Season In Review: Phoenix Mercury


As the end of 2021 draws near, WNBA.com is wrapping up this 25th season by recapping each team’s season. Take a look back at notable contributors and season highlights with the 2021 Season In Review. Next up is the Phoenix Mercury.

Overview:

With the Big Three (Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi, Skylar Diggins-Smith) having a season together under their belt in 2020, it was expected that the Mercury would cause some real damage this season. However, the first half of the season did not start the way the Mercury had hoped. The team struggled with consistency issues and dealt with injuries, including Diana Taurasi missing a chunk of time. Consequently, the team went on a 4-game losing streak and had tough losses, including a 31-point loss to the Lynx.

However, you do not stay down for long when you have an offensive trio of threats (Brittney Griner, Taurasi, and Skylar Diggins-Smith). After the Olympic break, with Taurasi back in the lineup and the team’s chemistry starting to flow, the Mercury went on a 10-game win streak. Other players came up big for the Mercury including Brianna Turner who has established herself as one of the best defenders in the league, averaging a career-high 9.4 rebounds per game. With the offense rolling, the team ended with the league’s second-best offensive efficiency rating (104.3). The ups and downs of the season led the Merc to finish with a 19-13 record and the No.5 seed in the Playoffs.

While many teams struggle with the single-elimination playoff format, the Mercury have always thrived in it, holding a 9-2 single-elimination game record (league-best). The Mercury won both close single-elimination games, including an OT win against the Seattle Storm, 85-80. Heading into the Semifinals against the No.2 Las Vegas Aces, it became clear that the Mercury were a threat for the title. After a thrilling series, the Mercury defeated the Aces in Game 5. The Mercury headed into the Finals for the first time since 2014. In the Finals, the Mercury battled against the Chicago Sky but were defeated in the series, 3-1.

Next season, the runner-ups will have a chip on their shoulder and will be hungry to get back into the Finals. With the Big Three returning, a championship title could definitely be in their future. The revenge season will be without now former Head Coach Sandy Brondello, who parted ways with the franchise earlier this week. It will be interesting to see how the head coach, who has not been announced yet, leads this team to possibly another deep playoff run.

Top Contributors:

Brittney Griner

Griner returned rejuvenated and refreshed this season after leaving the bubble early last season and focusing on her mental health. It showed as the 6-foot-9 center had an MVP-caliber season, averaging 20.5 points (second in the league), 9.5 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game. She led the league in blocks for the eighth time in her nine seasons. One of the best bigs in the game, Griner lit it up in the paint, including throwing down five dunks in the regular season and a dunk in the Finals. Many times this season Griner was the difference-maker for the Mercury. She showed why she is the Mercury’s defensive anchor, including having the game-sealing block in Game 5 of the Semifinals against the Las Vegas Aces which sent the Mercury back to the Finals for the first time since 2014. (Griner also had a game-high 28 points in the same game.) The center was named to the All-WNBA First Team and All-Defensive Second Team for her MVP-caliber season. Additionally, Griner won an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. Women’s National Team.

Skylar Diggins-Smith

Every year, Diggins-Smith’s game just keeps getting better and swaggier. In her second season with the Mercury, the energetic guard who can score at all three levels held it down on the court, especially when Griner and Taurasi were out with injury. She averaged 17.7 points (ninth in the WNBA) and 5.3 assists (sixth). The scoring machine became the fastest player in WNBA history to reach 3,000 points, 1,000 assists, and 200 steals in a career. Diggins-Smith was named to the All-WNBA First Team for her excellent season. In Game 2 of the Finals, she showed how crucial she is to the Mercury’s success; with 12.8 seconds left, she drove to the basket and hit the game-sealing shot. Diggins-Smith also put up 13 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds in that game. Additionally, she won her first Olympic gold medal with the U.S. Women’s National Team.

 

Diana Taurasi

While Taurasi struggled with injury this season, when she was on the court it was clear that she still is one of the best to ever play. Taurasi added another milestone this season, becoming the first player to eclispe 9,000 career points. Labeled the WNBA GOAT by fans this season, she showed her “goatness”, especially in the Playoffs. In Game 2 of the Semifinals, she put up 37 points, including a playoff-high eight three-pointers, to give the Mercury the win, 117-91. Additionally, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird became the first basketball players to win five Olympic gold medals this summer.

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Season Highlights:

Diana Taurasi Voted the WNBA GOAT

Taurasi was named the WNBA GOAT by fans, part of the “VOTE for the GOAT” campaign that celebrated the WNBA’s 25th anniversary. A player whose impact on the game will be everlasting is the league’s career leader in points, three-point field goals made, and field goals made in both the regular season and the Playoffs.

Three Mercury Players Earned All-Team Selections

Brianna Turner was named to the All-Defensive First Team after averaging a career-high 9.4 rebounds per game and ranked eighth in the league for blocks per game (1.3). Turner is the only player to be named on the All-Defensive First Team in 2020 and 2021.

Griner was named to the All-Defensive Second Team, her seventh career WNBA All-Team selection, and to the All-WNBA First Team, sixth All-WNBA selection. Diggins-Smith was selected to the All-WNBA First Team, earning her fifth All-WNBA selection.

Kia Nurse Game-Winner vs. Chicago Sky

On June 1st against the Chicago Sky, after getting the offensive rebound with 0.7 seconds left and the Sky up by two, Kia Nurse nailed a deep buzzer-beater that gave the Mercury the thrilling win, 84-83.

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