The WNBA’s Comeback Player of the Year is due for another leap

In 2024, Shakira Austin missed most of the Washington Mystics’ season with a hip injury and an ankle injury.

That came on the heels of another injury-riddled season in which she appeared in less than half of the Mystics’ games.

So, heading into the 2025 WNBA season, Austin was just excited to finally be healthy. She had just completed an offseason at Unrivaled and was eager to suit up healthy for her fourth season in the WNBA.

Before the WNBA season began, Austin sat down with ABC 7 News and reflected on how much she had grown despite not being able to actively suit up.

“I can’t express any more how much I’ve learned being on the sidelines — and it sucked,” Austin said. “I wanted to be out there so bad, but I was really able to change my perspective, and kind of visualize myself out there instead of learning through it as I was on the court. I was able to learn through other people’s mistakes.”

The progress showed.

This past season, Austin bounced back in a massive way. For the first time in years, she managed to stay healthy. As a result, she appeared in a career-best 38 games. And, she played the best basketball of her career.

The 25-year-old averaged 12.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game, and became one of 5 players to average at least 12 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block on the season — the others being Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier, Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart, and Los Angeles Sparks forward Azurá Stevens.

In a July game against the Sparks, Austin posted 28 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 blocks.

In an August game against the Storm, Austin exploded for 30 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 blocks in just 26 minutes.

Austin became such a reliable player that the Mystics suddenly found themselves with a depth of frontcourt talent, and opted to trade Aaliyah Edwards to the Connecticut Sun (Edwards herself was coming off a strong rookie campaign).

Now, the Mystics have two elite young bigs: Austin and rookie Kiki Iriafen, who averaged 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds in her rookie season. Though the Mystics once again missed the postseason, their new frontcourt tandem puts them in a great position heading into the future.

“Their chemistry has only gotten better from game to game,” said head coach Sydney Johnson.

As a result of her bounceback season, the Associated Press awarded Shakira Austin the WNBA Comeback Player of the Year award.

After the selection, she turned to social media to express her gratitude, writing on Twitter/X:

“Just the beginning.”

Now that she’s healthy, it’s no surprise that Shakira Austin has hid her stride. The expectations and potential was always there. Austin was drafted with the third overall pick in 2022 and had a strong rookie campaign with the Mystics, averaging 8.7 points across 36 games.

But her second and third years in the league were injury-riddled, and the Ole Miss product missed more than half of her games.

This year, it became clear that the Mystics now have one of the promising young cores in the WNBA, a group headlined by rising sophomores Sonia Citron and Kiki Iriafen, both of whom were on the All-Rookie team.

Additionally, they have guards Georgia Amoore and Lucy Olsen under contract until 2028 — Amoore was the 6th overall pick, but missed her entire rookie season, with an ACL tear suffered in preseason.

Austin is a restricted free agent, but the Mystics would be wise to match any offer she receives in free agency.

The 2025 season may have just scratched the surface of what the 25-year-old is capable of.