Opportunity in Washington helped Mystics rookies Citron and Iriafen become WNBA All-Stars

WASHINGTON (AP) – When Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen were drafted by a rebuilding Washington team, it was clear they’d have a chance to make a quick impact.

It turned out to be a historic one.

Citron and Iriafen were both WNBA All-Stars last weekend, becoming the first pair of rookie teammates to achieve that since 1999. Their inclusion was an acknowledgement of how quickly they’ve established themselves in the league – and the way they’ve helped improve the Mystics’ outlook.

“From the beginning, Slim (guard Brittney Sykes) told me like, ‘You’re not a rookie. We drafted you for a reason, we drafted Kiki for a reason, so you guys just go out and do what you do,'” Citron said.

That’s not something rookies – even first-round picks like Citron and Iriafen – can take for granted. The WNBA is a famously tough league to break into. For every immediate rookie star like Paige Bueckers, there’s another high pick facing a slower adjustment timeline.

Bueckers, Citron and Iriafen were all All-Stars, the first time three rookies made it since 2011. But they’re the only rookies averaging over 10 points per game this year.

Some of that comes down to opportunity. After finishing 14-26 last year, Washington brought in Jamila Wideman as its general manager and Sydney Johnson as its coach. Then the Mystics took Citron out of Notre Dame with the third pick in the draft and Iriafen out of Southern California with the next pick. Having both become All-Stars was pretty much the best-case scenario.

Especially since both had a chance to go to Indiana and spend time with some of the game’s biggest stars.

“I think there’s another couple of jumps that they’re looking to take, and I think they were rubbing elbows with some of those players that they aspire to be like, to outperform,” Johnson said.

The 6-foot-3 Iriafen scored 17 points in the game and Citron, a 6-1 guard, added 11. Citron also took part in the 3-point contest – and the winner, Sabrina Ionescu, said she’d give half her winnings to the Washington rookie.

Johnson said observing how players like Ionescu go about their business is valuable.

“Sabrina put on a show with the 3-point contest. Sonia knows how good of a shooter she is – Sonia is – and then you look, and there’s like a whole other level there with Sabrina,” Johnson said. “That’s respecting Sonia, but that’s calling it what it is. Just seeing pro habits, how they approach the game, how competitive they are, how they’re on all the time.”

Now the challenge for Citron and Iriafen is to maintain their level of production. Citron is averaging 13.8 points per game, second on the team behind Sykes, another Washington All-Star. Iriafen is averaging 12 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds.

They won’t be sneaking up on anyone after being named All-Stars. In the first game back from the break, Washington lost to Los Angeles on Tuesday night. Citron was held to seven points, but Iriafen contributed 13.

“Not being one-dimensional, and finding different ways to impact the game,” Iriafen said of her challenge the rest of the way. “Maybe it is scoring, maybe it’s being more of a defensive threat. Just not relying on what I did in the first half, and just continuing to get better.”

The Mystics (11-12) were in eighth place entering Thursday’s action, a half-game ahead of expansion Golden State (10-12) and not far behind Las Vegas (12-11) and Indiana (12-12). The loss to the Sparks was the start of a five-game homestand that could be crucial to Washington’s postseason hopes.

The Mystics won the 2019 championship but haven’t posted a winning record since 2022 and have missed the playoffs the last two years.

Whatever the stretch run has in store, Washington can look forward to the future after what the Mystics have seen from their rookie All-Star duo.

“I think it’s amazing,” Citron said. “I think me and Kiki work really hard, and it’s just cool that people are seeing that.”