Ten months ago, the Phoenix Mercury decided to rip everything up and start over. In the space of one offseason, they built a brand new roster through a series of trades and bold free agent signings. Out went franchise icons Diana Taurasi (retirement) and Brittney Griner (free agency), and in came All-Star forwards Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally. On opening night of the 2025 season, the only players remaining from the 2024 team were Kahleah Copper and Natasha Mack.
No one knew exactly how the Mercury’s experiment would work. In Thomas, Sabally and Copper, they had an MVP candidate and two other All-Star talents. The rest of the roster was largely unproven aside from a few vets.
The regular season results were good, but not great. Thomas, Sabally and Copper were limited to 27 games together due to various injuries, and the Mercury went 15-12 in those contests. Overall, they finished 27-17 with the sixth-best net rating (plus-3.2) and were the No. 4 seed heading into the playoffs.
Despite having home-court advantage in the first round, they were the underdogs against the reigning champion New York Liberty and lost Game 1 in overtime. It seemed like they might head home early, but they stunned the Liberty in Barclays Center in Game 2, then won a nail-biter in Game 3 to clinch their first playoff series victory since 2021.
In the semifinals, they were once again given little chance against the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx. And after losing Game 1 and falling behind by 20 in Game 2, their campaign was indeed on the ropes. They pulled off a remarkable comeback to win Game 2 in overtime, then won thrillers at home in Games 3 and 4 — the latter via another huge comeback.
All of a sudden, the Mercury were in the Finals for the first time since 2021, and the franchise had the opportunity to tie the Houston Comets, Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm for the most titles ever. This time, they were given a chance against the Las Vegas Aces, but it was not to be. They blew Game 1, got crushed in Game 2, nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback in Game 3 before A’ja Wilson hit a last-second game winner and had another comeback effort fall short in Game 4. Along the way, Sami Whitcomb hyperextended her knee, Sabally suffered a concussion that kept her out of Game 4 and Thomas dealt with hand and shoulder issues.
The Mercury’s 2025 campaign was a success, but getting swept in the Finals leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. It’s also impossible to ignore that the Mercury benefited from major injury luck in the first two rounds — Breanna Stewart, Leonie Fiebich, Napheesa Collier and DiJonai Carrington all either missed time or were hobbled — before having it flip the other way in the Finals. And, while the Mercury’s resilience has to be applauded, they trailed by double digits in six of their eight games in the last two rounds, and were forced to make multiple historic comebacks.
General manager Nick U’Ren and coach Nate Tibbetts will now have the unenviable task of fully assessing the season and plotting a course forward. Blowing up a Finals team is not something that can be done lightly, but many aspects of the Mercury’s Finals run were unsustainable.
U’Ren summed things up well during his exit interview last week: “We have no idea what’s coming for us.”
Season at a glance
- Record: 27-17 (No. 4 seed)
- Offensive rating: 103.6 (7th)
- Defensive rating: 100.4 (5th)
- Net rating: plus-3.2 (6th)
Biggest strength
Defense/physicality
The Mercury only had the fifth-ranked defense during the regular season, but that was due to injuries. When their primary starting lineup was healthy, they boasted an 88.4 defensive rating. And as we saw in the playoffs, no one could match their athleticism, toughness and physicality when they really dialed things up. Thomas remains a force of nature and led the way — she finished fourth in Defensive Player of the Year voting — but everyone in the Mercury’s starting lineup was a plus defender.
Biggest weakness
Consistent offense
The Mercury had as much top-tier offensive talent as anyone in the league, but they never fully clicked on that side of the ball. Injuries and a lack of continuity played a part — Thomas, Sabally and Copper only played 27 times together in the regular season — as did a lack of elite shooting, which allowed opponents to pack the paint. The latter was a particular issue in the playoffs, when the Mercury shot 30.9% from behind the arc. Their decision making and shot selection also often left something to be desired.
Key free agents
This will be the most unique free agency period (and offseason as a whole) in league history. The WNBPA and WNBA are in the process of negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement that will bring substantial raises whenever it is ratified, and as a result, nearly every player who is not on a rookie scale deal has maneuvered to be a free agent this winter. One of the two veterans that does have a guaranteed deal is Mercury center Kalani Brown.
Even with Brown under contract — she signed the deal with the Dallas Wings and was acquired by the Mercury last offseason as part of the Sabally trade — the Mercury still have a number of key free agents, just like every other team. Thomas, Sabally and Copper lead the bunch.
U’Ren made it clear during his exit interview that their plan is to bring Thomas back and build the team around her. You would expect Sabally and Copper to be back, but U’Ren was not making any guarantees, especially for anyone beyond the Big Three.
“We just did all our exit interviews and I always just err on the side of honesty, even if that means uncertainty,” U’Ren said. “I told everybody over and over, ‘We have no idea what’s coming for us.’
“They’re going to have decisions to make based on their career, their family. We’re going to have decisions to make based on our team. We can have all our hopes, desires and plans at this point in time, but no one knows until the CBA gets done.”
Assuming the Mercury bring back Thomas, Sabally and Copper, the big challenge for U’Ren will be to figure out how to boost their offense while maintaining their defensive identity. In the playoffs, they were often at their best when they replaced Akoa Makani and Mack with Whitcomb and Bonner, who could space the floor around the Big Three. Whitcomb is 37 and Bonner is 38, however, and neither is a long-term solution.
Until the new CBA is in place and we know the rules for free agency, as well as key numbers such as the 2026 salary cap and the new maximum, minimum and rookie salaries, it’s too difficult to predict exactly what the Mercury will do, but they should be an attractive destination after a Finals appearance.
Draft outlook
The Mercury traded their 2026 first-round pick to the Chicago Sky as part of the Copper trade ahead of the 2024 season. That pick will actually now wind up with the Connecticut Sun, but all that matters from the Mercury’s perspective is that they don’t have it.
The only selections the Mercury will have next spring are their second- and third-round picks at Nos. 27 and 42, respectively. While they won’t just throw those selections away, it’s going to be difficult for them to find a contributor that late in the process. Historically, late second- and third-round picks rarely even make rosters.
Though the draft won’t be a particularly important night for the Mercury this year, they do have the draft rights to 24-year-old Spanish guard Helena Pueyo, who will be worth watching overseas this winter. The Mercury had success in the international market last offseason when they signed Akoa Makani to be their starting point guard, and could bring Pueyo over if they feel she’s ready.
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