2023 Phoenix Mercury season | |
---|---|
Coach | Vanessa Nygaard (until June 25th) Nikki Blue (after June 25th) |
Arena | Footprint Center |
Attendance | 9,197 per game |
Results | |
Record | 9–31 (.225) |
Place | 6th (Western) |
Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Team Leaders | |
Points | Brittney Griner – 17.5 ppg |
Rebounds | Brittney Griner/Brianna Turner – 6.3 rpg |
Assists | Sug Sutton – 4.8 apg |
The 2023 Phoenix Mercury season was the 26th season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association, and the second season under head coach Vanessa Nygaard.
In October 2022, Skylar Diggins-Smith announced on Instagram that she was pregnant with her second child. [1]
On December 8, 2022, Brittney Griner was successfully returned to the United States of America after the Brittney Griner–Viktor Bout prisoner exchange went through without issues. By extension, Griner returned to action with the Mercury and the WNBA after missing the entire 2022 WNBA season due to her being arrested and imprisoned in Russia (a place she had previously played in for years during the WNBA's offseasons by playing with the UMMC Ekaterinburg without prior issue) for medical cannabis, which is considered an illegal substance there. The Mercury later re-signed Griner to a new deal on February 17, 2023.
On December 20, 2022, Mercury team owner Robert Sarver agreed to a deal made by a new ownership group led by United Wholesale Mortgage's CEO Mat Ishbia and his older brother Justin Ishbia where Sarver would sell his majority shares of both the Mercury and Phoenix Suns to them under a joint deal worth a record-high $4 billion. [2] This transition into new ownership was made during the month of September 2022 after an independent investigation led by the National Basketball Association revealed some ugly, disgusting behaviors he had throughout his ownership periods with both the Suns and Mercury, though primarily with the Suns. [3] [4] The NBA approved of the sale to the Ishbia brothers on February 6, 2023, [5] with Sarver's transition out of ownership of both franchises being made official on February 7, 2023. [6] [7] [8] Despite his removal from ownership, Sarver still had to serve his suspension for the 2023 WNBA season until September 13, 2023; he had since disputed that suspension claim during that season because of his lack of team ownership.
The Mercury began the season with two losses, but won their third game to finish 1–2 in May. The team continued with its sluggish start losing their first three games in June. After a single win, the team went on a six game losing streak and finishing the month with a 2–9 record Their only two wins in the month came against Indiana. In July the team fared slightly better, losing three straight games before winning three of four. However, the team lost its final three games of the month to finish 3–7. The Mercury showed improvement in August winning three of their first five games. However, that improvement didn't last, as they lost seven straight games to end the month. During their seven game losing streak, a 77–74 loss to the Dallas Wings eliminated the Mercury from playoff contention for the first time since 2012, and ended the longest active playoff streak in the WNBA at 10 straight years. Their losing streak continued as the Mercury lost all four games in September to finish 9–31 and ended the season on an eleven game losing streak. This was only the third season in Mercury history where they finished with single-digit wins, and their .225 winning percentage was the second lowest in franchise history. Their 31 losses were the most in a season in franchise history, though it was the first season the WNBA used a forty game schedule. During this season, it was announced that long-time general manager Jim Pitman (who held his position with the Mercury since October 2013 following Jason Rowley's brief stint there) would resign from his position following the end of this season, being replaced by former Golden State Warriors special assistant and executive Nick U'Ren entering the next season.
Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 27 | Destiny Harden | ![]() | Miami |
3 | 29 | Kadi Sissoko | ![]() | USC |
Date | Transaction | |
---|---|---|
January 6, 2023 | Hired Monica Wright-Rogers as Assistant General Manager [9] | |
January 12, 2023 | Extended Qualifying Offers to Sophie Cunningham, Megan Gustafson, Shey Peddy, and Sam Thomas [10] | |
February 2, 2023 | Signed Sam Thomas to a Qualifying Offer - Training Camp Contract | |
February 3, 2023 | Signed Sophie Cunningham to a 2-Year Deal [11] | |
Signed Megan Gustafson to a Training Camp Contract [12] | ||
February 6, 2023 | Signed Sydney Wiese and Jennie Simms to Training Camp Contracts [13] [14] | |
February 11, 2023 | Acquired Michaela Onyenwere, a 2024 Third-Round Pick (from Chicago), and a 2025 Second-Round Pick (from Chicago) in a 4-Team Trade involving the Chicago Sky, Dallas Wings, and the New York Liberty [15] | |
February 13, 2023 | Signed Moriah Jefferson [16] | |
February 17, 2023 | Signed Diana Taurasi to a 2-Year Deal [17] | |
Signed Brittney Griner [18] | ||
Signed Shey Peddy to a Training Camp Contract [19] | ||
February 28, 2023 | Signed Sug Sutton to a Training Camp Contract | |
March 2, 2023 | Signed Destiny Slocum to a Training Camp Contract [20] | |
March 3, 2023 | Hired Tully Bevilaqua as Assistant Coach [21] | |
March 27, 2023 | Signed Kylee Shook to a Training Camp Contract | |
April 11, 2023 | Signed Essence Booker to a Training Camp Contract [22] | |
April 12, 2023 | Signed Destiny Harden, Kadi Sissoko, and Liz Dixon to Training Camp Contracts | |
April 21, 2023 | Hired Taja Edwards as Assistant Coach [23] | |
April 27, 2023 | Waived Sydney Wiese | |
May 5, 2023 | Waived Destiny Harden | |
May 8, 2023 | Waived Kylee Shook | |
May 10, 2023 | Waived Essence Booker | |
May 13, 2023 | Waived Liz Dixon and Destiny Slocum | |
May 15, 2023 | Exercised 4th-Year Team Option on Michaela Onyenwere | |
May 16, 2023 | Waived Jennie Simms and Sam Thomas | |
May 18, 2023 | Placed Skylar Diggins-Smith on the Inactive List due to Pregnancy/Child-Birth | |
May 19, 2023 | Signed Liz Dixon to a Hardship Contract [24] | |
May 21, 2023 | Released Liz Dixon from her Hardship Contract | |
June 21, 2023 | Signed Sam Thomas to a Hardship Contract [25] | |
June 22, 2023 | Waived Evina Westbrook [26] | |
Signed Jennie Simms to a Hardship Contract [26] | ||
June 24, 2023 | Released Sam Thomas from the Hardship Contract | |
June 25, 2023 | Fired Head Coach Vanessa Nygaard and named Nikki Blue as Interim Head Coach [27] | |
June 27, 2023 | Signed Alaina Coates to a Hardship Contract [28] | |
June 29, 2023 | Released Alaina Coates from the Hardship Contract | |
June 30, 2023 | Hired Charli Turner Thorne as an Assistant Coach [29] | |
July 10, 2023 | Hired Nick U'Ren as General Manager [30] | |
July 20, 2023 | Waived Jennie Simms [31] | |
Signed Liz Dixon to a 7-Day Contract [31] | ||
July 29, 2023 | Signed Liz Dixon to a 2nd 7-Day Contract | |
August 7, 2023 | Signed Destanni Henderson to a 7-Day Contract | |
August 14, 2023 | Signed Destanni Henderson to a 2nd 7-Day Contract | |
August 17, 2023 | Signed Liz Dixon to a 3rd 7-Day Contract | |
August 18, 2023 | Signed Ashley Joens to a 7-Day Contract | |
August 20, 2023 | Released Ashley Joens | |
August 21, 2023 | Signed Ashley Joens to a 2nd 7-Day Contract | |
August 22, 2023 | Signed Madi Williams to a 7-Day Contract [32] | |
August 29, 2023 | Signed Ashley Joens tot a 3rd 7-Day Contract | |
Signed Madi Williams to a 2nd 7-Day Contract | ||
September 5, 2023 | Signed Ashley Joens to a Hardship Contract | |
September 7, 2023 | Signed Christyn Williams to a Hardship Contract [33] |
Additions
| Subtractions
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2023 Phoenix Mercury roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2023 pre-season game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 1–0) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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May: 1–1 (Home: 0–1; Road: 1–0)
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2023 pre-season schedule |
# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 34 | 6 | .850 | – | 18–2 | 19–1 | 15–5 | 9–1 |
2 | x – New York Liberty | 32 | 8 | .800 | 2 | 16–4 | 15–5 | 17–3 | 7–3 |
3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 27 | 13 | .675 | 7 | 14–6 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 7–3 |
4 | x – Dallas Wings | 22 | 18 | .550 | 12 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 6–4 |
5 | x – Atlanta Dream | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 11–9 | 11–9 | 8–12 | 6–4 |
6 | x – Minnesota Lynx | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 12–8 | 9–11 | 10–10 | 5–5 |
7 | x – Washington Mystics | 19 | 21 | .475 | 15 | 9–11 | 12–8 | 7–13 | 5–5 |
8 | x – Chicago Sky | 18 | 22 | .450 | 16 | 5–15 | 7–13 | 11–9 | 3–7 |
9 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 17 | 23 | .425 | 17 | 9–11 | 10–10 | 7–13 | 5–5 |
10 | e – Indiana Fever | 13 | 27 | .325 | 21 | 5–15 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 2–8 |
11 | e – Seattle Storm | 11 | 29 | .275 | 23 | 8–12 | 4–16 | 7–13 | 4–6 |
12 | e – Phoenix Mercury | 9 | 31 | .225 | 25 | 2–18 | 8–12 | 1–19 | 1–9 |
Notes
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Brittney Griner | 31 | 31 | 27.6 | .562 | .111 | .772 | 6.3 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 1.6 | 17.5 |
Diana Taurasi | 26 | 26 | 27.3 | .403 | .342 | .848 | 3.6 | 4.6 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 16.0 |
Sophie Cunningham | 31 | 31 | 29.0 | .413 | .337 | .875 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 11.3 |
Moriah Jefferson | 39 | 36 | 24.9 | .434 | .355 | .820 | 2.0 | 3.6 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 10.5 |
Michaela Onyenwere | 40 | 27 | 23.8 | .404 | .315 | .759 | 3.7 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 8.9 |
Sug Sutton | 40 | 12 | 26.3 | .384 | .333 | .807 | 2.6 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 8.2 |
Megan Gustafson | 34 | 4 | 15.1 | .526 | .349 | .806 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 8.2 |
Shey Peddy | 18 | 0 | 15.8 | .369 | .348 | .800 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 5.2 |
Ashley Joens ≠ | 8 | 0 | 13.4 | .387 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 4.5 |
Brianna Turner | 40 | 33 | 26.3 | .650 | .000 | .500 | 6.3 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.1 | 3.5 |
Liz Dixon ‡ | 10 | 0 | 5.6 | .571 | .000 | .875 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 2.3 |
Jennie Simms ‡ | 6 | 0 | 11.7 | .286 | .000 | .714 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 2.2 |
Madi Williams ≠ | 5 | 0 | 9.2 | .333 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 2.0 |
Kadi Sissoko | 40 | 0 | 8.4 | .371 | .167 | .625 | 1.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.5 |
Destanni Henderson ‡ | 5 | 0 | 6.2 | .200 | .200 | 1.000 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.4 |
Evina Westbrook ‡ | 9 | 0 | 8.0 | .100 | .000 | 1.000 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 1.1 |
Alaina Coates ‡ | 2 | 0 | 2.5 | 1.000 | .000 | .000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 |
Sam Thomas ‡ | 1 | 0 | 11.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
‡Waived/Released during the season
†Traded during the season
≠Acquired during the season
Recipient | Award/Milestone | Date awarded | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
Brittney Griner | WNBA All-Star Starter | June 25 | [34] |
Diana Taurasi | Western Conference Player of the Week | August 8 | [35] |
The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference. 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). Taurasi is widely recognized as one of the greatest women's basketball players of all time; she rose to fame while playing college basketball at the University of Connecticut.
Robert Gary Sarver is an American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Value Partners, a real estate development company, and the former owner of the Phoenix Suns NBA team, Phoenix Mercury WNBA team and the RCD Mallorca La Liga Spanish football team.
