Earlier today, I wrote about Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron’s accomplishments in her rookie season. But she wasn’t the only rookie to turn heads. Mystics forward Kiki Iriafen is another. She also made the AP WNBA All-Rookie team in her own right. She will also likely make the All-WNBA Rookie team itself.
Here are some reasons why Iriafen’s 2025 season in Washington is one to remember on its own.
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She nearly averaged a double double: Iriafen averaged 13.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in the 2025 season while appearing in all 44 games.
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She was the first WNBA Rookie of the Month: Iriafen started out particularly hot where she averaged 13.9 points and 10.1 rebounds in May.
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Iriafen holds the single-season double-double record: Over the course of the 2025 season, Iriafen had 16 total double-doubles, which is a Mystics franchise record. Like we mentioned with Citron getting the single season scoring record, WNBA seasons are longer now, and it will simply be easier to hit certain benchmarks than in the past.
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Iriafen’s rebounding totals are just strong within the WNBA as a whole: Iriafen was third in total rebounds with 376, just behind Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese (377) and Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson with 407. Iriafen was also fourth in the WNBA for rebounds per game.
Both Iriafen and Citron had very strong rookie seasons in 2025. Hopefully, we will see both of them repeat such performances in 2026 and help Washington improve in the standings.
