![\"Shakira](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kxdmmvtq93jfn03bga.jpg\" "\\"Shakira")
<\/p>\nShakira Austin may not be an All-Star this season, but she\u2019s playing like one of the best bigs in the WNBA. She averages 14 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game\u2014career highs all across the board. Only six players average more rebounds than Austin, and she has been one of the most effective rim protectors in the W all season long.\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a few injury-plagued seasons, Austin finally looks every bit like the young star the Washington Mystics hoped to get when they drafted her third overall in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Austin may be one of the veterans on the Mystics\u2019 young roster, but she\u2019s still only 25, and this is just the beginning. Austin is still developing. This season, she has taken a massive step forward as a 3-point shooter, and the idea of 6\u20195\u201d Austin with a reliable 3-point shot should scare the rest of the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Between Austin, Kiki Iriafen, Sonia Citron, and their mass of rookies, the Mystics have one of the best young cores in the WNBA. That core\u2019s ceiling is even higher if Austin can be a two-way force in the paint AND space the floor. It will make the frontcourt fit with her, Iriafen, and Lauren Betts much simpler to navigate.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Austin is turning into a confident 3-point shooter<\/p>\n
Jul 2, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Mystics center Shakira Austin (0) attempts a technical foul free throw against the Atlanta Dream during the fourth quarter at CareFirst Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n
Austin was not a 3-point shooter when she came into the league. She took just one 3-pointer in her first two seasons. In 2024, she took four over 12 games and made one of them. Last season marked a step in a different direction. Austin attempted 15 3-pointers, showing a growing confidence compared to previous years. She only made two of them, however.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This season, she has been able to combine volume and accuracy. Austin shot 11-26 over the first 20 games, knocking down 42.3% of her shots from long range. Not even halfway through the season, she has already attempted and made more 3-pointers than in her first four WNBA seasons combined.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I get a consistent 3-ball, I think it\u2019s going to be really exciting,\u201d Austin said in the postgame media availability after an 84-79 win against the Seattle Storm, per a video <\/a>by The Ballers Magazine. \u201cBeing able to space the floor out not only helps and elevates me and my reads but the team as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Austin has made at least one 3-pointer in four of her last five games, including a 2-4 outing on her way to 27 points against the Storm. Seeing her take 3-pointers with confidence and sinking a good number of them is thrilling for the Mystics and terrifying for the rest of the league.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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