PHOENIX—The Phoenix Mercury hosted media day on Wednesday contained in the newly opened apply facility forward of the 2025 WNBA season.
Why Is the Mercury Being Neglected as a Championship Contender?
Though Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner have departed, the crew goals to enter the brand new period with a optimistic mindset within the upcoming season. It’s going to deal with growing new crew chemistry in protection, tempo, management, and positionless basketball.
For the reason that first day of coaching camp, gamers and coaches have emphasised taking part in positionless basketball—specializing in the defensive finish and tempo.
“What we would like is a crew that’s gritty and difficult defensively,” Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts instructed Ballislife Wednesday. “We need to fly round. It suits who [Alyssa Thomas] is. It suits who [Kahleah Copper] is. It suits who I’m. We need to be disruptive. Create turnovers and that enables us to play quick.”
The one factor Phoenix is aware of is a warmth wave. pic.twitter.com/zv741TILDy
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) April 30, 2025
Ahead Alyssa Thomas and guard Kahleah Copper have talked about the advantages of taking part in positionless basketball and the depth it brings on the defensive finish.
Thomas additionally expects the Mercury to complete within the high three within the league in defensive ranking within the new season. When she was a member of the Connecticut Solar, the crew completed No.1 in defensive ranking at 94.1 and Phoenix completed No.9 with 105.4 defensive ranking final season.
“If you’re making an attempt to play positionless basketball in up-tempo, it begins on the defensive finish,” Thomas instructed Ballislife. “You have to go on the market and go into a distinct mindset, like goblin mode, the place you simply attempt to do no matter it takes to cease whoever you’ll want to cease.
“So for me, protection is a part of my id. I like to play protection. I take plenty of pleasure in it, and hopefully we will all go on the market and be high three in protection this 12 months.”
Positionless basketball permits gamers to maneuver freely throughout the court docket with out being restricted to conventional positions. This method emphasizes versatility, enabling gamers to adapt their roles primarily based on their strengths and situational wants.
How Kahleah Copper is Stepping Up as a Chief
All through her profession, Copper has performed alongside a number of the best names in ladies’s basketball, together with Candace Parker and Taurasi.
As she enters her tenth WNBA season, she goals to increase her management function—particularly with the additions of Thomas and Sabally, and the departures of fan favorites Taurasi and Griner
“You are in a position to be your your finest, genuine and real self,” Copper instructed Ballislife. “If you do it your manner, you do not attempt to do it any like anybody else does it, as a result of that is what makes you who you’re.
“Your teammates, additionally they see you being your genuine self, in order that they really feel impressed to do the identical factor. So for me, simply having nice leaders, seeing them be themselves, and likewise get me to observe that was inspiring. So I am simply making an attempt to do the identical, do it my very own manner.”
Final season, Copper achieved a career-high 21.1 factors per recreation, ending within the high three. She made historical past for the franchise by scoring 30 or extra factors in a number of of the season’s opening video games, and has been a recreation changer within the locker room and on and off the court docket.
Tibbetts praised Copper for being a “particular” sort of participant and highlighted her important improvement within the league over time. Each joined the Mercury as new head coach and participant final 12 months. This season, they enter their second season with heightened expectations relating to their management roles and positionless basketball.
“She’s seen a number of the best leaders in W historical past with Candace [Parker] and [Diana Taurasi],” Tibbetts instructed Ballislife. “And she or he was tremendous respectful to the group final 12 months. But it surely’s sort of onerous to steer if you stroll in with two cornerstones of [Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner]. And so I believe you are actually going to see her sort of unfold her wings and take pleasure.”
The Phoenix Struck Gold in Free Company With Satou Sabally
When Satou Sabally determined to signal with the Mercury throughout free company, she expressed that Copper would have excessive expectations of her and is worked up to play as teammates.
“She challenges me, and we already had a dialog, particularly round recruiting time,” Sabally instructed Ballislife. “She was like, ‘I am gonna demand rather a lot from you.’ And we seemed one another within the eyes, and we have been like, ‘Yeah, good.’