Brittney Yvette Griner is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist with the U.S. women's national basketball team and a six-time WNBA All-Star. Griner was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2023.
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The 2018 WNBA season was the 22nd season for the Phoenix Mercury franchise of the WNBA. The season tipped off on May 14.
The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the Phoenix Mercury franchise of the WNBA. The season tipped off on May 25, 2019 versus the Seattle Storm.
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The 2021 WNBA season was the 24th season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on May 14, 2021, at the Minnesota Lynx.
The 2021 WNBA Playoffs was the postseason tournament of the WNBA's 2021 season. The Chicago Sky won their first WNBA championship.
The 2021 WNBA Finals, officially the WNBA Finals 2021 presented by YouTube TV for sponsorship reasons, was the best-of-five championship series for the 2021 season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The finals featured the fifth-seeded Phoenix Mercury facing off against the sixth-seeded Chicago Sky, a rematch of the 2014 Finals. The Sky defeated the Mercury in 4 games, winning their first WNBA Championship, as well as Chicago's first professional basketball championship since 1998.
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 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.
Jennie Simms is an American-Israeli professional basketball player who plays for the Israel women's national basketball team. She played college basketball for 3 seasons at Old Dominion and 1 season at West Virginia. Simms was drafted by the Washington Mystics of the WNBA in the 2017 WNBA draft. She has played for the Mystics, Indiana Fever, and the Phoenix Mercury.
The 2022–23 Phoenix Suns season was their 55th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as their 30th season at the Footprint Center. It was also the last season under Robert Sarver's ownership tenure, as he was suspended from league-wide activities on September 13, 2022, due to an independent investigation on Sarver that began the season prior revealing inappropriate behaviors he had throughout his tenure as franchise owner of the Suns. He later announced in that same month that minority team owner and vice chairman of the Suns, Sam Garvin, would take over the majority of team duties for the rest of this season until new ownership bought out Sarver as the new majority team owners going forward. Sarver eventually accepted a deal to sell his ownership rights to both the Suns and Phoenix Mercury to an ownership group led by United Wholesale Mortgage CEO Mat Ishbia and his older brother Justin Ishbia for an asking price of $4 billion on December 20, 2022, with the NBA approving of the new ownership on February 6, 2023, and an official announcement confirming the deal coming a day later on February 7, 2023.
Sam Garvin is an American business executive and administrator who is the current CEO of the Garvin Promotion Group, co-owner of the RCD Mallorca La Liga Spanish football team and former alternate and incumbent governor of the Phoenix Suns from September 15, 2022, until February 7, 2023, replacing Robert Sarver for what was intended to be the entire 2022-23 NBA season until the sale of the Suns to Mat Ishbia and Justin Ishbia on February 7, 2023, became official.
Justin R. Ishbia is an American billionaire businessman and private equity investor who is a founding partner of Shore Capital Partners. He is a part majority owner of the Phoenix Suns of the NBA and Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA along with his brother Mat Ishbia. He is also a minority owner of Major League Soccer team Nashville SC.
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Jason Charles Rowley is an American business executive, lawyer, and managing partner currently working with Carrow Legacy Properties, LLC, as well as working as the CEO of Major League Pickleball's AZ Drive team. However, he was best known for his work with the Phoenix Suns, joining the franchise's front office in 2007 after first serving as a lawyer by going from the team's senior vice president and a general counsel member from 2007 to 2010 to a chief operating officer from 2010 to 2012 to a long-standing role of the team's president and chief executive officer from 2012 until his formal resignation occurred the day before Mat Ishbia and Justin Ishbia became the new team owners on February 6, 2023. He also previously worked for the Phoenix Mercury as the team's general manager until the end of the 2013 season, when he resigned from that position and let longtime Suns chief financial officer Jim Pitman take over up until the end of the 2023 season. He also worked with the Mercury WNBA team and the former Northern Arizona Suns NBA G League team alongside the Phoenix Suns behind the scenes, including management duties for the Footprint Center.