Mystics coach Sydney Johnson has preached joy. It shows with his viral celebrations.

The Washington Mystics beat the Seattle Storm on July 12, and second-year head coach Sydney Johnson knew just how to celebrate. In fact, it was a perfect opportunity for revenge.

Days earlier, his team played dodgeball after practice. A throw from one of his players sent him tumbling to the ground, and it went viral on social media. So, in a surprise attack, he entered the locker room with a bag of dodgeballs and pelted his players.

It was one of Johnson’s first unique postgame celebrations of the season, which was subsequently posted on the team’s social media accounts. The post garnered more than 390,000 views on X alone. And the interest in his celebrations has only grown since.

“I wanted to coach pros and coach players that wanted the best out of everything and had high standards, but also have joy while they’re doing it,” Johnson said. “Whether it’s the celebrations or just the happiness that they have, I want that for them. And frankly, I want it for me, too.”

The Mystics have captured the attention of the WNBA. On the court, they finished the regular season with the fifth-best record in the league, featuring a roster with eight rookies, two elite second-year players (guard Sonia Citron and forward Kiki Iriafen) and veteran center Shakira Austin, who is enjoying a breakout season. Off it, the combination of dynamic personalities has only raised the team’s profile. Their coach’s celebrations are, in many ways, an extension of the team itself.

“It’s a very connected group, and so that’s a reflection of how much they’ve allowed us into their lives,” Johnson said about the celebrations.

The team is hopeful the partying continues in the playoffs. The Mystics need to win Game 2 of their first-round matchup against the Atlanta Dream on Wednesday night to avoid elimination and force a winner-take-all Game 3.

In the regular season, the Mystics beat the Dream in 3 out of 4 contests. But on Sunday, the WNBA’s youngest team had defensive lapses and turnovers, specifically in the third quarter, that resulted in a 92-77 loss. Still, the team is confident they can even the series.

At Tuesday’s practice, nothing suggested that the Mystics were behind. Laughter echoed throughout the gym. Players smiled and joked as they shot free throws.

Joy is a core tenet of the Mystics, something Johnson wanted to establish when he took over in December 2024. When asked how to maintain that mindset while facing elimination, Johnson pointed to the fact that his team has adopted the mentality all season. His postgame celebrations are one example of how he’s attempted to cultivate it himself.

The origin of Johnson’s viral celebrations started a few weeks prior to the dodgeball battle.

After a win in June, his players were fired up. Johnson, though, maintained a cool disposition — and the team, specifically Iriafen, wasn’t having it. He was banished from the locker room.

“They’re like, ‘No, no, no! You gotta give us something,’” Johnson recalled.

So Johnson sprinted back into the room, screamed, leapt into Iriafen’s arms and swung his feet into the air. And a postgame tradition was born.

“As we started racking up some wins and having some fun, we carried that into the locker room with me being a party,” Johnson said.

There is diversity in Johnson’s celebrations. He’s not a one-trick pony. Sometimes, he runs around the locker room. Sometimes, he simply screams. Other times, he goes above and beyond with dancing.

After the win against the Storm, the Mystics followed with a win on the road against the Toronto Tempo. Johnson shook his butt on camera; he called it a “hip wiggle.” That, he said, was one of his more embarrassing acts. In the video, he emphatically says, “Delete that!”

Johnson doesn’t have social media, so he didn’t realize it would be posted or that the videos would go viral until his wife told him.

“That’s something I have to take up with our communications people,” Johnson said, laughing as he looked at one of the Mystics PR staffers.

He’s hit the Scuba dance. He pulled out the Griddy. He’s recreated Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” dance.

Later in July, center Shakira Austin hit a go-ahead layup to beat the defending champion Las Vegas Aces. Johnson circled around the room, then did a full belly flop on the ground. His shocked players could be seen in the background.

Austin joked that his celebrations are “definitely different,” but that night was her favorite of the bunch.

“I think that’s his way of reaching our young group,” she said. “The energy that we carry every day is pretty crazy. ... Coach Sydney being able to connect with us and feed off our energy and create his own thing, I think it’s just dope.”

Johnson’s daughters helped him brainstorm a few of his dances. He never practices in advance. He simply goes with what feels right in the moment.

As for what celebration he’ll pull out next? He’s not quite sure. He doesn’t want to look too far ahead. After all, the Mystics have to take care of business on Wednesday.

“We’ll just try to get focus on trying to get there, and then whatever comes after that will come,” Johnson said.