Longtime WNBA Star Elena Delle Donne Is Leaving Sport

08/02/2024 04:45

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 29: Elena Delle Donne #11 of the Washington Mystics dribbles against the Connecticut Sun during the second half of WNBA Finals Game One at St Elizabeths East Entertainment & Sports Arena on September 29, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)

Elena Delle Donne has been one of the best players in the WNBA for several years, but after many injuries, the two-time MVP is reportedly taking time away from basketball.

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Delle Donne is taking time away from the game and will not sign the one-year supermax contract offer she received from the Washington Mystics.

Breaking: Two-time WNBA MVP Elena Delle Donne has decided to take some time away from basketball and does not intend to sign the one-year super max offer from the Mystics, sources told @ramonashelburne. pic.twitter.com/0Wdf4zLtly
— ESPN (@espn) February 8, 2024

She stopped short of fully retiring, but at 34 years old, a return to competitive professional basketball isn't guaranteed.

Delle Donne is one of the most accomplished players of her era.

She won an MVP award with the Chicago Sky and with the Mystics, a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics and led the Mystics to their first championship in 2019.

She is, to date, the only player in WNBA history to record a 50-40-90 season - a feat she accomplished in her title-winning season with Washington.

Injuries limited Delle Donne to just 51 total games over the last three seasons, and the Mystics have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round in each of the last two years.

The Mystics will now look toward the future after losing both Delle Donne and longtime point guard Natasha Cloud in the same offseason.

Cloud elected to sign with the Phoenix Mercury in free agency, ending an eight-year stint in the nation's capital.