Mystics star Elena Delle Donne during a game against the Indiana Fever on May 20, 2018. (Photo by Keith Allison)

Mystics star Elena Delle Donne during a game against the Indiana Fever on May 20, 2018. (Photo by Keith Allison)

Just three months after the Washington Capitals won the organization’s first ever Stanley Cup, another D.C. sports team is making postseason history.

The Washington Mystics will advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time in the franchise’s history, after beating the Atlanta Dream 86-81 on Tuesday in the playoffs semifinals. Until now, the Mystics were the only WNBA team to have never made an appearance in the championships. Game 1 of the championship series between the Mystics and the Seattle Storm starts on Friday at 9 p.m. EST in Seattle.

But women’s professional sports leagues have never drawn the same level of attendance or enthusiasm as their male counterparts.

D.C. exploded with energy and bandwagon fandom during the Capitals’ playoff run this spring, and it paid off: The Caps brought the city its first major sports title championship since 1992. Nobody’s expecting the same level of turnout for the Mystics, but that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve it.

If you want to be a part of this moment but don’t know much about the Mystics or the WNBA, there’s still time to catch up. Let’s get started.

I don’t know much of anything about women’s basketball. Are the Mystics usually a good team?

“They’ve historically been a team that’s been mediocre and middle-of-the-pack,” says ThinkProgress sports reporter Lindsay Gibbs. But when the franchise brought on head coach Mike Thibault in 2013, things started to turn around. Thibault decided to rebuild the team from the ground up. He led the team to the playoffs in four of the last five seasons.

Things really took a turn for the better last winter when Thibault announced the team had acquired one of the best players in the world (literally): Elena Delle Donne. Five days later, he added 2013 All-Star Kristi Toliver to the roster, and the team has been dominating ever since.

Also good to know: the Mystics are owned by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Ted Leonsis’s sports behemoth. Monumental also owns the Capitals and Wizards.

This is embarrassing, but I have to ask: How do you pronounce the head coach’s last name?

Mike Thibault’s last name is pronounced “TEE-bow.” It’s a good name to know, as he’s the winningest coach in the WNBA. If you forget how to pronounce it, just refer to him by his nickname, “Coach T.”

Which players should I keep my eye on?

Delle Donne is the team’s—and the league’s—biggest star. Even if you know nothing about basketball, you’ll be able to recognize the 6’5″ Delaware native’s absolute mastery of the game. Younger players on the team call her a natural leader and mentor, and she sinks free throws like she was born doing it. Attendance at Mystics home games jumped 12.2 percent between 2016 and 2017, when Delle Donne joined the team.

The Mystics roster is also loaded with homegrown talent from the University of Maryland, including veteran guard Toliver and forward Tianna Hawkins. Toliver won the WNBA championship with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016, and her on-the-court chemistry with Delle Donne is one of the team’s greatest assets.

Then, there’s Ariel Atkins. The 22-year-old rookie guard had a remarkable regular season: She started in nearly 70 percent of regular season games, and the team has come to rely on her shooting prowess. Atkins scored a whopping, game-high 20 points in the decisive Game 5 of the playoffs.

Who are the Mystics playing in the finals?

They’ll be facing off against the league’s number one team, the Seattle Storm, which boasts star players like Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird. It’s going to be a tough series: the Mystics are 1-2 against the Storm in the regular season, and Delle Donne is still recovering from a bone bruise on her left knee that she suffered during Game 2 of the semifinals. Gibbs isn’t too worried: “A 75 percent Delle Donne is still going to make an impact,” she said.

“The Storm are a lot like the Mystics,” she added. “They’re really good at three-point shooting. There are really no weakness, and they’ve got a crafty starting lineups with a mix of veterans and younger players.”

I want to go to a game now! Can I still get tickets?

You betcha. The best-of-five series starts in Seattle, then returns to Washington for games three and four (if necessary). Tickets start at just $20 and can be purchased on Ticketmaster. Although attendance at WNBA games is on the rise, it’s still dramatically lower than turnout for NBA games. So if you’ve never been to a Mystics game, now’s the time!

Be aware that the Washington-area games will be played at George Mason University’s 10,000-seat EagleBank Arena, as the Mystics’ regular venue, Capital One Arena, is undergoing renovations. It’s too bad they won’t be playing right in downtown D.C., but that just means they need fan support more than ever. The franchise will also provide free shuttle service between the Vienna Metro station and EagleBank Arena.

Where should I watch the first two games?

Members of the Mystics’ die-hard fan base packed into the Greene Turtle sports bar by Capital One Arena on Tuesday night to watch Game 5 of the semifinals.

Gibbs also encourages budding fans to go into any sports bar in the area and ask the bartender to turn on the game. “It’s D.C.,” she says. “People will get into it.”

This story was originally published on WAMU.

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