The All-2010s Mystics team: Elena Delle Donne and Emma Meesseman are easy picks. Who else joins them?

We took a look at who the best players and coaches were for the Washington Wizards. Let’s do it for the Mystics in this post!

By Albert Lee@aleeinthedmv Dec 30, 2019, 1:00pm EST

Washington Mystics v Las Vegas Aces - Game Four — Duh, you know that Emma Meesseman and Elena Delle Donne made the All-2010s Mystics team!

The Washington Mystics experienced the highest of highs this year with a WNBA championship. They also experienced the lowest of lows with a 5-29 regular season in 2012 where they were just horrible.

On the surface, it’s easy to decide who should make the All-2010s Mystics team. But it’s not like we should lazily place the entire 2019 Mystics’ starting lineup and call them the “All 2010s team,” right? After all, Emma Meesseman wasn’t a regular starter last season.

I also wanted to differentiate this list from the All-Time Mystics teams, even though I’ll admit it. They’re very close because the Mystics were never true league contenders until recently.

So let’s get to the All-2010s Washington Mystics below!

The All 2010s Washington Mystics

Kristi Toliver, backcourt

2019 WNBA Finals - Game One — Kristi Toliver

As a Mystic, Toliver averaged double digits in scoring in each of her three seasons (2017-19) and was an All-Star in 2018 and 19. Toliver also averaged a career-high 5.9 assists per game in the 2019 season when Washington won the title.

Ivory Latta, backcourt

Washington Mystics v Indiana Fever — Ivory Latta

Latta was part of the Mystics’ rebuilding years from 2013-17 and was part of a Washington squad that made the semifinals in her last season in D.C. Like Toliver, Latta was a sharpshotter and two-time All-Star in D.C., winning her awards in 2013 and 2014. She was a Mystics fan favorite and I feel a little bad that she wasn’t part of the 2019 championship squad.

Emma Meesseman, frontcourt

Emma Meesseman isn’t shy about wearing those IEPER shirts!

Did you think that I was going to leave the Reaper from Ieper out of the All 2010s team after her snub from the All-Time Mystics’ first team? If I did, the European Union may end Americans’ visa-free access to the Schengen Zone, so hell no!

But Meesseman was really an easy choice to make the All-2010s team.

Meesseman is the longest tenured Mystics player on the roster. Despite how narratives can oversimplify the Mystics’ rise, she is the team’s foundational draft pick from 2013. The Mystics weren’t contenders just because Elena Delle Donne wanted to come home and “felt sorry” for a then-rather hapless franchise.

Also, Meesseman is the 2019 WNBA Finals MVP. She is a one-time All-Star who really should have made more if only she stayed on the Mystics for every game. John Wall and Bradley Beal happily lead Meesse-MANICS at games (even if they’re wearing Toliver jerseys). Let’s just hope she comes back next season... and I have a lot more words on that below.

Elena Delle Donne, frontcourt

I gotta say, Elena Delle Donne and Meesseman have similar pregame fashion styles, up to the point where I thought she was Meesseman instead!

DUH! Delle Donne is an automatic pick for the All 2010s Mystics team after being a three-time All-Star for Washington from 2017 to 2019 and winning the WNBA regular season MVP award in 2019.

There is no doubt which star player put the Mystics on the map as a true WNBA contender. Yes, Meesseman may be the best player talent-wise on the team (once again), but Delle Donne is in the prime of her career and still has plenty of gas left in the tank.

Washington will still have a chance to win another change with the do-it-all power forward for the foreseeable future. Now let’s hope she gets her back healed up in time for this spring.

Crystal Langhorne, frontcourt

Seattle Storm v Washington Mystics — Crystal Langhorne

Before Meesseman and Delle Donne were leading the Mystics in the Mike Thibault Era (2013-present), Crystal Langhorne was the team’s starting power forward and centerpiece.

It is convenient to label her as a post who played for Washington during their horrible 11-57 stretch in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. However, Langhorne was a key piece of the 2010 team that went 22-12 in the regular season and the 2013 “Redeem Team” when Thibault first took the helm. She made the 2011 and 2013 All-Star teams and even played in the 2010 Team USA vs. WNBA showcase.

Though Langhorne was not part of the Mystics during their recent rise, they should be grateful for her contributions, since there was otherwise very little to root for at times.

Mike Thibault, Head Coach

2019 WNBA Finals - Game Four — Mike Thibault

Former Wizards President of Basketball Operations Ernie Grunfeld may be disliked for his recent mishaps. But he certainly deserves a 2019 Mystics championship ring. That’s because he referred Thibault to Ted Leonsis back in 2012.

Thibault was already the second-winningest head coach in WNBA history when he came to Washington, with only a championship missing from his resumé. Yes, he went to the worst team in the WNBA at that time, but he quickly became Washington’s longest-tenured coach, going 130-108 in seven seasons since 2013.

And I almost forgot. He won that missing title last October with his superstar frontcourt as you can see below.

WNBA Finals Portraits — Coach T deserves ALL THE AFFECTION AND PRAISE FROM HIS PLAYERS!