The Washington Mystics are making a move in the WNBA Draft.
The Mystics agreed to send two-time All-Star Ariel Atkins to the Chicago Sky on Sunday afternoon, according to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. In exchange, the Mystics will receive the No. 3 overall pick in the draft later this spring.
Breaking: 2x-time All-Star guard Ariel Atkins has been traded from the Washington Mystics to the Chicago Sky in exchange for the 2025 No. 3 overall pick, sources told me and @kendra__andrews Sunday
The move kickstarts a rebuild for D.C. and marks a huge get for the surging Sky pic.twitter.com/qApTpdEmHe
— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) February 24, 2025
The Mystics will also receive the Sky’s 2027 second-round pick, and a first-round pick swap with the Sky in 2027 as part of the deal.
Atkins has spent her entire career with the Mystics, who selected her with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Texas. She averaged 14.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game last season.
The Sky went 13-27 last season and missed the playoffs under first-year head coach Teresa Weatherspoon, who was fired in October. It marked the first time the Sky have missed the playoffs since 2018. The Sky replaced Weatherspoon with former Las Vegas Aces assistant Tyler Marsh.
The Mystics will now have the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 6 overall picks in the draft in April. This move is part of a massive reboot for the franchise, which parted ways with general manager Mike Thibault and head coach Eric Thibault earlier this offseason. The team hired former Sky assistant Sydney Johnson as their next head coach in December, and hired former NBA executive Jamila Wideman as their next gneral manager.
Washington, which won a title in 2019, went just 14-26 last summer. The Mystics started the season 0-12, and finished ninth in the league. The Mystics will open the season on May 16 against the Atlanta Dream.
Atkins will get to join a Sky roster that added Courtney Vandersloot, Kia Nurse and Rebecca Allen this offseason. Former LSU star Angel Reese is gearing up for her second season in the league this summer, too, after averaging a double-double as a rookie. The Sky hold the No. 10 overall pick in the WNBA Draft, too.
The WNBA Draft is set for Monday, April 14. UConn star Paige Bueckers is widely considered to be the projected No. 1 overall pick in the draft, which would send her to the Dallas Wings. The Seattle Storm then hold the No. 2 overall pick.
