In just her second season, Sonia Citron has already established herself as the franchise player for the Washington Mystics.
She is a two-time All-Star and coming off a rookie campaign that already turned heads. Now, she is raising the bar even higher.
Citron Earned Her Second Consecutive All-Star Selection
Citron earned All-Star honors for the second straight season as a reserve. She continues to gain respect from players, coaches and fans across the league. Alongside teammate Kiki Iriafen, the two made history. They are the first teammates since 2000 to earn All-Star selections in each of their first two seasons.
For a Mystics franchise entering a new era, Citron has quickly become more than a promising young talent; she has become the centerpiece of the team’s rebuild. She scores efficiently, facilitates the offense, defends multiple positions and elevates her game in big moments. That combination has transformed Washington into one of the league’s most exciting young teams.
Perhaps most importantly, Citron has embraced the responsibility that comes with being the face of the franchise. Whether it’s leading by example, making winning plays in crunch time or consistently delivering against the WNBA’s top competition, she has shown the qualities of a true cornerstone player.
Citron’s’ Player of the Week Stretch Proved What She’s Capable Of
Citron earned her first Eastern Conference Player of the Week award for the week of June 15-21. She averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.0 steals. The Mystics rode that production to a three-game winning streak with victories over the first-place Minnesota Lynx, the New York Liberty and the Connecticut Sun.
Citron put together several career-best performances during that stretch. She recorded her career high with 12 rebounds against the Sun while finishing with 26 points and four assists. That performance made her just the third Eastern Conference player this season to record at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists in a game.
She also posted a career-high five steals against the Liberty, finishing with 16 points, six rebounds, eight assists and five steals. It marked the first game by any WNBA player this season with at least 15 points, five rebounds, five assists and five steals. And against the Lynx, Citron scored 21 points, giving her a conference-leading fifth game of at least 20 points on 15 or fewer field-goal attempts.
The All-Star Break Comes at the Perfect Time for Citron
Over the last four games, Citron has been struggling. She is averaging just 9.8 points and has taken more than 10 shots only once in that span. Teams have been paying more attention to Citron and she is commanding more coverage.
The All-Star break comes at a good time for both Citron and Washington. The rest should allow her to reset mentally and physically after a demanding first half of the season.
If Citron can rediscover her rhythm after the break, Washington has every reason to believe it can finish strong. Washington currently holds a 2.5-game lead on the last playoff spot.
If her first two seasons are any indication, the Mystics have found the star they can build around for years to come.
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