Mike Thibault backtracks on Tianna Hawkins retirement announcement

UPDATE on Tuesday, Apr. 16 at 7:30 p.m. ET: Washington Mystics General Manager Mike Thibault has backtracked on forward Tianna Hawkins retiring from the WNBA. The news came out earlier this afternoon by Kareem Copeland of The Washington Post.

Thibault originally announced that Hawkins was retiring on Monday night after the 2024 WNBA Draft in a press conference to the media.

Hawkins played eight WNBA seasons, where she was the No. 6 overall pick to the Seattle Storm in the 2013 Draft out of Maryland. Mystics fans were disappointed at the time that they didn’t draft her No. 4 overall instead because she was one of the top players in the draft in the group of players after the “Three to See” of Brittney Griner, Skylar Diggins and Elena Delle Donne.

Hawkins was traded to the Mystics along with Bria Hartley, the No.8 pick in the 2014 Draft in exchange for Crystal Langhorne. She would go on to play in Washington through 2020, missing the 2015 season because she had her first son. Her best season was in 2019 when she averaged 9.5 points per game and was part of the Mystics’ first championship team.

In the 2021 season, Hawkins signed a contract with the Atlanta Dream where she would play one season. She returned to Washington and played in the 2022 and 2023 seasons. In 2023, Hawkins made a career-high 21 starts, averaging 8.2 points and a career-high 5.0 rebounds per game.

Hawkins averaged 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game in 297 appearances over her career. Given how her performance was last season, it would be nice to see her back this summer.

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