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Feeling like a basketball player again, Mystics’ Alysha Clark nearing return

By Tyler Byrum

Mystics’ Alysha Clark nears return after long recovery originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington   WASHINGTON — Alysha Clark has had a decorated decade-long professional career, winning two WNBA championships and while in Poland, being named a league MVP. Yet, her most recent injury momentarily took away her confidence as a basketball player. Clark has not played competitive basketball since March 2021 when she suffered a Lisfranc injury while playing in France. It was less than two months after she made a surprising move to leave the only WNBA franchise she’s ever played for – and then reigning champion – the Seattle Storm to come to D.C. Now just over 13 months later, she is just weeks, perhaps days, from returning and making her Washington Mystics debut. “I’m feeling good,” Clark told NBC Sports Washington. “I’m feeling really good. My foot’s been responding well. The rest of my body has been responding well to the jump and intensity and load which makes me happy.” Over the weekend, she surpassed a monumental hurdle for athletes when recovering from a significant injury. Saturday was her first time playing five-on-five in 416 days, less than a week before the start of the regular season.

It evoked a strong reaction from Clark – one that caused her teammates to take pause at training camp. “The first day that she did five-on-five, she caught the ball on the wing and she just went in for a layup, like full speed. Like mind you, guys were out there and she walked back crying and I was scared,” Myisha Hines-Allen told NBC Sports Washington. ‘I’m like, ‘wait are you okay?’ And like, she was like, ‘these are like tears of happy joy.'” Months of rehab, spending all of the last season on the bench, unable to compete, not traveling all took a toll on Clark. Never in her professional or collegiate career had an injury caused her to miss significant time as the Lisfranc injury has on her right foot.

So, making a quick move to the basket as if nothing had changed was huge. “It was super emotional. I just — emotion overwhelmed me out of nowhere I didn’t even realize but it was when I did it, that was the first time I didn’t think about my foot,” Clark said. “And I just played and I finally felt like a basketball player. And so I was just really overcome with emotion just to be in that space. As you go through injuries and recovery, especially something like this, you don’t know if you ever get back to feeling that way, if you’re feeling athletic, and in that moment I did. So I was really proud of myself.” Rehabbing her injury, Clark made sure to make the most of her time. She didn’t take the season off to enjoy what would have been her first summer off since college in 2021. Clark was in the gym, not only taking the necessary steps to get back on the court for this season but showcasing one of her best skills as a basketball player. All the returners know her and would all agree her basketball knowledge was invaluable for Washington last year. She, along with Elena Delle Donne, led the team from street clothes on the Mystics bench. They were vocal, providing support just as if they were playing. Now, players are experiencing her leadership and communication skills on the floor. “That’s what she brings, that leadership, someone who’s always talking whether she’s on the sideline or in the game. When we’re on the court together, I always hear her like ‘My, what do you see, continue to talk to me,’ like telling me like where to go,” Hines-Allen said. The recovery timeline has matched up well for the Mystics as the season opener is set for this Friday. Head coach Mike Thibault says he’ll know for certain if Clark can play against the Indiana Fever (Friday at 7 p.m., NBC Sports Washington) on Wednesday, but hasn’t been counting on her to play for at least the first two games of the year. “I kind of doubt it, but I think it will be next week sometime if everything goes well,” Thibault added. In the meantime, the 34-year-old will continue to build back up her confidence which made her a 2020 WNBA First-Team All-Defense selection. When she does, she’ll be able to jump right in and be one of the faces of a defensive-oriented squad. “It’s just getting that confidence,” Clark said. “Getting over that mental hurdle of being out there and being hit and stepping and playing and doing those things. So I build confidence every day, which is great. So, hopefully you see me out there sooner rather than later.”

Elena Delle Donne back at Team USA after ‘greatest offseason ever’

By Tyler Byrum
Delle Donne back at Team USA after 'greatest offseason ever' originally appeared on NBC Sports WashingtonThe rest of the WNBA better be prepared. Elena Delle Donne just said she is coming off "the greatest offseason" of her career.No longer is she rehabbing nor easing her back toward playing at full health. The two-time WNBA MVP is building up strength, hitting PRs in the gym and gearing up for another run at a championship in 2023. Her comments came at USA Basketball's initial camp in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics. It was just Delle Donne's second stint with the team since she had multiple back procedures in the 2019-20 WNBA offseason. Last year she joined her American teammates while they practiced at the Mystics' D.C. practice facility in January 2022. She was limited in her involvement then, participating in the first half of practices before moving to shooting-only drills. Following the WNBA season, Delle Donne opted out of the August 2022 camp in the lead-up to the FIBA World Cup, even after receiving an invite. This time, though, the 2016 Olympic gold medalist is back without restriction."I'm full go, no hesitation. I was setting some big screens today on the guys," Delle Donne said in a Zoom press conference. It would be one thing if the "greatest offseason" comment came after an ordinary offseason for one of the best players in the league. But this was an offseason where Delle Donne said she was no longer worried about progressing in her recovery. She was recovered. It's now a matter of her getting back to training workouts and improving her game."To be able to now train and not be rehabbing is so refreshing," Delle Donne said. "It had been many offseasons of rehabbing, surgeries or whatever that may be. So to be lifting now, lifting far more weight than I have ever lifted in my life, and to be on this plan to get me ready and as strong as possible for the season, I feel really good about it."Don't think that's a big deal? Look at her numbers from last season.She was one of five players to average 17+ points, 6+ rebounds and 2+ assists per game. Every player in that group made an All-WNBA team, except Delle Donne. Her player efficiency rating (25.4) was third-best in the league. Her win-share (4.4) was 10th. All of that came as she attempted to complete her first full regular season since 2019. She played 25 of the possible 36 games, leading the team to an 18-7 record which would be tied with the champion Las Vegas Aces for the highest winning percentage (.720) when stretched out to a full season.Related: Mystics aren't concerned with Liberty, Aces movesNow, with eight months of re-focusing on her abilities with her new and improved back, that will be a high ceiling she could reach this year."It's no longer 'am I going to be healthy?' It's 'how can I be the best Elena I can possibly be on court.' That's where the focus is now which is a very big relief," Delle Donne said. Getting back to playing with Team USA is one of the goals that she set out to achieve during her revival. Missing out on the 2020 Toyko Olympics - which took place in 2021 - was hard on her. She "struggled" to watch the games because of how hard it was for her to not be on the team.If she makes the roster for Paris, she can check that goal off her list. As for her WNBA goals?"(It's the same goal it always is; win a championship," Delle Donne said.
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