The Washington Mystics are the WNBA champions for the first time in franchise history. And a large thanks is to their star Elena Delle Donne, who battled back from a back injury to help lift the Mystics past the Connecticut Sun in five games in the Finals.
In fact, she had a serious back injury. Mystics guard Natasha Cloud revealed that Delle Donne played with three herniated disks.
Cloud repeated what Delle Donne went through during the presser following the title-clinching win.
Delle Donne’s back issue became public knowledge when she exited Game 2 of the Finals in the first quarter. She did not return and the Mystics lost the game to the Sun 99-87.
The four-day break between Games 2 and 3 was a blessing for the league MVP and the Mystics. She was able to play through the pain in Game 3. Although tentative, Delle Donne finished with 13 points and six rebounds in a 94-81 win.
Her issues with her back were glaring in Game 4 as she was limited to 11 points in a four-point loss. But in the decisive Game 5, she worked through the pain, playing a series-high 37 minutes and finishing with 21 points and nine rebounds. After a 3-of-10 shooting start, Delle Donne made 5-of-6 shots down the stretch to help secure the Mystics the championship.
Delle Donne proved her value to her team. As well as her toughness, as she fought through a broken nose she suffered earlier in the season, a bone bruise in her right knee from last year’s playoffs. Not even three herniated disks in her back was going to stop her from accomplishing her mission.
Delle Donne caps off a remarkable season in which she became the first player in WNBA history to join the 50/40/90 club, shooting 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and 90 percent from the free-throw line. She also won her second WNBA MVP, and now she is has her first WNBA championship.
