The Washington Mystics have sent general manager Mike Thibault and coach Eric Thibault packing, the team announced Wednesday.
The team has parted ways with the father-son duo after they led the Mystics to back-to-back losing records in their two seasons at the helm. Mike Thibault won a WNBA championship as Washington’s coach in 2019 before transitioning to the front office and promoting his son from assistant coach after 10 seasons to head coach before the 2023 campaign.
“After extensive reflection and conversation, we have decided we are at a point in our competitive and evolutionary cycle to turn the team over to new leadership with a renewed vision to carve our path into the future of WNBA basketball,” Monumental Sports & Entertainment Basketball President Michael Winger said in a statement.
Mike Thibault was named the Mystics’ general manager and head coach on Dec. 18, 2012, and led the team to eight postseason appearances and its first WNBA title in 2019. He earned his third WNBA Coach of the Year award, and first with the Mystics, after the 2013 season.
Eric Thibault has been the team’s 14th head coach since Nov. 15, 2022. The Mystics were 14-26 this season and just missed the playoffs. Washington had 12 straight losses to start the season. The team dealt with injuries to Shakira Austin and Brittney Sykes, in addition to losing Natasha Cloud to Phoenix and Elena Delle Donne to hiatus last offseason.
The Mystics and their new leadership will have a pair of first-round picks in next year’s WNBA draft. Washington holds its own lottery selection — which has a 10% chance to become the top pick — and the No. 6 overall pick originally held by the Atlanta Dream.
The WNBA now has five head coaching vacancies. The Dream, Chicago Sky, Dallas Wings and Los Angeles Sparks fired their coaches after the regular season.
This article is based on wire service reports.
• Liam Griffin can be reached at lgriffin@washingtontimes.com.
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