The Mystics are expected to contend for the WNBA championship, but they aren’t the favorites

The Washington Mystics are going to begin the season in just a few days! And now, we’re starting to see the preseason power rankings from various sources. Where do the pundits think the Mystics will stand?

Earlier this week, M.A. Voepel of ESPN released his preseason power rankings. The Mystics ranked third, just behind the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty who were first and second, respectively.

I concur with Voepel that the Mystics are one of the better teams in the WNBA. But they aren’t “superteams” like the Aces and Liberty. Does this mean that that the Mystics are “doomed” to lose in the semifinals to one of these teams?

Not necessarily.

The Mystics have a deep squad and Elena Delle Donne is optimistic that she can play every game this season. Furthermore, “superteams” don’t always have the best chemistry. If the Aces and/or Liberty don’t get develop good chemistry while the Mystics do, we could very well see a scenario like the 2018 and 2019 seasons when Washington made the Finals both seasons and won the championship in 2019.

It will be interesting to see how Washington fares, especially in their games against the superteams.