Washington Mystics Point Guard To Transfer To Indiana Fever Before Season Kick Off.
The official start of the former UConn women’s basketball star’s professional career and it was thanks to then Mystics head coach Mike Thibault.
“I remember it being D.C. was great for me because I’m from New York,” Dolson recalled during a recent media Zoom call. “It was still kind of close enough to my family. I remember Bria Hartley getting drafted (by Seattle) and then traded (to Washington) like a few picks later, who was my teammate at UConn. … I just remember enjoying it. I enjoyed the city of DC, first year out of college.”
Stefanie Dolson’s dreams came true sitting inside Mohegan Sun Arena when the Washington Mystics called her name with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft.
For me it was an easy choice,” she said. “I love DC. I love Coach T and Eric (Thibault, now head coach). I’m excited to play for Eric, obviously that’ll be new for me. But I’ve seen the way they played last year, playing against them in the in the playoffs was probably our hardest series.
So, I knew it would be a great opportunity for me to also just add my skill set to what they had already. … I think it was the best choice and I’m just excited to be here.”
She will be joined by another former Husky, as Washington used the sixth overall pick in the WNBA Draft to select Aaliyah Edwards.
Dolson helped led UConn to back-to-back national championships in 2013 and 2014 before she was drafted by the Mystics. She was the WBCA National Defensive Player of the Year as a senior and earned All-America honors.
During her rookie season for the Mystics in 2014, she came off the bench and averaged 6.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.1 blocks in 18.4 minutes per game.
Her development in the league was quick as she earned her first All-Star nod the following year in 2015 as a starter.
Her time with Washington only lasted three seasons before Dolson was traded to Chicago for three-time All-Star Elena Delle Donne.
The move turned out beneficial for Dolson, though, as she earned her second All-Star nod in 2017 (averaged a career-high 14.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game) and helped the Sky win the 2021 WNBA Title.