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The Washington Mystics knew they were getting a foundational piece when they drafted 2025 third-team All-American Kiki Iriafen No. 4 overall out of USC this past offseason. However, even the most positive Mystics fans might not have envisioned the 21-year-old starting off this well.
Iriafen was named the WNBA Rookie of the Month on Wednesday for her body of work in May, as she averaged 13.9 points on 47.4 percent shooting with 10.1 rebounds and one assist. The Los Angeles native, who didn't even know that the monthly award existed, opened up about the honor, via The Washington Post's Kareem Copeland.
“I was definitely surprised. … It's very fulfilling and rewarding that I can compete at this level,” she said. “And I think it's just a testament of like, your journey doesn't have to look like anybody else's and you can still accomplish your goals.”
With No. 6 overall pick Georgia Amoore (ACL) out for the season as well as Aaliyah Edwards and Shakira Austin rehabbing early on, Washington needed Iriafen to play like a seasoned veteran right away. The 2025 first-team All-Big Ten selection answered the call, as she's the first rookie since Tina Charles in 2010 and only the sixth in WNBA history to average a double-double through her first eight games.
“It’s just so validating that my hard work has paid off,” she continued. “From the day I got drafted to the Mystics, I just put my head down, like, I’m going to work, whatever that might look like for this team. All I can say is I’m just giving my best effort every single time that I’m playing and it’s nice to see the fruits of your labor come to fruition, even though it’s still early.”
Iriafen kicked off the month of June with another standout performance, scoring a career-high 20 points (9-11 FG) with nine rebounds across 27 minutes in Tuesday's 85-76 loss to the Indiana Fever. The 6-foot-3-inch forward is now second on the team with 14.6 points per game, and she leads with a 51.7 percent field goal clip as well as 10 rebounds.
If Iriafen is already producing this much, one can only imagine how she'll do in her prime.
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Mystics transition year off to positive start
There's something to be said for a team being 3-5 with rookies that are second and third on the squad in minutes per game. That's the position that Washington is in, as No. 3 overall pick Sonia Citron (31.1 minutes) and Iriafen (28.3) trail only Brittney Sykes (33.7), and those three players are the only ones averaging 10-plus points.
The Mystics will improve further when Austin and Edwards get fully back up to speed as well. The former scored in double figures the past two games, but Edwards has yet to make a major impact off the bench. The 2024 No. 6 overall pick is shooting 33.3 percent from the field so far compared 49 percent last season.
However, the fact that Washington is still floating around .500 thus far despite leaning so heavily on its rookie duo is a promising sign for the new regime. Making the postseason in general manager Jamila Wideman and head coach Sydney Johnson's first year at the helm would be equal parts exciting and surprising, but even staying in the playoff picture until the end would be an accomplishment in its own right.
Up next for the Mystics is a home date with the undefeated New York Liberty on Thursday.
