Washington Mystics middle Shakira Austin’s perception in her recreation has by no means faltered. Others now consider, too.

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The first trait many individuals discover about Washington Mystics middle Shakira Austin is her fiery pink hair, which makes her simply identifiable on a basketball court docket.

After a dialog with Austin, the second, certainly, is her unwavering confidence.

“I just know the type of player that I can be. I look around the league, and I don’t see anybody else that can do what I do,” Austin stated. “I’ve always felt like that.”

To some, Austin might come off as brash, particularly for a 26-year-old who has but to be named an All-Star since becoming a member of the WNBA in 2022. But all through a professional profession during which Austin has battled setback and sometimes discovered herself in roles during which she felt underutilized, confidence turned her lifeline.

While Austin is in her fifth 12 months within the WNBA, in some ways she seems like she has solely simply arrived. For the 6-foot-5 middle, this year has been one during which her imaginative and prescient for her position has matched her alternative on the court docket. Finally wholesome and taking part in the perfect basketball of her profession, she believes she will turn into the perfect competitor within the league — and she or he has each intention of backing up that assertion.

Austin (from left) blocks a shot by the Los Angeles Sparks’ Dearica Hamby on Aug. 15, 2026. “A lot of people have mistaken my confidence for being ego-driven. … For me, it’s just simply about proving myself right,” Austin stated.Greg Fiume / Getty Images

Her latest sequence is offering purpose to consider she will dwell as much as these lofty objectives; in 16 video games since July 2, Austin is averaging 20.7 factors, 9.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 blocks. According to ESPN Stats and Information, the one different WNBA competitor to common at the very least 20 factors and 9 rebounds over any 16-game span this year is Las Vegas Aces middle A’ja Wilson, a four-time MVP.

“A lot of people have mistaken my confidence for being ego-driven or maybe big-headed. A lot of times it’s just because they didn’t see the vision,” Austin stated. “They didn’t see the product that I used to be placing out matching how extremely I considered who I might be on this league.

“For me, it’s just simply about proving myself right.”

When Austin was a child rising up in Fredericksburg, Virginia, her dad instilled in her a imaginative and prescient she has by no means wavered from. Once she dedicated to basketball, David Austin didn’t permit his daughter to accept merely being good; he believed she might be a star. 

“I simply love the game of basketball, and I want to be great because of the work I put in at such a young age,” she stated.

That imaginative and prescient carried Austin by the highschool ranks, the place she was a McDonald’s All-American and a top-five competitor within the 2018 class, and all through school the place she most notably spearheaded the on-court revival of Ole Miss ladies’s basketball as a two-time All-SEC choice. That perception in herself grew when she was chosen third within the 2022 WNBA draft by Washington, the place she was requested to sequence a supporting position alongside Basketball Hall of Famer Elena Delle Donne.

“The biggest thing that kind of stood out to me in her rookie year was how confident she was … but also how much she actually wanted to learn and be a sponge,” stated Los Angeles Sparks guard Ariel Atkins, who was Austin’s teammate in Washington from 2022-24. “When people are normally that confident, sometimes [others are] a little scared of them because they’re like, oh, you think you’re this or that. She’s like, ‘No, I am that, but I also know that I can be better at X, Y and Z.’ I think that’s what separates her.”

“After I signed my contract … I could just fully be myself and I could embrace who I’ve always known I could be,” stated Austin, who’s averaging 16.7 factors, 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks this year.Stephen Gosling / NBAE through Getty Images

Austin completed second in Rookie of the Year voting in 2022, and she or he envisioned herself turning into extra of a focus of the franchise within the coming years. Instead, hip and ankle accidents restricted her to taking part in in simply 31 complete video games over the 2023 and 2024 seasons.

And final year was notably difficult. A lingering knee setback saved Austin out of the beginning lineup for the primary eight video games of the 12 months as she navigated a minutes restriction, however even as soon as she was capable of be totally reintegrated into the Mystics’ rotation, she discovered herself feeling like an “oddball” among the many group.

“Sometimes there were no minute restrictions, and I was still [confused], like, I’m cleared to play, but I’m still not playing,” Austin stated. “For me, personally, it was just feeling like I could have more impact than who was playing.”

Austin started to query her worth and safety inside the Mystics group and — with 2025 being a contract year — what her future would possibly maintain.

“I think any athlete could definitely have some pressures about, ‘What happens for next season?’” stated Austin. “I think it can make you play, in a sense, a little tight in the ass.”

Mystics head leader Sydney Johnson stated he may sense Austin’s discomfort final year, including that her emotions weren’t “unfounded.” However, he stated her relative lack of taking part in time was extra so a results of how the unit developed than any shortcomings on her half.

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Austin’s early-season setback woes created area for then-rookies Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen to make quick impacts. Citron, Iriafen and Mystics guard Brittney Sykes have been all named All-Stars final 12 months.

“You can see where those three players kind of start the way they did, and then Shakira comes into the fold, and then she can feel some kind of way,” Johnson stated. “It’s working through that and trying to be as genuine as possible. As much as she may have felt on the outs … all along the way I was like, ‘You are a franchise player here.’”

