2022 Phoenix Mercury season | |
---|---|
Coach | Vanessa Nygaard |
Arena | Footprint Center |
Attendance | 7,974 per game |
Results | |
Record | 15–21 (.417) |
Place | 4th (Western) |
Playoff finish | 8th seed; Lost in 1st Round to the Las Vegas Aces |
Team Leaders | |
Points | Skylar Diggins-Smith – 19.7 ppg |
Rebounds | Brianna Turner – 6.8 rpg |
Assists | Skylar Diggins-Smith – 5.5 apg |
The 2022 WNBA season was the 25th season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season began on May 6, 2022, against the Las Vegas Aces [1] and ended in the 1st round of the WNBA Playoffs against the same team. The season was marred by a number of issues, including injuries and the absence of Brittney Griner, who was detained in Russia on drug charges.
On December 6, 2021, the Mercury announced that they would not be renewing Sandy Brondello's contract and parted ways with her as Head coach. [2] On January 24, 2022, the Mercury announced that Vanessa Nygaard had been hired as Brondello's replacement. [3]
The Mercury got off to a quick start to the season, winning two of their first three games. However, that momentum did not last as they then went on a seven game losing streak. They ended May 2–7. They were able to end their losing streak in June and win four of their first six games that month. However, they lost three and won three of their final six to end the month 7–5. July was another up and down month as the team struggled to build momentum and couldn't build a streak. They finished the month 4–5. Diana Taurasi suffered a quad strain during their game against the Connecticut Sun on August 2. The Mercury announced that she would miss the rest of the regular season with the injury. [4] On August 11, 2022, the Mercury announced that Skylar Diggins-Smith would miss the final 3 games of the season due to personal reasons. [5] Despite injuries to two of their prominent players, the Mercury entered the final day of the season with a chance at qualifying for the playoffs. Despite a final day loss and a 2–4 August record, the Mercury finished in eighth place in the standings and qualified for the final playoff spot.
The Mercury faced first seed Las Vegas in First Round of the playoffs. The first two games of the series were in Las Vegas and the Mercury lost both games, preventing the series from returning to Phoenix. Neither game was close with the Mercury losing by sixteen points in Game One and thirty-seven points in Game Two.
Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/team/country |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 26 | Maya Dodson | United States | Notre Dame |
3 | 32 | Macee Williams | United States | IUPUI |
Date | Transaction | |
---|---|---|
December 6, 2021 | Parted Ways with Head coach Sandy Brondello | |
January 11, 2022 | Extended a Qualifying Offer to Shey Peddy [6] | |
January 13, 2022 | Sign Shey Peddy to a Qualifying Offer [7] | |
Waived Megan Walker [8] | ||
Extended a Qualifying Offer to Kia Nurse [9] | ||
January 24, 2022 | Hired Vanessa Nygaard as Head coach [10] | |
January 31, 2022 | Traded Kia Vaughn to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for a 2023 Third Round Pick [11] | |
February 1, 2022 | Re-Signed Sophie Cunningham to a One-Year Deal [12] [13] | |
February 3, 2022 | Traded Bria Hartley, the 20th Pick in the 2022 WNBA draft, and a 2nd Round Pick in 2023 to the Indiana Fever, as well as a 1st Round Pick in 2023 to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Diamond DeShields from Chicago [14] | |
Signed Jennie Simms to a training-camp contract [15] | ||
February 4, 2022 | Signed Tina Charles to a One-Year Deal [16] | |
February 5, 2022 | Signed Kia Nurse to One-Year Deal [17] | |
February 13, 2022 | Signed Leaonna Odom to a training-camp contract [18] | |
March 1, 2022 | Signed Kiana Williams to a training-camp contract [19] | |
March 2, 2022 | Hired Crystal Robinson as an assistant coach [20] | |
March 10, 2022 | Signed Kristine Anigwe to a training-camp contract | |
March 31, 2022 | Hired Nikki Blue and Cinnamon Lister as Assistant Coaches [21] | |
April 12, 2022 | Signed Sam Thomas to a training-camp contract | |
April 13, 2022 | Signed Maya Dodson and Macee Williams to rookie-scale contracts | |
Signed Mael Gilles and Vivian Gray to training-camp contracts | ||
April 16, 2022 | Signed Emma Cannon to a training-camp contract [22] | |
April 21, 2022 | Waived Macee Williams | |
April 30, 2022 | Waived Mael Gilles [23] | |
May 3, 2022 | Waived Emma Cannon, Kiana Williams, Jennie Simms, and Vivian Gray | |
May 4, 2022 | Signed Megan Gustafson to a training-camp contract | |
