LAS VEGAS — Shatori Walker-Kimbrough gathers the Washington Mystics’ reserves — a.k.a. the bench mob — before every game. The starting five is introduced, and a smaller huddle closes in near the sideline for a few words. That used to be the responsibility of Tianna Hawkins, but she was not re-signed this offseason. That left a leadership hole among the team’s second unit, one that Walker-Kimbrough stepped in to fill.
“It’s one thing to say next woman up. It’s another thing to do and act like the next woman up,” she said. “I try to not only preach that but also show it.”
Walker-Kimbrough certainly has shown it lately: She took over with a 10-point fourth quarter Tuesday at Los Angeles as she spearheaded a rally from 14 points down for an 82-80 win over the Sparks. Her 17 points were a season high, and they came two games after she scored 16 in an overtime loss against the Connecticut Sun. The Mystics need every basket they can get out of her with starters Brittney Sykes (foot sprain) and Karlie Samuelson (hand fracture) out until after the WNBA’s Olympic break and Shakira Austin (hip) still sidelined after playing just six games.
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That season high didn’t last very long as Walker-Kimbrough scored 19 points in a 98-77 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on Thursday, in which the Mystics were, once again, left shorthanded by injuries. When the roster was constructed during the offseason, Stefanie Dolson (illness), Sykes, Samuelson and Austin (hip) were all expected starters. All four were out against the two-time defending champs.
Washington (5-16) simply didn’t have the firepower to keep up as Las Vegas shot a season-high 59.4 percent from the field. A 23-5 Aces run in the second quarter run put the Mystics in a hole that proved just too much to dig out of.
“Everybody in the locker room, staff players, myself, obviously, have got to take accountability for it,” Coach Eric Thibault said. I don’t think we can just flush it and say we’ll just move on. I’ll save most of my talking for film tomorrow.
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“They have great players, but we made it far too easy. Blown coverages right from the jump. And then effort, plus a little communication, all the stuff that we expect of ourselves.”
Walker-Kimbrough, the No. 6 pick of the 2017 draft out of Maryland, was the biggest bright spot for Washington on Thursday. Her 19 points on 7 for 13 shooting were the third-highest total of her career, and Thibault says he will never be mad about the 29-year-old taking too many shots. Entering Thursday, she was up to 5.9 attempts per game, the second-highest total of her career. The two recently had a talk in which Thibault asked her to take 10 shots per game until the Olympic break. He said she won the game against the Sparks by making multiple defensive plays and adding a key assist in the waning moments.
“If you want to make more of an impact, you have to make more of an impact,” Thibault said of the conversation. “Come into the game with a certain mind-set and, if you miss your first couple shots, that can’t be the end of the night. I think she’s taken it to heart. The night she had 14 shot attempts [against the Sun on June 27] was very heartwarming for me. I don’t think she’s ever wanted to take shots she thinks she’s going to miss. … But sometimes we don’t get a better shot. When she has the mind-set to be aggressive, she finds that she can get shots off more quickly.”
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That approach has been important for Walker-Kimbrough since training camp. The Mystics have transitioned away from the core of their 2019 championship team, saying goodbye to some old standbys and welcoming new faces. For years, Walker-Kimbrough witnessed how Elena Delle Donne, Kristi Toliver, Hawkins and even Tina Charles prepared on a daily basis. She takes pride in getting up extra shots after practice and coming in on optional shooting days. She wanted to be an example for others, particularly the newcomers and her fellow reserves, and Thibault noted she has reached that stage of her career. She started 15 games a season ago but has come off the bench exclusively this season.
On Thursday morning, as the team entered Michelob Ultra Arena for its shoot-around, Walker-Kimbrough walked alone to the far end of the court. She was the first to start putting up shots.
“She’s really embracing that role,” Myisha Hines-Allen said. “She has really taken it upon herself to be that leader [of] the bench group. She talks to us before every single game, giving us confidence, boosting us up, making sure that we know when we get in there, we have to take it up a notch. I swear — this is the most I’ve heard her talk and just be confident in what she’s doing and taking the shots that she needs to take for us to be successful.”
Against the Aces, the Mystics struggled to find much success as its defense gave up too much too easily. Las Vegas shot 47.8 percent (11 for 23) from beyond the arc and 100 percent (11 for 11) from the free throw line. It was the 11th time in WNBA history that a team posted 55/45/100 or better shooting splits, according to website Across The Timeline. Kelsey Plum scored a game-high 28 points, Jackie Young added 20 and A’ja Wilson finished with 18 points and nine rebounds for the Aces.
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Ariel Atkins scored 18 points for the Mystics and Emily Engstler had 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Atkins said Walker-Kimbrough’s influence can be felt by others.
“Her consistency and confidence have been huge for us,” Atkins said. "Obviously, she takes the reins of being one of our leaders as well, and her voice is really important.
“But I think more than anything her confidence is contagious right now and the consistency of what she does.”
That confidence got a boost when she landed a two-year, guaranteed contract before the 2023 season. That deal came after she was traded by the Mystics and the New York Liberty in 2020, was waived by the Atlanta Dream and released by the Sun in May 2021 and ended up out of the WNBA until the Mystics brought her back that July.
“It was definitely a dream come true, for sure,” Walker-Kimbrough said. “You always work to get that guaranteed contract. Not even just being in league, that guaranteed contract is the icing on the cake.”
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With the Mystics so shorthanded, just about every opportunity is available to Walker-Kimbrough now. Her 6.6 points per game entering Thursday were just slightly above her career average of 6.1, but her shooting percentages were down. Thibault doesn’t care about that. He wants even more aggression from the 5-foot-9 guard with long arms and a penchant for deflections. That’s the current ask, but Thibault sees a bright future — if she goes and grabs it.
“These next couple years,” he said, “could be some of her best basketball.”
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