Lauren Betts Is Learning From a WNBA Veteran and the Mystics Are Better for It

Lauren Betts walked off the court Sunday with a quiet confidence that comes from knowing she held her own. The Washington Mystics rookie had just dropped 11 points in 16 minutes of a win over the Seattle Storm, and she knew exactly who to credit for how far she’s come this season.

Betts, the No. 4 overall pick out of UCLA, doesn’t start. She doesn’t need to. Shakira Austin, the 25-year-old veteran center, has been playing the best ball of her career and put up a team-high 27 points in that same game against Seattle. But Betts sees it differently. She sees a leader who doesn’t let up.

“Kira’s constantly feeding confidence and energy into Ang and I,” Betts said, referring to fellow rookie Angela Dugalic. “Even in practice, she continues to hold the standard every day. She expects the best out of me. I know I have to finish, do the little things, play good D.”

That kind of mentorship is exactly what the Mystics hoped for when they drafted both Betts and Dugalic this year. Austin isn’t just the longest-tenured player in Washington. She’s the 2025 AP Comeback Player of the Year, and she’s averaging career highs across the board — 14 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists. She’s seventh in the league in boards. That’s the standard Betts is chasing every day.

It helps that Washington’s head coach Sydney Johnson saw this coming. Before the season, he predicted there wouldn’t be a drop-off when Betts checked in for Austin. And he was right. Betts leads the bench in points per minute (0.4) and shoots 52.9% from the field, the best clip on the team. She’s second among reserves in rebounds per minute too.

But Johnson isn’t surprised by any of it. After Sunday’s game, he rattled off a few performances where Betts and Dugalic showed flashes that might not make the highlight reels but prove they belong.

“We’re seeing good things from them every day,” Johnson said. “The games are really important, I get it. But the fact is Shakira and Kiki are really, really good. We want to make sure they’re out there too. The sky’s the limit for Lauren. It’s very early in her career and she’s making an impact.”

There’s a bigger story here about the jump from college to the pros. Betts and Dugalic won a national title at UCLA last season. Now they’re coming off the bench for a Mystics team that’s 11-10 and sitting eighth in the league, just one game behind Atlanta for sixth. They’re learning from two of the best at their positions while staying competitive enough for a playoff push.

Dugalic’s minutes fluctuate more than Betts’s do. She’s scored in double figures twice this season but logged only two minutes Sunday. That’s how it goes when you’re a rookie behind a veteran like Michaela Onyenwere. But both former Bruins are getting the kind of development that doesn’t show up in box scores every night.

The Mystics have a good problem. They’re young, they’re deep, and they’re not rushing anybody. Betts could be an All-Star one day. So could Dugalic. But Washington isn’t forcing it. They’re letting them grow behind players who set the standard every single day.

Up next for Washington is a road game against the Toronto Tempo on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. ET on NBA TV.