Something magical is brewing in the nation’s capital.
Despite Wednesday’s two-point, 74-76 loss to the Golden State Valkyries, the Washington Mystics — who missed the postseason last season — are off to an exceptional start to the new year. Brittney Sykes‘ 26.3 points per game have carried the Mystics to their 2-1 record and she’s getting some unexpected help from one of Washington’s talented rookies.
Rookie forward Kiki Iriafen scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds during the contest at the Chase Center, making her the only rookie this season to post back-to-back double-doubles.
On the season, Iriafen is averaging close to 14 points a game while shooting over 51% from the floor and 75% from the charity stripe. She’s also the team’s leading rebounder with 10 boards a night.
Iriafen’s level of production is expected from a top-5 draft pick. But heading into the season, the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft didn’t seem to have the typical projections and attention that accompany a lottery-level talent.
As we inched towards the opening weekend, all eyes were on Dallas. The fans and media members were on the edge of their seats preparing for the No. 1 overall pick, Paige Bueckers, to make her WNBA debut. We also had our focus turned to to Seattle where the Storm hoped that the No. 2 pick, Dominique Malonga, could make Olivia Miles’ decision to forego this year’s draft (where she was the presumptive No. 2 pick) a mistake.
Unfortunately for both of these clubs, things aren’t going as smoothly as they hoped. Bueckers hasn’t been able to mesh with the Wings‘ All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale, resulting in a 0-3 start to the season. And, Malonga’s presence has yet to be felt for the 1-1 Storm.
While these headline-grabbing names stumble out of the gate, Iriafen has quietly hit the ground running. And thanks to her unexpected emergence, she’s adding an extra layer of interest to Mystics games.
Through three games, Iriafen is second in points per game for rookies — only trailing her own teammate, Sonia Citron (14.7 ppg). She also leads all rookies in boards per game, making her a top-5 rebounder in the league. On Sunday, she recorded a 17-point, 14-rebound double-double in a win over the Connecticut Sun. Iriafen’s early output thrusts her into the media’s eye-sight. She’s now firmly in position to potentially earn All-Rookie honors while also increasing her odds to achieve the lofty goal of Rookie of the Year (Bueckers is the slam-dunk favorite). To put it plainly: “Conversations will be had” if Iriafen continues to produce at this level.
This news was originally published on this post .
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