Myisha Hines-Allen named runner up for 2020 WNBA Most Improved Player

On Thursday, the WNBA announced that Atlanta Dream guard Betnijah Laney won the 2020 Most Improved Player of the Year award. She narrowly beat out Washingon Mystics forward Myisha Hines-Allen to win the honor.

Hines-Allen averaged 17.0 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for Washington this season in a year where Elena Delle Donne missed the season due to injury and coronavirus concerns and newly-acquired center Tina Charles also missed the season due to coronavirus concerns.

Along the way, the Mystics were 9-13, but Hines-Allen led Washington to a four-game win streak to close out the season, and give them a berth in the playoffs. Hines-Allen’s efforts in September earned her the Eastern Conference Player of the Month award earlier this week. In addition, Hines-Allen also received two fifth place WNBA MVP votes.

Last season, Hines-Allen wasn’t just a reserve. She hardly played at all, averaging 2.3 points in about 7.8 minutes per game. She only made one appearance, a three minute stretch in the 2019 WNBA Playoffs where the Mystics would go on to win the championship.

The Mystics face a lot of questions in the frontcourt this offseason on how to rebuild their roster for the 2021 team. Charles is a free agent and was acquired in exchange for multiple draft picks. And Emma Meesseman played poorly this season in a supermax contract year. It doesn’t seem like the Mystics can keep both and pay them too.

That said, Hines-Allen will only be entering her fourth WNBA season in 2021, and Washington can use an option to pay her at a rookie level discount. Regardless of what happens with the veterans, I’m sure that we’ll see Hines-Allen wearing a Mystics jersey next season and for years to come.