Shakira Austin is a very skilled big for the Mystics who mostly thrives on her post moves. Her game is very deep, as she can also stretch the floor with her jumper and play off the bounce. Drafted No. 3 overall in 2022, Austin showed a lot of promise coming out of the University of Maryland.
Unfortunately, injuries have taken a toll on her development so far. Last season, she was the healthiest she has been since her rookie year, so she had a chance to show how good she really is, averaging a career-high 12.7 points per game.
Shakira Austin Shining in Unrivaled
Unrivaled has provided WNBA players with another set of opportunities to develop their game in true competitive action. There is a difference between working on your game by practicing in an empty gym and playing in a competitive setting. Shakira Austin, possibly more so than other players because of her injury history, can find a lot of value in the game reps Unrivaled provides.
The spacing in Unrivaled gives Austin a chance to showcase more of the skilled parts of her game. Players have to get more creative with their approach on offense during Unrivaled. Bigs have more opportunities to bring it up, play off the dribble, attack close outs, and make a play.
“Being able to initiate and create just off of transition…kind of having the defense be one stop back thinking I’m going to attack and then coming into a handoff,” Austin said when asked what skills she will use more in Unrivaled as opposed to the WNBA.
Austin added that she is looking to add these types of skills to her games with Washington this coming season.
During last Friday’s Unrivaled game, Austin scored a career-high 31 points on 11-of-15 shooting.
Her aggression was high, attacking the defense constantly the whole game.
Back on Jan. 24, Austin put up a 29 point, 10 rebound performance as well. If she can continue this strong play going into her season with the Mystics, they can become a playoff team. Sonia Citron, Kiki Iriafen and Sug Sutton are all also playing in Unrivaled. All of these Mystics players can use these games to get ready for the 2026 season (if there is one).
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