Former MVP Delle Donne’s return gives Mystics, WNBA a boost

WASHINGTON (AP) » When a player of Elena Delle Donne’s stature returns after a long absence, the entire sport can feel the impact.

Her coach, her Washington Mystics teammates, and even her opponents like what they see so far.

“She’s not 100% healthy, but to be able to do what she does, she’s a Hall of Famer,” Dallas Wings coach Vickie Johnson said after a win at Washington on Friday night. “We can’t stop her. It doesn’t matter if she practices or only plays home games or whatever, she’s still Delle Donne. She’s still very effective shooting the basketball and affecting the game in so many ways.”

The last time Delle Donne played a full season was 2019, when she won her second MVP award and led the Mystics to a WNBA championship. Back problems and coronavirus concerns then limited her to only three games over the past two years. Washington is hoping a healthy Delle Donne will help the team rejoin the league’s elite, and she’s showing at age 32 that she can still make a big impact after all that time away.

In three games this season, the 6-foot-5 Delle Donne has given the Mystics consistent production, scoring between 19 and 21 points each time out, while playing between 29 and 32 minutes. Those stats are similar to what she did in 2019.

“I was pretty confident that I’d be back,” Delle Donne said. “From past experiences, you never know what tomorrow brings. So I always try to just live in each day, and treat each day with the same importance. I feel like that’s kind of been how I’ve gotten through all of this.”

Delle Donne called this an “exploratory” season for her, which suggests she doesn’t want to put too much pressure on herself, especially this early. While her health seems good now, there’s an adjustment process as she returns to the day-to-day grind of playing game after game — and her body responds in ways that may be a bit surprising.

“I have put many, many hours, especially into these legs, so there’s times where it’s almost like I jump and get higher than I’m used to off the floor, and it messes up my timing,” she said.

When the Mystics opened with three games in five days, Delle Donne sat out the middle one.

“Even before the season started, we sat down and looked at the schedule and looked at weeks that might be too much of a load and too many games,” she said. “It’s something we’re all on the same page, and even my teammates know, so they’re aware.”

It’s been an encouraging start for the Mystics, who also have veteran Alysha Clark back after she missed all of last season with foot issues. Washington won its first three games before fading in the second half against Dallas. The Mystics play the second half of a home-and-home with the Wings on Tuesday night.