Shakira Austin voted to WNBA’s All-Rookie team originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Washington Mystics forward/center Shakira Austin was named to the WNBA’s All-Rookie team on Thursday, the league announced. She joins Chicago’s Rebekah Gardner, Atlanta’s Rhyne Howard, and Indiana’s Queen Egbo and NaLyssa Smith on the star-studded squad.
Your 2022 #WNBA All-Rookie Team 💪@howard_rhyne @Theylove_kira @NaLyssaSmith @rebekah_jasmine @QueenEgbo_ #MoreThan pic.twitter.com/TezzqUbNLI
— WNBA (@WNBA) August 25, 2022
Austin enjoyed a stellar inaugural pro season in D.C., putting up 8.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks per game in Mystics threads. She finished second in Rookie of the Year voting behind Howard—who, incidentally, the Mystics elected not to draft No. 1 overall and instead traded back to No. 3, where they selected Austin.
Austin was a workhorse for Mike Thibault all season, as she played 36 games in 2022 and finished top-five among Washington players in minutes, points, blocks, and field goal percentage, while leading the squad in rebounding.
The rook showed OUT this season!
Congrats, @Theylove_kira 👏 #TogetherDC pic.twitter.com/e3f0ALEbDg
— Washington Mystics (@WashMystics) August 25, 2022
Though the Mystics suffered a first-round playoff exit at the hands of Seattle, Austin played quite well during their two postseason games. She put up 7.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg during that short span.
One of Austin’s calling cards as a rookie, as well as at her time in Mississippi, was her defense.
“Yeah, I think I gave myself a good starting point,” Austin told NBC Sports Washington back in June. “Just from defensively being able to come in and really just do what I need to do on some key players. But I think I still have a lot more that I want to work towards.”
