Mystics launch new era with Sydney Johnson as coach, Jamila Wideman as GM

With the WNBA entering a transition period with three new teams, a $2.2 billion media rights deal and a restructured collective bargaining agreement on the horizon, the Washington Mystics have hired the leadership to take the franchise into its next era.

Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger tabbed NBA senior vice president and head of player development Jamila Wideman as general manager and former Chicago Sky assistant Sydney Johnson as coach.

“Where we are as a league and what we also forecast the next 10 to 15 years of the ‘W’ will look like played a humongous role in the selection of Jamila and Sydney,” Winger said. “If we thought the league was going to be status quo for the next 10 years, we wouldn’t have pursued the visionaries that Jamila and Sydney are.”

The pair emerged from lists of 35 to 40 people for each position, cultivated with the assistance of Nolan Partners search firm. They replace former general manager Mike Thibault and former coach Eric Thibault. Mike Thibault, the winningest coach in WNBA history, held the title of coach and GM since 2013, before stepping away from the sideline before the 2023 season. Eric Thibault was an assistant before succeeding his father on the bench the past two seasons.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/12/23/mystics-launch-new-era-with-sydney-johnson-coach-jamila-wideman-gm/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzM0OTMwMDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzM2MzEyMzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MzQ5MzAwMDAsImp0aSI6IjcxZTE0NTcxLTM1MDEtNDhhZC05NTU4LWVlN2I3ZDZjMjA5NyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9zcG9ydHMvMjAyNC8xMi8yMy9teXN0aWNzLWxhdW5jaC1uZXctZXJhLXdpdGgtc3lkbmV5LWpvaG5zb24tY29hY2gtamFtaWxhLXdpZGVtYW4tZ20vIn0.pg1lJe7PP_QEs7CiJAhSR5hYAYjkLt57rWFfeDWPsaQ