SB Nation Reacts: Mystics fans are very optimistic heading into 2022 training camp

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA and WNBA. Sign up here to receive Reacts surveys every week.

We are BACK with more SB Nation Reacts content! Not for the Washington Wizards, who are out on their offseason breaks, but rather, with the Washington Mystics who are in the preseason. Let’s get to the results!

Nearly 90 percent of Mystics fans are confident in team direction!

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We had about 100 responses for this survey. Not as good as a Wizards survey, but still good in my opinion.

Unfortunately, as of the time of this posting, I wasn’t able to gather the free response answers as to why you would be confident in their direction, or not. So I’ll have to use some anecdotes.

If you are confident, you are probably feeling some combination of the following:

• The Mystics have multiple players (Ariel Atkins, Alysha Clark, Elizabeth Williams, Natasha Cloud) who were All-WNBA Defensive Team members within the last three years, which you think will help them compete in the league.
• The Mystics have Elena Delle Donne back!

And if you aren’t confident, here are two possible reasons why you may not be happy:d

• Letting Emma Meesseman go for nothing. I know some of the commenters must be wondering why I haven’t mentioned her “ad nauseum” very much since she signed with the Chicago Sky last February. Has her departure taken away my fandom? HELL NO! Emma and her heroics have a special place in my heart as well as most of yours. But when the Sky face the Mystics, GAME ON!
• Team Injury history from the last two seasons, especially for Delle Donne. While Delle Donne is said to have recovered from her back injury in 2019, she is still two years older and that injury is still very worrisome. In addition, Clark and Cloud are now on the wrong side of 30! I still remember writing content about both of them as ROOKIES!

Most give the Mystics an A for trading the No. 1 pick in the draft

SB Nation

Sixty-three percent of our respondents gave the Mystics an A for trading down from the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft to No. 3, No. 14 and a possible 2023 draft pick swap from the Atlanta Dream. Atlanta picked Rhyne Howard at No. 1 which you can see in the image above.

Three-in-four give the Mystics an A for drafting Shakira Austin!

SB Nation

Mystics fans are really happy to see the Ole Miss alumna come to D.C. at No. 3! Nobody gave Washington a D or F for the move.

Mystics fans believe the team will be better than average on defense, but a plurality doesn’t believe they will be elite

SB Nation

The Mystics have four players on recent All-WNBA Defensive teams: Ariel Atkins, Natasha Cloud, Alysha Clark and Elizabeth Williams. This certainly will lead some fans to believe that Washington will be a top tier team on defense. A combined 93 percent of you believe that they will be at least a Top-half team, but 50 percent of you do not believe they will be a Top-3 team (43 percent).

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