Mystics ink veteran guard and Mavs assistant coach Kristi Toliver

The Mystics signed veteran guard and Mavs assistant coach Kristi Toliver in the early days of WNBA free agency.

When the Washington Mystics begin the 2023 season, they will have a familiar face on the roster in veteran guard Kristi Toliver. The WNBA free agency moratorium period was lifted this week with players and teams officially being able to announce and sign contracts. Toliver initially announced via social media that she would not be returning to the Los Angeles Sparks, the team she played the 2022 season for. She then broke her own news by following that up with another announcement via social media that she would be signing with the Mystics in WNBA free agency. Toliver currently serves as an assistant coach for the Dallas Mavericks. This is her second season as an assistant coach for the Mavs.

BREAKING: Kristi Toliver announces she's signing with the Washington Mystics, per her Instagram. Toliver won a title with the Mystics in 2019 https://t.co/L23n5cCEvD

— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) February 1, 2023

Kristi Toliver had spent three seasons with the Mystics from 2017-2019 and was named an All-Star in 2018 and 2019 while being a key player on the 2019 championship team. She chose to sign with the Sparks in free agency during the 2020 offseason but opted to sit that season out amid concerns over the COVID-19 virus and the season being played in the Florida bubble. She spent the last two seasons with the Sparks, the team she spent seven of her first eight seasons with in addition to being selected to the All-Star team in 2013 and helping win a championship in 2016.

Last season, Toliver dealt with injury issues and was only able to suit up in 11 games for the Sparks including ten starts. She averaged a career-low 5.9 points per game and 3.1 assists with shooting splits of 37.3 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from the three-point line. Toliver has always been a solid point guard and floor leader and she holds a career average of 38.4 percent shooting from three-point range. Depending on how far the Mavs advance in the NBA playoffs, it's possible Toliver might have to miss the beginning of training camp and possibly the season.