The Phoenix Mercury
is a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Mercury began in 1997 as one of the league's original eight teams. The Mercury are so named because Mercury is the closest planet to the sun. It is the WNBA counterpart to the Phoenix Suns in partnership with Anne Mariucci and Kathy Munro.
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PHOENIX MERCURY TICKETS
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Franchise history
Mercury Heating Up (1997-1998)
With a cast that included hall-of-famer
Nancy Lieberman, and possible future hall-of-famers
Michele Timms of
Australia, and
Jennifer Gillom, hyper-active star
Bridget Pettis, and outspoken coach
Cheryl Miller, the Mercury quickly established itself as a major franchise. In the very first WNBA season, the Mercury posted a 16-12 record and reached the first WNBA playoffs. The Mercury lost to the
New York Liberty, though, in those playoffs.
In 1998, the Mercury again qualified for the playoffs, posting a 19-11 record. The Mercury defeated the
Cleveland Rockers to reach the WNBA Finals for the first time. In a hard fought series, the Mercury fell 2 games to 1 to the defending champion
Houston Comets.
Mercury Falling (1999-2003)
In 1999, the Mercury missed the playoffs, posting a 15-17 record. In 2000, the Mercury finished 20-12, but got swept by the
Los Angeles Sparks. The team descended into turmoil after the season, as coach Miller left and the original core group of players broke up, via retirement or trades, and the team stopped being a playoff contender.
From 2001-2004, the Mercury were at the bottom of the WNBA. Fielding miserable teams, the Mercury were never competitive. The Mercury went through coach after coach, and nothing worked. During the lean years, the franchise remained in the news as
forward Lisa Harrison would become a sex symbol.
Playboy Magazine offered her money to pose in their magazine. She would decline the offer.
Diana Taurasi Joins the WNBA (2004)
After a horrible 2003 season, in which the Mercury posted an 8-26 record, the Mercury won the #1 overall choice in the 2004 WNBA Draft, and select coveted former
UConn star
Diana Taurasi. Taurasi went on to win the
WNBA Rookie of the Year Award in the 2004 season, as the Mercury posted a better 17-17 record. The Mercury posted a 16-18 record in 2005, missing the playoffs again.
Bringing Back "Paul Ball" (2006-2007)
Former
NBA coach
Paul Westhead became the Mercury's head coach prior to the 2006 season and brought his up-tempo style to Phoenix. Westhead was the first WNBA coach to have won a previous NBA championship (1980
LA Lakers). The Mercury also drafted
Cappie Pondexter with the #2 overall selection in the 2006 WNBA Draft. The addition provided Taurasi with a solid #2 player.
The 2006 season was a positive one for the Mercury, as they posted a winning record for the first time since 2000, at 18-16. The Mercury competed for the playoffs all year, but fell just short of a postseason berth.
As the 2007 season came, the Mercury were poised and hungry for a deep playoff run. The Mercury would run away with the Western Conference, posting their best record in franchise history at 23-11, as well as clinching the #1 seed. The Mercury set a record by averaging 89.0 points in a season during 2007.
[1] In their first playoffs since 2000, the Mercury made quick work of the
Seattle Storm in the first round, blowing them out in two games (Game 1: 101-84, Game 2: 95-89). In the Western Finals, the Mercury swept the
San Antonio Silver Stars in a closer series (Game 1: 102-100, Game 2: 98-92), advancing to the WNBA Finals for the first time in nine years. In the Finals, the Mercury faced the defending 2006 champions
Detroit Shock. The two teams split the first two games in Detroit. Coming back home, the Mercury suffered a letdown in game 3, losing 88-83. Down 2-1, the Mercury had to win game 4 or lose. Game 4 came down to the final seconds, but the Mercury edged out the Shock 77-76, with Cappie Pondexter scoring 26 points, and forced a Game 5 in Detroit. In Game 5, Phoenix won by a score of 108-92.
