia Amoore at No. 5. Despite Amoore sustaining a season-ending injury just days into training camp, the long-term plan is to have these three form the future core of this Mystics team. It’s a plan that’s already paying off, given Iriafen’s Rookie of the Month award and Citron being the first rookie this season to reach 100 points.

Iriafen and Citron were also the first rookies since A’ja Wilson to start their careers with eight or more double-digit scoring games. Iriafen was the first Rookie of the Month in Mystics history as well, and is the fastest WNBA rookie in history to reach 50 points and 50 rebounds. When it was announced that she had won Rookie of the Month, Iriafen told her Mystics teammates that they had “helped her find the joy in basketball again.”

Having vets like Dolson and Brittney Sykes pour into these talented rookies will only expedite their development. They’ve already been better than expected this season, starting at 2-0 and still holding the No. 8 spot in league standings. They could very well end up being a playoff team this season, which would be another positive thing for these young players to experience.

The Mystics will play the Connecticut Sun on Sunday, another chance to get back in the win column after three straight losses to the Liberty and Indiana Fever.