Kristi Toliver injury update: Mystics guard out for the season with torn ACL

Toliver suffered the injury in the team's loss to the Sparks on Sunday

By Jack Maloney Sep 5, 2023 at 5:08 pm ET• 1 min read

Washington Mystics guard Kristi Toliver has suffered a torn ACL and will be out for the remainder of the season, the team announced on Tuesday. The veteran guard has returned to Washington, D.C. to meet with doctors and determine a plan for surgery once the swelling in her knee has gone down. 

Toliver suffered the injury in the closing seconds of the first quarter of the team's loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Sunday. As she raced up the floor to try and get off a shot before the buzzer, her knee buckled when she made a cut and she crumped to the ground in obvious pain. The team and medical staff huddled around her for a brief period before she was helped off the floor and back to the locker room. 

The 36-year-old Toliver rejoined the Mystics in free agency this winter after spending the past two seasons with the Los Angeles Sparks. She was hopeful of helping this team compete for a title, but this summer has not gone to plan for her nor the team. One of many Mystics players who endured extended spells on the sideline, she missed over two months with plantar fasciitis, and had only returned to action on Aug. 29. She was playing sparingly as the team tried to work her back up to speed for the playoffs, and the knee injury happened after just two minutes of action against the Sparks. 

With a lengthy rehab ahead, and next season likely off the cards, it's fair to wonder if this will be it for Toliver, who has spent nearly 15 years in the league since she was the No. 3 overall pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft. Assuming she does miss next season, she would be 38 years old by the time she was ready to play again; this season Diana Taurasi is the only player in the league older than 37. That decision won't have to be made any time soon, however.