May 5, 2022 | Temporarily Suspend Brianna Turner and Diamond DeShields due to Overseas Commitments | |
Waived Maya Dodson and Leaonna Odom | ||
May 6, 2022 | Signed Emma Cannon and Jennie Simms to Hardship Contracts [24] | |
May 10, 2022 | Activated Brianna Turner and Diamond DeShields from their Temporary Suspensions | |
Released Emma Cannon and Jennie Simms from their Hardship Contracts | ||
May 14, 2022 | Signed Brianna Turner to a Contract Extension | |
May 25, 2022 | Signed Karlie Samuelson to a Hardship Contract [25] | |
May 30, 2022 | Released Karlie Samuelson from her Hardship Contract | |
June 9, 2022 | Signed Jennie Simms to a Hardship Contract [26] | |
June 23, 2022 | Released Jennie Simms from her Hardship Contract | |
June 24, 2022 | Waived Kristine Anigwe | |
June 25, 2022 | Waived Tina Charles [27] | |
June 28, 2022 | Signed Reshanda Gray and Jennie Simms to 7-day contracts [28] | |
July 4, 2022 | Signed Reshanda Gray and Jennie Simms to their 2nd 7-day contracts | |
July 11, 2022 | Signed Reshanda Gray and Jennie Simms to their 3rd 7-day contracts | |
July 18, 2022 | Signed Reshanda Gray | |
Signed Jennie Simms to a Hardship Contract | ||
July 21, 2022 | Signed Kaela Davis to a 7-Day Hardship Contract [29] | |
July 29, 2022 | Signed Kaela Davis to a 2nd 7-Day Hardship Contract | |
August 8, 2022 | Signed Yvonne Turner to a Hardship Contract [30] | |
August 10, 2022 | Temporarily Suspend Skylar Diggins-Smith | |
August 11, 2022 | Signed Kaela Davis to a Hardship Contract |
2022 Phoenix Mercury roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pos. | Starter | Bench |
---|---|---|
C | Brianna Turner | Reshanda Gray Brittney Griner (inactive) |
PF | Sophie Cunningham | Megan Gustafson |
SF | Diana Taurasi | Diamond DeShields Sam Thomas |
SG | Shey Peddy | Jennie Simms Kia Nurse |
PG | Skylar Diggins-Smith (inactive) |
2022 pre-season game log Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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April: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
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2022 pre-season schedule |
2022 playoff game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Round vs. Las Vegas Aces Lost Series: 0–2
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2022 playoff schedule |
# | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 13–5 | 13–5 | 9–1 |
2 | x – Chicago Sky | 26 | 10 | .722 | – | 15–3 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 9–1 |
3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 25 | 11 | .694 | 1.0 | 11–7 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 5–5 |
4 | x – Seattle Storm | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 10–8 | 13–5 | 9–9 | 6–4 |
5 | x – Washington Mystics | 22 | 14 | .611 | 4.0 | 11–7 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
6 | x – Dallas Wings | 18 | 18 | .500 | 8.0 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 5–5 |
7 | x – New York Liberty | 16 | 20 | .444 | 10.0 | 10–8 | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–4 |
8 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 15 | 21 | .417 | 11.0 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 4–14 | 3–7 |
9 | e – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 7–11 | 4–6 |
10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 14 | 22 | .389 | 12.0 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
11 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 13 | 23 | .361 | 13.0 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 6–12 | 3–7 |
12 | e – Indiana Fever | 5 | 31 | .139 | 21.0 | 2–16 | 3–15 | 2–16 | 2–8 |
Notes
Round One: Best-of-3 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | ||||||||||||
1 | Las Vegas Aces | 2 | ||||||||||||
8 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | ||||||||||||
1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | ||||||||||||
4 | Seattle Storm | 1 | ||||||||||||
4 | Seattle Storm | 2 | ||||||||||||
5 | Washington Mystics | 0 | ||||||||||||
1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | ||||||||||||
3 | Connecticut Sun | 1 | ||||||||||||
2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | ||||||||||||
7 | New York Liberty | 1 | ||||||||||||
2 | Chicago Sky | 2 | ||||||||||||
3 | Connecticut Sun | 3 | ||||||||||||
3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | ||||||||||||
6 | Dallas Wings | 1 |
Bold Series winner
Legend | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader |
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Skylar Diggins-Smith | 30 | 30 | 34.0 | .429 | .296 | .844 | 4.0 | 5.5 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 19.7 |
