Two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne said Tuesday that she intends to be ready for the 2022 WNBA season and is excited about the free-agent moves her Washington Mystics have made.
Delle Donne, 32, didn't play in the 2020 season and was limited to three games last year due to recurring back issues that required surgery. The Mystics won the WNBA title in her last full season, 2019, even though Delle Donne was dealing with severe back pain during the WNBA Finals.
Now, though, she said she has not felt pain "for months" and is eager to play for the Mystics again. She said her work with one of the organization's athletic trainers, who works with the Wizards and Mystics, has helped immensely.
"This has been like the rebirth of me for so many reasons," Delle Donne said in a videoconference with media Tuesday, saying she had some fear the past two years of not being able to compete again. "There were so many moments where it was like, 'This might be it.' For me to be able to find a new way, and a new push and to feel so great now is something that is so exciting, and I find so much joy in it every day.
"I'll be ready. I feel phenomenal. I have been going to work every single day. Working on my movements, getting so much stronger on the court. I feel like I'm moving again like my younger self. But even better and more efficient. I'm so excited to get this season started; we've got an awesome bunch."
The Mystics announced Tuesday, the first day WNBA teams could officially sign free agents, that they were bringing in center/forward Elizabeth Williams, who spent last season with the Atlanta Dream. And they are bringing back forward Myisha Hines-Allen and guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, who were with the Mystics last season. They also are signing Tianna Hawkins, who was with the Mystics in their 2019 title season. She spent last year with Atlanta but was waived.
Among players who are not returning to the Mystics are center Tina Charles, who averaged 23.4 points and 9.6 rebounds last season for Washington, and forward Emma Meesseman, who was the WNBA Finals MVP in 2019. Meesseman did not play in the WNBA last season because of her commitments to the Belgian national team.
ESPN's Holly Rowe reported Tuesday that Meesseman is expected to sign with the Chicago Sky and Charles with the Phoenix Mercury.
The addition of former Duke star Williams, who has averaged 8.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in her seven-year WNBA career, makes the Mystics an even stronger defensive team. Coach Mike Thibault said that was a must for Washington to compete for a championship again. The Mystics were 12-20 last season and missed the playoffs.
"I think we have a chance to become one of the premier defensive teams in the league," Thibault said. "We like where we're heading in that regard."
Thibault also said the team plans at least one other signing this week, and he doesn't anticipate the Mystics trading the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, which they won in December's lottery.
Kentucky guard Rhyne Howard and Baylor forward NaLyssa Smith are considered front-runners to be the top draft pick.