There is always plenty of spirited discussion among WNBA aficionados concerning the greats of the game – those that will be remembered long after their playing days have come to an end.
While she has become often overlooked, Elena Delle Donne – Delaware’s favorite daughter – certainly is more than deserving of a bouquet of flowers. The only question is if said bouquet should be blue and gold (an ode to her Delaware Blue Hens and Chicago Sky days) or if it should feature the red, white and blue hues of the Washington Mystics.
Either way it was during the first Friday of April 2025 where the pride of the First State announced that she would be putting away her kicks for good and placing her Mystics jersey in a case.
Delle Donne may be calling it a career as far as her playing days are concerned, but she will remain within the Monumental Sports sphere as an advisor.
After much thought, conversations with family and soul searching I have finally come to the decision to walk away from playing basketball.
-Elena Delle Donne (press release)
It was amazing to look back on all the special teammates, friends, executives, sponsors, staff and most importantly the incredible fans that have accompanied me on this journey. Thankful does not begin to describe how I am now feeling. This game has given me so much and I am deexcited to be able to continue to compete and partake in the pursuit of winning, albeit in a different role with Monumental Basketball.
–Elena Delle Donne (press release)
As great of a player as Delle Donne was rising through the high school ranks at Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, one would think that she would certainly take her talents to one of the more elite collegiate programs in the nation – such as a UConn.
Delle Donne originally accepted an offer to play under Geno Auriemma, but off-court happenings led her to stay home and attend the University of Delaware – initially as a volleyball player before transitioning to hoops.
If not for another much-ballyhooed pro prospect by the name of Brittney Griner, Delle Donne may have been the No. 1 overall selection in the 2013 draft. But she along with BG and Skylar Diggins-Smith were the centerpieces of that season’s draft class.
Many a WNBA fan remembers Delle Donne for her career as a Mystic. But prior to her calling Washington her hoops home, the first few seasons of her career were in Chicago with the Sky. Chicago first joined the WNBA in 2006 – and from that season until 2012 the Sky had yet to qualify for the postseason.
Chicago qualified for the postseason all four years that Delle Donne sported Sky blue and gold. But as was the case in college, the gravitational pull towards home enticed Delle Donne.
The Mystics are – and still are to this day – the nearest WNBA team to Delaware. It was in 2017 when Delle Donne first put on a Mystics jersey. Both she and Washington were on the same wavelength at the time – Delle Donne was looking for her first WNBA championship and the franchise was in search of its first championship.
The Mystics got close in 2018 but were defeated by Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird, Jewell Loyd and the Seattle Storm. Washington’s lone home game of that three-game Finals series was not even played at Capital One Arena – but George Mason University in Virginia.
Washington ran it back the following year – and its home games actually were at home as the Mystics moved to what is now CareFirst Arena. The Mystics were locked in a five-game Finals get-together with the Connecticut Sun.
Despite Delle Donne playing with three herniated discs in her back, she willed Washington to its first-ever WNBA championship at a time that saw plenty of major sports hardware (see MLB’s Washington Nationals and NHL’s Washington Capitals) make its way to the District of Champions.
In many ways, that 2019 championship was a “Mission Accomplished” moment for Delle Donne. It was in 2023 where she played what proved to be her final season. Delle Donne still put up impressive numbers. She averaged 16.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and nearly one block per game in the 33 games she played that season for the ‘Stics. In addition, Delle Donne also earned her seventh All-Star selection.
Washington suffered first-round postseason exits in 2020, 2022 and 2023. In addition, teams such as the Las Vegas Aces and New York Liberty were ascending to the top of the W’s food chain as that 2019 championship faded further and further into the background.
The Mystics cored Delle Donne following the 2023 season – and she had a chance to sign a one-year supermax deal. Delle Donne declined – a sign that she knew the conclusion of her career was upon her and a sign that Washington knew it was on the verge of a rebuild.
That rebuild continues today with young talents such as Aaliyah Edwards and Shakira Austin looking to bring Washington back to prominence (along with a new coach in Sydney Johnson and a new general manager in Jamila Wideman) – but it was Delle Donne which showed the Mystics the heights an organization can reach.
No. 11’s upcoming work within Monumental Sports – along with her wine business – will be central to Delle Donne’s second act. And while it will be discussed how great she could have been if she were to have maintained a clean bill of health into her 30s, let us not forget exactly what she did accomplish.
Let us not forget her 2013 Rookie of the Year Award.
Let us not forget her banner 2019 she had. Not only did she claim her (and the Mystics’) first-ever championship, she also became the first-ever WNBA player to join the 50-40-90 club.
Let us not forget those even All-Star appearances.
Let us not forget the Olympic gold medal she won with USA Basketball at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.
Let us not forget she was named one of the 25 Greatest WNBA Players in history and the two Dawn Staley Community Leadership Awards.
Blue Hen. Sky. Mystic. GOATed. We will see you, EDD in Knoxville and in Springfield.
