The Thibaults were with the Mystics from 2013-24, leading the team to the 2019 WNBA championship. Mike Thibault was the General Manager for the entire time and head coach from 2013-22. Eric Thibault was an assistant coach from 2013-22 and head coach from 2023-24.
On Wednesday, the Washington Mystics announced that they have mutually parted ways with General Manager Mike Thibault and Head Coach Eric Thibault.
Monumental Basketball President Michael Winger said the following in a statement:
After extensive reflection and conversation, we have decided we are at a point in our competitive and evolutionary cycle to turn the team over to new leadership with a renewed vision to carve our path into the future of WNBA basketball. Coach Mike elevated the Mystics program to its proud status as a league leader in innovation, the standard bearer in player care, and a model franchise. He built and coached the Championship team, developed high performing players, and pioneered many of the processes teams use today in building rosters and organizations. His fingerprints are all over this franchise and will be for years to come. We are grateful for Mike’s commitment, passion, and leadership and wish him well. Coach Eric is a skilled coach and equally talented motivator. Our players are fortunate to have played for Eric these past two seasons, as will many other players in this league for decades ahead.
Mike Thibault was hired as the Mystics’ General Manager and Head Coach in Dec. 2012, leading the Mystics to a multi-year rebuild that culminated in the 2019 WNBA championship headlined by 2013 draft pick Emma Meesseman and 2019 WNBA Most Valuable Player Elena Delle Donne. Along the way, Thibault also became the WNBA head coach with the most regular season wins in league history.
In 2023, Mike handed the head coaching reigns to his son, Eric Thibault. Eric Thibault was the head coach from 2023-24 and led the team to a playoff berth in the 2023 season. Eric has also been an assistant with the Mystics since 2013.
This move isn’t surprising because the Mystics have languished since the 2019 championship season. Also, since Winger became Monumental Basketball’s President in 2023, he has yet to set a strategy for the Mystics, mainly focusing on the Wizards, at least publicly. So now that Winger has made a change with the Mystics’ front office, he now has the chance to make his mark on the WNBA team in D.C.
Most of all, thank you, Coach Mike and Coach Eric, for leading the Mystics to their best years in franchise history!
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