Tina Charles ‡ | 16 | 16 | 33.1 | .441 | .364 | .800 | 7.3 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 17.3 |
Diana Taurasi | 31 | 31 | 31.0 | .373 | .337 | .894 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 0.7 | 0.6 | 16.7 |
Diamond DeShields | 30 | 19 | 25.3 | .388 | .236 | .765 | 3.8 | 2.2 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 13.1 |
Sophie Cunningham | 28 | 20 | 29.5 | .449 | .400 | .875 | 4.4 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 12.6 |
Shey Peddy | 34 | 24 | 28.6 | .418 | .329 | .889 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 9.9 |
Kaela Davis ≠ | 5 | 0 | 5.4 | .692 | .667 | .750 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.6 |
Brianna Turner | 35 | 35 | 33.4 | .607 | .000 | .500 | 6.8 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 4.3 |
Megan Gustafson | 33 | 0 | 9.6 | .549 | .462 | .765 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 3.8 |
Jennie Simms ≠ | 23 | 4 | 13.2 | .476 | .211 | .789 | 2.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 3.4 |
Yvonne Turner ≠ | 3 | 0 | 11.7 | .400 | .000 | 1.000 | 0.7 | 2.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.3 |
Karlie Samuelson ‡ | 1 | 0 | 10.0 | .333 | .333 | .000 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
Emma Cannon ‡ | 1 | 0 | 6.0 | 1.000 | .000 | .500 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 |
Reshanda Gray ≠ | 16 | 0 | 9.5 | .405 | .091 | .333 | 1.8 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.0 |
Kristine Anigwe ‡ | 10 | 1 | 6.5 | .500 | .000 | .500 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 |
Sam Thomas | 24 | 0 | 4.9 | .211 | .067 | 1.000 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Diamond DeShields | 2 | 2 | 27.0 | .432 | .333 | .714 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 19.5 |
Kaela Davis | 2 | 0 | 23.5 | .483 | .000 | .800 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 16.0 |
Megan Gustafson | 2 | 0 | 23.5 | .316 | .000 | 1.000 | 4.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 9.0 |
Shey Peddy | 1 | 1 | 26.0 | .231 | .286 | .000 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 8.0 |
Sophie Cunningham | 2 | 2 | 31.0 | .455 | .375 | .333 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 7.5 |
Jennie Simms | 2 | 2 | 24.5 | .267 | .200 | .200 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.5 |
Brianna Turner | 2 | 2 | 30.0 | .444 | .000 | .000 | 11.5 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 4.0 |
Reshanda Gray | 2 | 0 | 8.0 | .400 | .000 | .500 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.5 |
Yvonne Turner | 2 | 1 | 12.0 | .286 | .000 | .000 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.0 |
Sam Thomas | 2 | 0 | 7.0 | .500 | .500 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.5 |
Recipient | Award/Milestone | Date awarded | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Skylar Diggins-Smith | WNBA All-Star Selection | June 28 | [31] |
Western Conference Player of the Week | July 18 | [32] | |
All-WNBA First Team | September 15 | [33] |
The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). One of eight original franchises, it was founded before the league's inaugural 1997 season began.
Diana Lorena Taurasi is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), and is considered to be one of the greatest players in WNBA history. She was drafted by Phoenix first overall in the 2004 WNBA draft. Taurasi has won the WNBA Rookie of the Year Award (2004), three WNBA championships, a historic five Olympic gold medals, one WNBA Most Valuable Player Award (2009), two WNBA Finals MVP Awards, five scoring titles, and three FIBA World Cups. She has also been selected to ten WNBA All-Star teams and fourteen All-WNBA teams. In 2011, she was voted by fans as one of the WNBA's Top 15 Players of All Time, and was named by the league to its 20th and 25th anniversary teams, respectively the WNBA Top 20@20 in 2016 and The W25 in 2021. Also in 2021, she was selected by fans as the league's greatest player of all time. On June 18, 2017, Taurasi became the WNBA all-time leading scorer and on June 27, 2021, became the first player to surpass 9,000 points. On August 3, 2023, Taurasi became the first player to score 10,000 career points. Her penchant for scoring in crucial situations has earned her the nickname "White Mamba", coined by Kobe Bryant. Taurasi is one of 11 women to win an Olympic gold medal, an NCAA Championship, a FIBA World Cup, and a WNBA Championship.
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