By: Tyler Byrum
WASHINGTON — Ole Miss star Shakira Austin is coming home and there couldn’t be a better opportunity for the 6-foot-5 forward to begin her professional basketball career.
The Washington Mystics selected her with the third overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft. A local player who finished her high school career just down the road at Riverdale Baptist in Upper Marlboro, Md.
Luckily for her, the Mystics do not have to rely on their top draft pick carrying them to wins in her first season, unlike what is normally awaiting may lottery selections. As currently constructed, the Mystics are a championship-contending team when healthy.
Austin is expected to be just the eighth or ninth player in the rotation to start the season according to head coach and general manager Mike Thibault. That is an ideal situation for a player who’s trying to get her feet wet in the WNBA.
“I feel like I got lucky,” Austin told the media after her selection. “To be in a position to learn from vets and people who you just look up to as role players, it’s just an amazing feeling. I feel like this opportunity is going to bring the best out of me, and I’m ready to just start a career in D.C. back home. It’s just an honor.”
“I’m going to have a long career, a successful career,” Austin continued. “And coming into the Mystics I feel like it’s just the best opportunity possible for me to learn and take my time but also learn from the best. That’s a championship-level team, and that’s where I’m meant to be.”
That alleviates pressure right away for a young star that faces a big challenge to stick on a roster in the years to come. No learning on the fly. She’ll be under the tutelage of the winningest head coach in WNBA history. Also, a coach with a proven history of developing players. Read more at WTOP.
Photo: WTOP/ Shakira Austin after being drafted by the Washington Mystics during the WNBA Draft.