Johnson would double down on that sentiment this previous offseason, which Austin entered as a restricted free agent. On April 11, she signed a proposal sheet with the Toronto Tempo. Given Austin’s restricted standing, the Mystics had 48 hours to match the Tempo’s supply — and so they did. Austin signed a three-year, max contract with Washington value $3.57 million.

Johnson was adamant that the Mystics entrance workplace had no intention of letting Austin go away. There nonetheless was the impediment of reassuring Austin of her place within the franchise, nevertheless. He labored to make that place clear through the offseason.

“I wanted to make sure there was absolutely no doubt that not only was she appreciated, but she’s a central part of everything that we’re trying to do,” Johnson instructed Andscape in June. “I wanted her to know that — I wanted her family to know that.”

The similar day Austin signed with Washington, the Mystics chosen UCLA middle Lauren Betts with the No. 4 general decide within the 2026 WNBA draft. It was the fourth consecutive year the unit had drafted excessive first-round frontcourt abilities, following forwards Iriafen (No. 4) in 2025, Aaliyah Edwards (No. 6) in 2024 and middle Stephanie Soares (No. 4) in 2023.

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“My mind was already made up that whoever they drafted or no matter who we brought in in the offseason, it wasn’t going to change what I was going to do this year,” Austin stated. “Whether they had plans for me or not, I knew that this was going to be a big year for me.”

Shortly after the Mystics matched the Tempo’s contract supply, Austin recalled sitting in entrance of Washington’s entrance workplace management and making it clear what she needed out of the year.

“I told them straight up, like, ‘Either y’all get with me and I help lead us to a championship, or you’re going to have a lot of regrets,’” Austin stated.

Her parting message to Mystics management was clear.

“I’m going to put the league on notice. I’m going to show people the player that I can be and how much I can help a team win,” Austin stated. “That’s all I wanted to do this year.” 

Johnson stated Austin and the entrance workplace have been in alignment.

“For us, it was like, ‘Hey, we can roll with that. … Now, let’s get to work,’” he stated.

Austin has been having fun with the perfect year of her skilled profession, averaging profession highs in nearly each main statistical class.

She has been capable of sequence at her personal tempo on the court docket whereas not regarding herself with how others view her recreation.

“After I signed my contract … I could just fully be myself and I could embrace who I’ve always known I could be,” stated Austin, who’s averaging 16.7 factors, 9.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks this year, all of which rank first or second on the unit. “I play my best basketball when I’m not thinking about anything. I think that’s now what I’m seeing is kind of just playing at a high level and staying in that zone.”

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Multiple members of the Mystics teaching workers have lauded Austin’s maturity and management this year. 

“One thing that she has wanted to do is to have an impact on the game, but to do it in a way where her teammates can share in it,” Johnson stated. “For me, when I was hearing her say this, I was like, man, she’s really matured to a level of wanting to be good individually but bringing her team along. That’s another level of greatness that I don’t know if people appreciate.”

Her development as a playmaker has been notably gratifying for the Mystics workers, a aspect of her recreation she has aimed to enhance since she was a rookie. Johnson highlighted Austin’s sense of consolation on the ground as enabling her to navigate whichever sort of protection opposing groups throw at her.

“[I’m] just allowing my attacks because of how much attention I draw, to help facilitate and get my teammates open shots,” stated Austin, who’s averaging a career-high 2.5 assists per recreation. “It’s not just about who has the highest stats. It’s truly, how can you impact the game?”

Outside the Mystics group, others are also seeing that influence.

“I simply love the game of basketball, and I want to be great because of the work I put in at such a young age,” Austin stated.G Fiume / Getty Images

“The last couple of years she’s struggled with staying healthy, but now she’s playing better than she has in her entire career,” Chicago Sky head leader Tyler Marsh stated earlier than his unit performed the Mystics in June. “She’s made tremendous progress in her growth and development. She’ll be around here a long time.”

Austin is at the moment on the shortlist for the league’s Most Improved Player award. Johnson, who’s admittedly biased in his evaluation, stated she ought to be a “no-brainer” choice.

“I don’t think there’s a single frontcourt player — check that — I don’t think there’s a single WNBA player in our league who is as versatile on both ends of the floor and has impacted winning like she has in a single season, from one [season] to the next,” Johnson stated. “From last year to this year, her impact on this team on both ends of the floor is far and away greater than any player in a single season of development.”

Despite the uncertainty that surrounded Austin each as a competitor and as a free agent as not too long ago as a number of months in the past, there’s a way of gratification that the profession year she’s having fun with is coming together with her in a Mystics uniform.

Austin thinks the unit has the items to conquer a crown, and because the longest tenured franchise competitor on the roster, she needs to be the competitor that helps carry it there.

“This is my city, and I’ll forever say that,” Austin stated. “It’s such a uncommon occasion for somebody to get drafted to their hometown and make it 5 years. I do know lots of people perhaps anticipated me to mechanically come again, and there have been lots of people who knew it may have been my final 12 months right here.

“It’s just having that appreciation of, whether this is where I am for the rest of my career or not, I’m going to make an impact while I’m here.”

Sean Hurd is a senior author for Andscape who primarily covers ladies’s basketball. His athletic peak got here on the age of 10 when he was named camper of the week at a Josh Childress basketball camp.