What to make of the Phoenix Mercury’s 2024 season?
Although criticized (for some justifiable reasons), the organization appeared to make a smart head coaching hire in Nate Tibbetts. Their splashy offseason additions—Kahleah Copper and Natasha Cloud—exceeded expectations. After an early-season injury, Brittney Griner was as reliable and impactful as ever. Diana Taurasi, in what likely was her last season, was more productive than expected at age 42. Sophie Cunningham had a career-best season. The organization’s mostly unproven reserves who rounded out the roster—Natasha Mack and Mikiah Herbert Harrigan from the start; Celeste Taylor and Monique Billings as in-season signings—worked out. With the exception of Rebecca Allen’s back injury, everything seemed to go pretty well for the Mercury.
So, why did they finish under .500 (19-21) and never truly threaten as a title contender?
There was some intangible oomph missing from this team. They were too inconsistent, oftentimes due to a lack of urgency. One game, the Mercury would be firing on all cylinders, easily crossing the century mark as they ran their opponent off the floor with a flood of transition buckets and triples. But a few games later, they would struggle to reach 70 points, coming out flat, never…
