Without Diana Taurasi, the Phoenix Mercury turn their sights toward the future

New York Times

26-02-2025

A few hours before Diana Taurasi announced her retirement from the WNBA, the Phoenix Mercury held an event with an eye toward the future.
Inside their $100 million practice facility which opened last summer, general manager Nick U'Ren and two-time All-WNBA first-team forward Alyssa Thomas sat on a news conference dais and fielded questions about the arrival of the Mercury's latest star. The gym's two practice courts bear Taurasi's name and logos inspired by her, but there was no mention on Tuesday of Taurasi. Not by U'Ren, Thomas or any reporter.
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Instead, Thomas, who was acquired in a four-team trade in January after spending the first 11 years of her WNBA career with the Connecticut Sun, discussed her excitement for playing alongside Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally.
'We all come from different winning backgrounds and now we get a chance to be together and accomplish something, something different,' Thomas said.
They hope to achieve what Taurasi, 42, did three times throughout her 20-year career.
Favorite Diana Taurasi moment?! ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/5OaZvgse9z
— The Athletic WBB (@TheAthleticWBB) February 25, 2025
Taurasi's legacy will forever be sewn into the fabric of the Mercury. Her three WNBA championships, WNBA-record 10,646 points, 11 All-Star appearances and flair for heroics make her arguably the greatest WNBA player ever. (Fans voted her as such in 2021.) Yet as Taurasi's future with the franchise appeared uncertain over the last two seasons, the Mercury began planning for life after the eventual first-ballot Hall of Famer.
They seem ready for what's next, with a new trio of stars set to fully take the reins of the franchise.
Plans for the Mercury's future started to come to light last offseason. In February 2024, they acquired Copper, the 2021 WNBA Finals MVP and multi-time All-Star, from the Chicago Sky. She had led the Sky to the title over the Mercury.
To some, the move signaled Phoenix's desire to compete for a championship last season, in what might have been the waning days of Taurasi. But their hopes in the agreement were broader and more long-lasting.
'The chance to get Kahleah Copper who's in her prime and we hope is here for many years, to me that's a move for the future as much as it is a win-now move,' U'Ren said last spring.
Phoenix won 19 games and was swept in the playoffs in Copper's first season in Phoenix. But the Mercury have been among the busiest franchises this winter, wheeling and dealing as they continued to ponder what's next — for the team and for Taurasi.
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First, they landed Thomas, who despite being 32-years-old is a perennial MVP candidate and triple-double machine. Later, they acquired Sabally from the Dallas Wings. At 26, she has shown flashes of being one of the WNBA's best forwards when healthy.
Sandwiched in between both trades was another transaction that signaled the changing of the guard.
Brittney Griner, Taurasi's longtime frontcourt partner, signed in free agency with the Atlanta Dream. Like Taurasi, Griner, the No. 1 pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft, had spent her whole career with the Mercury (and would be a sure-fire Hall of Famer even if she never took another jump-hook or blocked another shot). The duo won the 2014 championship and became staples of the U.S. Olympic team. But Griner, 34, also wanted something different and said at her introductory Dream press conference: 'It was time for my next chapter in my career.'
The result of Taurasi's retirement and Griner's departure means a chapter in Mercury history is closed. The Mercury are now Copper, Sabally and Thomas' show.
'One of the things that excites me about these three is just how well they complement each other,' U'Ren said. 'I think it's really easy to envision any of them grabbing a rebound (and) pushing it in transition themselves. I hope we've built a roster that complements those three. I think you can envision playing quickly. I think you can envision all three of those players playing multiple positions, and I think they'll play really well off each other.'
The rest of Phoenix's roster is rather unproven with only Kalani Brown and Sami Whitcomb with at least five seasons of WNBA experience. Still, Phoenix hopes it has vaulted back into the upper echelon of the league — not waiting to make big moves while Taurasi literally kept them waiting.
Mercury owner Mat Ishbia said in a statement Tuesday: '(Taurasi's) name is synonymous with the Phoenix Mercury and she will forever be part of our family.' Her legacy will surely be celebrated at forthcoming jersey retirements and Hall of Fame ceremonies.
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Yet, the Mercury weren't caught off guard when an all-time great walked away. Last fall, even their social media team got in on the prep, regularly tweeting out posts with the tagline, 'If this is it.'
Well, it was.
After Tuesday's proceedings, on the practice court that Taurasi christened last summer, Thomas, U'Ren, head coach Nate Tibbetts and Sabally posed for a photo.
'It's time to get back to the playoffs,' Thomas said. 'I'm still chasing a championship. Just excited to be a part of this group.'
(Photo of Alyssa Thomas and Nick U'Ren: Kate Frese / NBAE via Getty Images)