“I would like that, as a result of I do know her drive as a participant. I performed towards her. She is one. In order that’s the place I need to be, so I am able to be taught. And even the third apply, or the second apply, she simply huddled everybody collectively and spoke up.”
On Friday, second-year guard Celeste Taylor expressed her gratitude for having Kelsey Copper as a “huge sister.” Taylor has seemed as much as Copper since she was drafted by the Indiana Fever out of Ohio State within the 2024 WNBA Draft.
After absolutely recovering from a foot harm she sustained whereas taking part in in Australia in the course of the offseason, Taylor is keen to proceed studying and rising underneath Copper’s management.
“[Kahleah Copper] has been nice since I received right here,” Taylor instructed Ballislife Friday. “She rides with me locations [and] all the time needs to bug me. She’s undoubtedly my huge sister. It has been superb to have somebody I seemed as much as coming into the W. We had some similarities in our type of play. It has been nice to have her.”
Phoenix Mercury’s Expectations on Protection and Successful
Protection is the principle focus for the Mercury this season. As they work on taking part in quicker, Thomas has made an emphasis whereas mentioning her id on the defensive finish.
“We have targeted rather a lot on protection early on,” Thomas instructed Ballislife. “Like I stated, it should be an enormous a part of our id this 12 months. It was lots of people making an attempt to be taught the offense. We have carried out an awesome job thus far making an attempt to choose all the pieces up. And I am simply excited the expertise that now we have right here, and it is solely going to get higher. Chemistry remains to be a piece in progress, however total, proper now, it is simply going on the market and doing what you do and to your better of your means.”
Guard Sami Whitcomb explains that the Mercury is growing crew chemistry whereas constructing persistence all through the lengthy common season. She emphasizes that consistency and quick play on each ends are key for Phoenix.
“We’re constructing blocks, or setting the tone for what we need to be long run,” Whitcomb instructed Ballislife. “And that is actually thrilling for me to get to be part of that. We need to do issues the proper manner, and be actually intentional about how we’re doing that. So camp is basically necessary in plenty of areas for that, in fact, we need to win.
“We all know that this, attending to a spot the place you are profitable repeatedly and persistently is difficult on this league, and that is what we’re making an attempt to do now.”
Satou Sabally’s Recent Begin in a New Metropolis
After spending her first 4 seasons with the Dallas Wings, Sabally is headed to the Mercury for a brand new begin.
Sabally praised her teammate Kalani Brown, who was acquired via a four-team commerce within the offseason. She believes Brown might be a worthwhile asset as a middle, stepping in to fill Griner’s function.
“I really like taking part in with bigs and I believe having Kalani [Brown] on the crew might be such an asset,” Sabally instructed Ballislife. “She’s very cell and she will run the ground. However she’s additionally shooter and is aware of the sport. Her IQ is basically excessive and I’ve profited of getting huge folks within the paint as a result of you’ll want to guard them. It’s good to field them out.
“They may simply rebound the ball and I really like my little dish-offs to the submit inside, too. It creates this type of with the ability to depend on folks, and clearly we had two final 12 months, we have been actually huge in Dallas however I really feel like we’re actually huge right here, too.”
Sabally shares her ideas on Tibbetts’ plan for a “position-less basketball” crew, emphasizing the significance of crew chemistry and taking part in at a quicker tempo all through the common season.
“It is actually in as we speak’s manner of taking part in basketball,” Sabally instructed Ballislife. “I believe folks simply turn into extra expert at all the pieces, and I’ve all the time been a participant the place it is like, oh, ‘I do not even know which place I am at’, I am versatile and I really like taking part in the purpose or bringing the ball up. I really like posting up, and the identical goes for [Alyssa Thomas].
“We now have Kalani (Brown) capturing three—Having that circulate and that unpredictable motion of offensive gamers. We all know what we’re doing.”
The Phoenix Mercury will start their common season at dwelling on Saturday, Might 17, after they welcome the visiting Nneka Ogwumike and the Seattle Storm.
