The Washington Mystics announced on Tuesday that All-Star point guard Ariel Atkins has agreed to a multi-year extension to remain with the organization. The exact terms of the deal were not announced due to team policy.
Multiple reports say that the contract extension is for two years, valued at $200,000 per season.
“We are excited that Ariel has committed herself to the long-term future of the Washington Mystics,” general manager Mike Thibault said in a release. “She has been such an integral part of our success and is entering the prime of her career. Ariel has worked hard to improve every season and the respect she has in our locker room will allow her to take on an even bigger leadership role as we move forward.”
It took just five games into Atkins’s career for her to be named a starter for Washington following being drafted seventh overall in 2018. The next season she helped lead the team to their first championship as a three-and-D guard in a lineup that featured Natasha Cloud, Kristi Toliver, Elena Delle Donne and LaToya Sanders.
In her six-year career, Atkins has averaged 13.3 points, 1.4 steals and 1.8 made threes per game while shooting 42.0% from the field, 36.3% from three and 84.9% from the free throw line.
Earlier this season she became the franchise’s leading 3-point shooter with 309 made 3-pointers, passing Ivory Latta. She’s also seventh in Mystics history in scoring (2,243), ninth in assists (390) and third in steals (242).
She has made an All-Defensive team in each of her five years in the WNBA, making the first team for the first time in 2022. She also won an Olympic gold medal with Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She’s also been named a two-time All-Star.
“I’m happy to have signed back with the Mystics,” Atkins said. “I’m excited for what’s to come in the future of this organization and my career in D.C.”
This signing comes with several key players set to hit free agency this offseason. Elena Delle Donne, Natasha Cloud, Tianna Hawkins and Kristi Toliver are all unrestricted free agents entering 2024.
If the reported contract figures are true, Atkins’s contract will come in not too far from the maximum contract for the 2024 ($241,984) and 2025 ($249,244) seasons as allowable by the Collective Bargaining Agreement. That contract would also give her the second-highest salary on the team for this season, behind Delle Donne.
It should allow the Mystics some flexibility to lock up Delle Donne and Cloud to extensions as well going into the 2024 free agency period if they choose. Already the team has Brittney Sykes, Myisha Hines-Allen, Shatori Walker-Kimbrough, Shakira Austin and Queen Egbo under contract for next year.
This two-year contract will also give the team a path to navigate through what is expected to be an expansion draft in the near future. Mike Thibault has said in the past that all future contract negotiations are being made with that in mind. With no tentative date for expansion nor any rules for that expansion draft in place, two years opens the door for another extension to be in play once the league moves forward in adding teams.
Washington intends on keeping their championship window open for as long as it can. Keeping Atkins under contract in this deal solidifies their commitment to keeping her as a member of that championship core.
Atkins has missed the past 11 games with a left ankle sprain, the longest absence of her professional career. She is one of many players nearing a return as Washington has just 10 games remaining in the regular season.
