What Georgia Amoore’s ACL injury means for Washington Mystics

Though the Mystics did not specify the extent of the damage to Amoore’s ACL, a tear would sideline her for the entire 2025 WNBA season. The typical recovery time for a torn ACL is nine to 12 months, but professional athletes often take closer to 12 months, said Lucas Seehafer, The Next’s injury expert and a physical therapist.

“We’re with you every step of the way!!” teammate and longtime friend Jade Melbourne wrote to Amoore in an Instagram story on Wednesday. “You got this.”

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Amoore, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, was a consensus All-American at Virginia Tech and Kentucky. As a 5’6 point guard, she averaged 19.6 points, 6.9 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game for the Wildcats last season.

“In Georgia, we found somebody that just plays with an absolutely infectious joy and creativity,” general manager Jamila Wideman told reporters in a press conference introducing the Mystics’ first-round draft picks on April 16. “Georgia is a point guard’s point guard. She’s always and first thinking about her teammates.”

Amoore was injured on just the third day of training camp, but she’d already impressed her teammates and the staff. Her confidence stood out, as did her eagerness to learn and her willingness to lead even as a rookie. Veteran center Stefanie Dolson told reporters on Monday that Amoore had consistently been the first one to answer head coach Sydney Johnson’s questions during practices.

“Georgia does not look like a rookie at all,” Dolson said. “She came in the first day, was answering questions quick, was talking quick. So she looks really good.”

“What we’ve seen her show up and do is to be incredibly prepared to participate and really listen intently,” Wideman said on Monday. “… She’s come in and wanted to listen to our vets, learn from their experience, try to get a sense of the other players that are on the floor with her and find her spots to be present and vocal.”

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Amoore’s up-tempo style of play seemed to fit perfectly with Johnson’s desire to get good shots in the first eight seconds of the shot clock. She was also developing chemistry quickly with her fellow 2025 first-round picks, guard Sonia Citron and forward Kiki Iriafen.

“I love to play with a point guard that just has vision, that really looks for her teammates, that pushes the floor, that runs in transition and just finds her teammates,” Citron told reporters on Monday. “… I know that when I cut or when I’m open in transition, she’s always going to find me.”

Before her injury, Amoore was expected to compete with Melbourne and fourth-year guard Sug Sutton to start at point guard. Meanwhile, veteran Brittney Sykes, who started there each of the past two seasons, was expected to play primarily off the ball.

Having Sykes off the ball may still work, as the Mystics have multiple players in training camp who can play point guard. But Johnson may also decide to play Sykes more on the ball with Amoore unavailable.

When he was introduced as head coach in February, Johnson spoke generally about his approach to injuries, which have plagued the Mystics more than any other WNBA team over the past two seasons. “Injuries are part of the game,” he said. “… It is what it is. … [So] no bemoaning and more of, ‘Onward. What’s next? Let’s get to that.'”

Amoore’s injury likely doesn’t change much about how the Mystics’ final roster will look. She will almost certainly still make the 12-player team because the alternative would be cutting her and no longer having her rights in future seasons. So there is no additional roster spot that will open up from her injury. The Mystics also have plenty of salary cap room, so keeping Amoore won’t affect who else can be chosen.

However, the injury could affect how minutes are distributed among whichever perimeter players make the final roster. For example, Melbourne and Sutton might play more minutes than they otherwise would’ve. Or if Sykes plays more point guard than originally planned, that could create more minutes off the ball for players like rookie guards Lucy Olsen and Zaay Green, if one or both make the roster. The Mystics could also play bigger lineups, with a forward like Emily Engstler sliding to the wing, to take advantage of their enviable post depth and compensate for their lack of experience on the perimeter.

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Though Amoore might not take the court this season, she can continue to learn from and get support from her Mystics teammates and coaches. On draft night, Amoore called her basketball IQ “kind of a superpower” of hers, and she’ll still be able to hone that with the Mystics staff.

“That’s something that I’ve never become complacent with,” she told reporters. “It’s something I take such pride in.”

From the bench, she can also continue to learn her teammates’ styles of play and Johnson’s system. And perhaps she’ll keep speaking up when Johnson tosses questions to the group. After all, she’s still preparing for her WNBA debut, just on a longer timeline than anyone expected.