The Phoenix Mercury achieved their main objective following a big offseason, punching a ticket to the WNBA playoffs with the Atlanta Dream’s Friday night win over the Dallas Wings.<\/p>\n
The Mercury sit just behind the Dream with the fourth-best record in the WNBA and are on track to secure a top-four seed.<\/p>\n
2. Las Vegas Aces, 26-14 (5 GB)<\/p>\n
3. Atlanta Dream, 25-14 (5.5 GB)<\/p>\n
4. Phoenix Mercury, 24-14 (6 GB)<\/p>\n
5. New York Liberty, 24-15 (6.5 GB)<\/p>\n
6. Indiana Fever, 20-18 (10 GB)<\/p>\n
7. Seattle Storm, 21-19 (10 GB)<\/p>\n
8. Golden State Valkyries, 19-18 (10.5 GB)<\/p>\n
9. Los Angeles Sparks, 17-19 (12 GB) <\/p>\n
10. Washington Mystics, 16-23 (14.5 GB)<\/p>\n
The Mercury bid adieu to a pair of franchise legends over the winter. Three-time WNBA champion Diana Taurasi retired, while nine-time All-Star Brittney Griner signed with the Atlanta Dream.<\/p>\n
As much as those two meant to the organization, getting a fresh start wasn’t necessarily a bad thing after three straight losing seasons.<\/p>\n
Taurasi and Griner’s exits also opened a pathway for Phoenix to acquire Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally. <\/p>\n
Thomas is having her best year, surpassing 2023 when she was the MVP runner-up. She’s averaging 15.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 1.7 steals. She’s also shooting a career-high 54.1 percent from the field.<\/p>\n
Sabally, meanwhile, is the team’s leading scorer with 16.7 points per game and earned her third All-Star nod.<\/p>\n
Thanks to their contributions, Phoenix remained comfortably over .500 with Kahleah Copper recovering from knee surgery and unable to make her season debut until mid-June.<\/p>\n
Another benefit of the post-Taurasi and Griner era is that head coach Nate Tibbetts could open up the offense a bit more. The attack was no longer centered around a traditional big with limited range and an aging legend who was no longer an efficient shooter.<\/p>\n