Mystics center Shakira Austin to miss at least three weeks with hip strain after scary fall
Washington Mystics center Shakira Austin, 22, will miss at least the next three weeks with a left hip strain after taking a tough fall during an 89-88 overtime loss to the New York Liberty on Sunday.
She will be reevaluated after three weeks "to better determine her return to play timeline," the team announced Tuesday.
INJURY UPDATE - Shakira Austin suffered a left hip strain during the game on June 25 against the New York Liberty.
Austin will be out at least the next three weeks and be reevaluated at that time to better determine her return to play timeline.— Washington Mystics (@WashMystics) June 27, 2023
She had to be carried off the court after suffering the injury early in the fourth quarter. She tipped a pass from Sabrina Ionescu near midcourt for a steal before landing awkwardly and taking a hard spill.
Grabbing her upper hamstring area, she remained on the court for a few minutes before teammate Natasha Cloud and a trainer picked her up.
Shakira Austin was carried into the locker room after appearing to injure her left hamstring. pic.twitter.com/I4L48roPvf
— ESPN (@espn) June 25, 2023
In 22 minutes, Austin totaled six points and five rebounds before exiting the game. She is averaging 11.4 points and 7.8 rebounds in 13 games this season.
She was selected by the Mystics with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft.
"[When] Kira came in, she was my rookie, that's my little baby," Cloud said postgame. "So during the time of kind of craziness and her being scared, I can at least have some comfort in that time for her."
Cloud has played for the Mystics since her professional career began seven years ago, winning a championship with the team in 2019.
In addition to the guard's concern, Austin's fall was alarming enough to garner a widespread reaction throughout the arena. She was met with roaring applause as she headed to the locker room.
Awful moment. Austin gets the steal but can’t get her balance. And goes down. Everyone immediately reacts. Is carried off the floor. #WNBA pic.twitter.com/iepoLVrL3s
— Kareem Copeland (@kareemcopeland) June 25, 2023
Cloud elaborated further on her choice to help Austin away from the court:
"I know that's not typical," she said. "But again, I feel like in the moment of when one of our players — you're talking about just the game of basketball. You're talking about a young woman that just went down and obviously, we won't have any updates or anything like that, but someone that is crying and kind of scared. Yeah, I'm the point guard of this team. I feel like I can carry her to the side and kind of poise her and talk to her as I'm going off."
Austin left a win over the Phoenix Mercury last week with a right knee injury that did not require her to miss any time. That's been the case for most of her career. Playing college basketball at Maryland and Ole Miss, she hasn't missed a game in five years, per NBC Sports Washington. She's been consistently available, joining Ariel Atkins as the only two Mystics to play all 36 games last season.
The Mystics still have two-time MVP Elena Delle Donne in the post. But guards Kristi Oliver and Li Meng are both expected to miss time in the coming weeks. Oliver is out for at least another week with plantar fasciitis, while Meng plays for Team China until early July.
