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 workforce goals to enter the brand new period with a constructive mindset within the upcoming season. It is going to concentrate on growing new workforce chemistry in protection, tempo, management, and positionless basketball.
Because the first day of coaching camp, gamers and coaches have emphasised enjoying positionless basketball—specializing in the defensive finish and tempo.
“What we wish is a workforce that’s gritty and hard defensively,” Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts instructed Ballislife Wednesday. “We need to fly round. It matches who [Alyssa Thomas] is. It matches who [Kahleah Copper] is. It matches 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 enjoying 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 workforce completed No.1 in defensive ranking at 94.1 and Phoenix completed No.9 with 105.4 defensive ranking final season.
“While 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 special mindset, like goblin mode, the place you simply attempt to do no matter it takes to cease whoever that you must cease.
“So for me, protection is a part of my id. I like to play protection. I take lots 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 strategy emphasizes versatility, enabling gamers to adapt their roles based mostly on their strengths and situational wants.
How Kahleah Copper is Stepping Up as a Chief
All through her profession, Copper has performed alongside a few of the best names in girls’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 capable of be your your greatest, genuine and real self,” Copper instructed Ballislife. “While you do it your approach, you do not attempt to do it any like anybody else does it, as a result of that is what makes you who you might be.
“Your teammates, in addition they see you being your genuine self, so that they really feel impressed to do the identical factor. So for me, simply having nice leaders, seeing them be themselves, and in addition get me to comply with that was inspiring. So I am simply making an attempt to do the identical, do it my very own approach.”
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” kind of participant and highlighted her important growth within the league through the years. 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 few 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. Nevertheless it’s form of onerous to guide once you stroll in with two cornerstones of [Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner]. And so I believe you are actually going to see her form 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 loads from you.’ And we appeared one another within the eyes, and we had 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 study. 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 “large sister.” Taylor has appeared as much as Copper since she was drafted by the Indiana Fever out of Ohio State within the 2024 WNBA Draft.
After totally recovering from a foot damage she sustained whereas enjoying in Australia throughout the offseason, Taylor is raring to proceed studying and rising underneath Copper’s management.
“[Kahleah Copper] has been nice since I obtained right here,” Taylor instructed Ballislife Friday. “She rides with me locations [and] all the time needs to bug me. She’s undoubtedly my large sister. It has been superb to have somebody I appeared 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 enjoying quicker, Thomas has made an emphasis whereas mentioning her id on the defensive finish.
“We have centered loads on protection early on,” Thomas instructed Ballislife. “Like I stated, it will be a giant a part of our id this 12 months. It was lots of people making an attempt to study the offense. We have executed an excellent job to this point making an attempt to choose every thing up. And I am simply excited the expertise that we now 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 workforce 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 best approach, and be actually intentional about how we’re doing that. So camp is basically necessary in lots of areas for that, in fact, we need to win.
“We all know that this, attending to a spot the place you are successful recurrently and persistently is tough 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 by way of a four-team commerce within the offseason. She believes Brown will likely be a invaluable asset as a middle, stepping in to fill Griner’s function.
“I really like enjoying with bigs and I believe having Kalani [Brown] on the workforce will likely be such an asset,” Sabally instructed Ballislife. “She’s very cellular and she will be able to run the ground. However she’s additionally a great shooter and is aware of the sport. Her IQ is basically excessive and I’ve profited of getting large folks within the paint as a result of that you must guard them. You want to field them out.
“They are going to simply rebound the ball and I really like my little dish-offs to the put up inside, too. It creates this type of with the ability to depend on folks, and clearly we had two final 12 months, we had been actually large in Dallas however I really feel like we’re actually large right here, too.”
Sabally shares her ideas on Tibbetts’ plan for a “position-less basketball” workforce, emphasizing the significance of workforce chemistry and enjoying at a quicker tempo all through the common season.
“It is actually in at present’s approach of enjoying basketball,” Sabally instructed Ballislife. “I believe folks simply turn out to be extra expert at every thing, 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 enjoying the purpose or bringing the ball up. I really like posting up, and the identical goes for [Alyssa Thomas].
“Now we have Kalani (Brown) taking pictures three—Having that move and that unpredictable motion of offensive gamers. We all know what we’re doing.”
The Phoenix Mercury will start their common season at house on Saturday, Could 17, once they welcome the visiting Nneka Ogwumike and the Seattle Storm.
