STATS
Regular Season
| Games | Starts | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 29 | 20.7 | 7.2 | 2.3 | 0.9 | 48.8% | 40.5% | 88.7% |
Playoffs
| Games | Starts | PPG | RPG | APG | SPG | FG% | 3PT% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 8 | 19.6 | 8.5 | 2.9 | 0.6 | 45.3% | 34.6% | 100% |
SEASON HIGHS
PTS 36 – vs. CON 6/13/2018
REB 16 – vs. ATL 7/31/2018
AST 7 – vs. IND 5/20/2018
FGM 13 – vs. CON 6/13/2018
STL 4 – 2x
BLK 5 – vs. DAL 7/19/2018
MIN 38 – 2x
OVERVIEW
Elena Delle Donne balled out in her second season with the Mystics (sixth in the WNBA), racking up a number of notable accomplishments along the way — she was selected as Player of the Week four times, Player of the Month twice, named to her fifth All-Star team (and named Captain) — and to top it off, notched her third All-WNBA Team selection. Delle Donne started the first game of the season by setting a new career high in assists (7) and she stayed hot from there. She tallied 11 20-point games, five 30-point games and eight double-doubles. Those high-scoring games led her past the 3,000 career points mark, becoming the fastest player to do so in WNBA history.
The star forward did not slow down after leading the team to WNBA Playoffs, setting a new playoff career high for total rebounds in each of her first three postseason games. In Game 1 against Atlanta, Delle Donne tied the Mystics all-time playoff scoring record with 32 points and followed it up in Game 2 by tying the franchise playoff record for field goals made for the second consecutive game. Late in that same game Delle Donne went down hard with a left knee injury, that many feared would be season-ending. It was diagnosed as a bone bruise and Delle Donne immediately went on around-the-clock treatment and fought to get back on the court. Only missing one game, her presence on the court in Games 4 and 5 helped lead the Mystics to their first WNBA Finals in franchise history. While the first Finals appearance did not go as planned, Delle Donne still looked back at the season and what her and her team accomplished as a success. “We had a great season,” said Delle Donne. “I’m super proud of the way we bounced back from a lot of adversity that we faced all season long. Obviously, this Finals didn’t go the way we wanted it to, but I think the great thing is that we can still improve. We don’t feel like we’ve peaked and this was it for us. We feel like we’ve got a lot of young, great talent, and obviously, this isn’t how we wanted it to end, but it’s an experience that we can grow from.”
NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS
- Washington was 20-9 (.690) with Delle Donne in the starting lineup.
- Led the Mystics in a number of statistical categories:
- Points per game: 20.7 (T-3rd in the WNBA)
- Rebounds per game: 7.2 (10th in the WNBA)
- Blocks per game: 1.4 (T-7th in the WNBA)
- Field goal percentage: 48.8% (min. 200 FGA)
- Recorded six of the Mystics’ seven highest scoring performances of the season:
- 36 – June 13 at Connecticut
- 32 – August 26 at Atlanta (postseason)
- 30 – June 22 at Chicago
- 30 – July 21 at New York
- 30 – August 7 at Phoenix
- 30 – August 9 vs. Seattle
- Ranked 2nd in minutes per game among all WNBA forwards.
- Set a new career high with seven assists in the first game of the 2018 season, an 82-75 win over the Indiana Fever.
- Delle Donne set a new career playoff high for total rebounds in each of the first three games of the 2018 postseason.
KEY PERFORMANCES
- June 13 at Connecticut – Delle Donne scored a season-high 36 points against the Sun, shooting 13-22 (.590) from the field, 2-4 (.500) from 3-point range and 8-8 (1.000) from the free throw line. Delle Donne scored 16 points in the first quarter and 22 in the first half — both team highs for the 2018 season.
- August 26 at Atlanta – In Washington’s second game of the postseason, an 87-84 win over the Dream, Delle Donne tallied 32 points, tying the Mystics all-time playoff high. Delle Donne shot 10-22 (.454) from the field, 2-4 (.500) from beyond the arc and 10-10 (1.000) from the free throw line.
- June 28 at New York – Delle Donne capped off a 22-point performance with a game-winning 3-point buzzer beater to extend the Mystics’ winning streak to four games.
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTES
“They’re awesome. In practice they challenge us, they’re just great. They can hit shots, they can change the pace of the game, they’ve got speed, size. They can do it all. They’ve been holding it down for us, so props to the bench mob.” – Delle Donne, 5/22/18
“She’s everything. She’s our MVP. She’s the MVP of this league, I don’t care who’s in the running for it, She’s the best player in the world—not just this country, not just this league, [but] she’s the best player in the world.” – Cloud on Delle Donne, 8/22/18
“We can talk about my knee after this series. Excuses are for losers. If I wanted to be 100 percent, I wouldn’t have come back.” – Delle Donne
“I absolutely I adore my teammates, I knew if I came out here and did what I could, they would carry me.” – Delle Donne after coming back from knee injury, 9/4/18
OFFSEASON PLANS
Delle Donne has had a rather busy offseason thus far. It started off with her winning gold with Team USA in Spain at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. From there, she’s guest-starred on LeBron James’ HBA show, the Shop, attended a Redskins game as their Honorary Captain, and most recently got inducted into the University of Delaware’s Hall of Fame.
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