How a ‘Breakfast Club’ is giving Kiki Iriafen, Jade Melbourne the ingredients for success this season

“Have to start acting like it’s normal!” Melbourne said afterward with a laugh.

Melbourne, Iriafen and assistant coach Barbara Turner are members of the Mystics’ “Breakfast Club,” which meets on non-game days when the team is at home. Turner is Iriafen’s position coach, and she is also adept at teaching shooting, which is an area where Melbourne particularly wanted to improve. So when both players asked for extra workouts early in training camp, Turner decided to work them out together and build their chemistry along the way.

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Because Turner is a morning person, Breakfast Club takes place at 8 a.m., before Turner has coaches’ meetings and Iriafen and Melbourne lift with their teammates. Turner varies the drills each day, but the players generally start with individual work, then move to two-player actions, with a heavy focus on details throughout.

“Before the season started, it was more based on just developing their skills and fine-tuning things,” Turner told The Next. “But as the season has started, I kind of put them in scenarios that they may have seen in the previous game that they were successful at and kind of tighten that up, or [scenarios] that they may see in the following game.”

Later in the sessions, Turner always incorporates lots of shooting, including 3-pointers and free throws.

“My favorite thing is trail threes,” Iriafen told The Next. “… Jade passes me the ball in the trail and I get to shoot threes. I’m excited about that because obviously that’s an area of my game that I’m trying to expand. But just having my coach see it go in [and] having one of my teammates see it go in is very rewarding.”

“She turns into Kiki Curry,” Turner said, referencing Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Stephen Curry. “That’s why that’s her favorite shot.”

Breakfast Club sessions are relatively short, lasting 25 to 30 minutes per day. But Iriafen and Melbourne both said they’ve been invaluable for building their skills and their confidence.

“For me, it’s been super great,” Iriafen said, “especially early on in training camp, just kind of learning everything that my coaches wanted for me, just cleaning up my fundamentals [and] my footwork, and having a space where it’s just all about Kiki.”

“You don’t necessarily get a lot of time to work on your individual skills throughout the season,” Melbourne told The Next. “… So it’s a really good little clique. We’ve got a little vibe. And yeah, we’re just enjoying learning off each other.”

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In part because of Breakfast Club, Iriafen has gotten off to an excellent start this season. Through nine games, she is averaging 14.9 points and 9.9 rebounds in 27.1 minutes per game. She was named WNBA Rookie of the Month for May, making her the first player in Mystics history to win the award. She also had four double-doubles in her first five games, becoming the first WNBA rookie to do that since 1999.

It hadn’t been certain in preseason that Iriafen, the No. 4 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, would even start on a Mystics team that has a very deep frontcourt. But she seized her opportunity amid a few injuries, and she has given head coach Sydney Johnson zero reason to change his lineup since.

“How she has approached things since she’s been here has kind of been like an anomaly,” Turner said. “I haven’t really seen it before, other than from the absolute greats. … She was ready. She had goals for herself, and you can see her trying to reach them every day.”

One of Iriafen’s most notable attributes has been her poise. Despite matching up with MVP-caliber players like Breanna Stewart, A’ja Wilson and Brittney Griner already this season, she has largely played at her own pace and found success. To do that, she’s kept a mantra from Turner in the back of her mind: “Slow is pro.”

“She doesn’t get sped up,” Stewart told reporters after facing Iriafen on Thursday. “And that’s one of the biggest things as you make the jump from college to WNBA is a lot of times you’re playing too fast. People are saying, ‘Slow down.’ And she’s looking to make the reads.”

Iriafen has also been quick to learn from each opponent and adjust. She said she felt sped up in the preseason, but that hasn’t been much of an issue since. Playing New York for a second time on Thursday, Iriafen changed her approach to be more aggressive defensively after feeling like she was “too lax” and not disruptive enough the first time around.

Against the Indiana Fever on Tuesday — her third time playing them, including the preseason — Iriafen recognized where she could get open looks and took advantage. She shot 7-for-13 in the first regular-season meeting on May 28 but missed several shots near the rim. On Tuesday, she shot 9-for-11, in part by stepping out and making four midrange shots.

“If I find myself on the perimeter, I feel very confident to shoot it,” she told reporters postgame. “… As the season is going on and I’m kind of understanding the type of player I am, the type of player I need to be for this team, I’m just getting settled more. And then also, this is our third time playing Indiana, so I feel like I’ve gotten kind of accustomed to where my looks might be.”

Turner watches lots of film with Iriafen to help her see what opponents are doing and learn how to counter it. She also continually builds up Iriafen’s confidence.

“She’s just always just speaking life into me, always pouring life into me,” Iriafen told The Next. “She tells me I can guard anyone; I can score on anybody.”

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Meanwhile, Melbourne is in her third WNBA season but still only 22 years old — a year and eight days older than Iriafen. She was a solid contributor for the Mystics last season, averaging 5.4 points in 14.2 minutes per game. But this year, she’s improved nearly across the board, averaging 8.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 25.8 minutes per game.

Melbourne is also shooting 44.0% from 3-point range in 2.8 attempts per game. That’s up from 35.7% on 1.5 attempts per game last season and 15.0% on 0.7 attempts per game as a rookie. 

“People [are] actually jumping at my shot fake now, and that’s never happened before,” Melbourne told reporters after Thursday’s game against New York. “So that’s always really nice, because I’ve always had a preference to get downhill.”

Melbourne had her most efficient game of the season on Thursday, scoring 15 points on 6-for-8 shooting. She made two of her three 3-point attempts and added four assists. She said afterward that the confidence she’s gained from getting threes up at Breakfast Club has been key to her success.

She has also scored in double figures three other times this season, and she’s had one or fewer turnovers in six of nine games.

Along with the 3-point shooting, Melbourne is adding a change of pace to her game, which will also help her blow by people to get to the rim. It was something she worked on last season, too, and now it’s paying off.

“The game is starting to slow down for her more,” Turner said. “And I think the more that happens, the more her speed is going to be an even better weapon for her, [as] she learns how to stop and go and read and all that stuff.”

As much as Breakfast Club has helped Melbourne and Iriafen individually, it has also made them a more effective duo. They’ve played 141 minutes together this season, more than either has played without the other. Turner sees their chemistry showing through in the little things, like the passing angles Melbourne uses to get Iriafen the ball. And for Iriafen, there is a greater level of trust and familiarity with Melbourne from all their reps together.

“I think the biggest thing is just our communication,” Iriafen said. “I think I know Jade on a different level just from working out together in the mornings, so if I see something in the game, she’s super receptive, or if she sees something as well. And I think also just knowing she likes to get downhill, so when I’m setting my screens, I’m holding [them] a little bit longer.”

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Turner, Iriafen and Melbourne plan to continue Breakfast Club workouts all season — and hopefully take them on the road. Right now, they’re only doing them at home because of logistical challenges on the road, but Turner hopes to get those solved so they can have sessions on days between road games.

In the span of about a month, Breakfast Club has fueled Iriafen and Melbourne to strong starts to the season and bigger roles than they might’ve otherwise had. You might even say it’s the most important meal of the day for two young players who are hungry to be great.