Ex-Mystics All-Star Gets Blunt About WNBA Trade Request
On August 5, news broke that the Seattle Storm had acquired 2025 WNBA All-Star Brittney Sykes from the Washington Mystics in exchange for three-time WNBA Champion Alysha Clark, guard Zia Cooke, and one of Seattle’s 2026 first-round draft picks.
This trade caught many by surprise initially, given that Sykes seemed to be thriving in Washington. She was playing the best basketball of her career (hence the All-Star Game appearance), and was averaging 15.4 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 31.8% from three-point range before the trade occurred.
However, it then came out afterwards that Sykes had actually requested a trade out of Washington, suggesting that all was not as well as it was initially believed.
Brittney Sykes Gets Honest About Mystics Trade Request
Sykes' Storm squad played the Mystics on the road on August 24, which marked the first time Sykes had returned to her former home court. Therefore, Sykes spoke with some of Washington's media before the game. And when she was asked about specifics regarding her trade request, she delivered an interesting response.
"I just requested [it]. Would you have a conversation if you were requesting something? I don't think so. It's just something that you just do," Sykes said when asked if she discussed with the Mystics front office before the trade, per an X post from Kareem Copeland of the Washington Post.
Asked Brittney Sykes if she had a discussion with the Mystics front office before the trade?
— Kareem Copeland (@kareemcopeland) August 24, 2025
"I just requested [it]. Would you have a conversation if you were requesting something? I don't think so. It's just something that you just do."
This response raised some eyebrows, if only because many seem to feel like they would, indeed, have a conversation before requesting something, if only so a compromise would be struck before such a decisive maneuver as a trade request gets submitted.
Regardless, the bottom line is that Sykes wanted out of Washington and is now with the Seattle Storm. And she played a key part in her team storming back late in the fourth quarter to secure a vital 84-82 win over the Mystics on Sunday.
Sykes drained a huge three-pointer for her team when the game was tied with 15.5 seconds remaining, thus giving Seattle a three-point lead.
Brittney Sykes gives Seattle an 82-79 lead with 15.5 seconds remaining. A welcome back gift from Sykes to Washington.
— Rob from Chester, Pa (@knoxrob1) August 24, 2025
Great play call out of the timeout with Skylar Diggins running it. pic.twitter.com/gC6BtuuNaP
While Mystics player Sug Sutton responded with a three-pointer of her own to tie the game, 10-time WNBA All-Star and legend of the sport Nneka Ogwumike made a midrange shot at the buzzer to give Seattle the victory.
And it was a huge win for the Storm, who will jump over the Indiana Fever for the No. 6 spot in the WNBA standings if the Fever lose to the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday evening.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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