[ Penny Taylor scored a game high 30 points in Game 5, and went 18-for-18 from the line. ][ The Mercury won the series and their first championship with a 108-92 Game 5 victory, becoming the first WNBA team to win a championship on the road. Cappie Pondexter was named the WNBA Finals MVP, and averaged 22.0 points and 5.6 assists in the series. ][ On November 7, 2007, The Mercury announced the hiring of Corey Gaines as head coach to replace the departing Paul Westhead.
]
Missing Pieces (2008-present)
In 2008, the Mercury started slowly and never really found a groove, finishing the season with a disappointing record of 16-18, well out of the playoff picture in a tough Western Conference. The Mercury became the first team in WNBA history with the dubious honor of failing to qualify for the playoffs after winning the WNBA Finals the year before.
By the 2009 All-Star break, the Mercury had already shown signs of being championship-caliber once again. With superb play from all-stars Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter and solid play from rookie DeWanna Bonner, the Mercury held first place in the Western Conference. The Mercury made a huge addition to their roster when they re-signed Australian forward Penny Taylor who had been an integral part of their 2007 championship run.
Uniform sponsor
In June 2009 the Mercury and WNBA announced a sponsorship agreement with identity theft protection service LifeLock to place that company's logo on their jerseys through the 2011 season, making the Mercury among the first non-soccer franchises in the major leagues of North America to place a company logo on their uniforms [2].
Season-by-season records
| Season
| Team
| Conference
| Regular season
| Playoff Results
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| W
| L
| PCT
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| Phoenix Mercury
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| 1997
| 1997
| West
| 1st
| 16
| 12
| .571
| Lost
WNBA Semifinals (New York, 0-1)
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| 1998
| 1998
| West
| 2nd
| 19
| 11
| .633
| Won
WNBA Semifinals (Cleveland, 2-1)
Lost
WNBA Finals (Houston, 1-2)
|
| 1999
| 1999
| West
| 4th
| 15
| 17
| .469
|
|
| 2000
| 2000
| West
| 4th
| 20
| 12
| .625
| Lost
Conference Semifinals (Los Angeles, 0-2)
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| 2001
| 2001
| West
| 5th
| 13
| 19
| .406
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| 2002
| 2002
| West
| 7th
| 11
| 21
| .344
|
|
| 2003
| 2003
| West
| 7th
| 8
| 26
| .235
|
|
| 2004
| 2004
| West
| 5th
| 17
| 17
| .500
|
|
| 2005
| 2005
| West
| 5th
| 16
| 18
| .471
|
|
| 2006
| 2006
| West
| 5th
| 18
| 16
| .529
|
|
| 2007
| 2007
| West
| 1st
| 23
| 11
| .706
| Won
Conference Semifinals (Seattle, 2-0)
Won
Conference Finals (San Antonio, 2-0)
Won
WNBA Finals (Detroit, 3-2)
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| 2008
| 2008
| West
| 7th
| 16
| 18
| .471
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| 2009
| 2009
| West
| 1st
| 18
| 9
| .667
| TBD
|
| Regular season
| 193
| 198
| .494
| 2 Conference Championships
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| Playoffs
| 10
| 8
| .555
| 1 WNBA Championships
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Players and coaches
Current roster
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Head coaches
- Cheryl Miller (1997-2000)
- Cynthia Cooper (2001-2002)
- Linda Sharp (2002)
- John Shumate (2003)
- Carrie Graf (2004-2005)
- Paul Westhead (2006-2007)
- Corey Gaines (2008-present)
Hall of Famers
- Nancy Lieberman
- Cheryl Miller (coach)
Retired numbers
Former players
- Anna DeForge, now a member of the Detroit Shock
- Jennifer Gillom, now head coach of the Minnesota Lynx
- Lisa Harrison
- Carolyn Moos
- Plenette Pierson, now a member of the Detroit Shock
- Brandy Reed
- Maria Stepanova
- Michelle Timms
- Adrian Williams
All-Stars
- 1999
: Michelle Timms
- 2000
: Brandy Reed
- 2001
: None
- 2002
: None
- 2003
: Adrian Williams
- 2004
: Anna DeForge
- 2005
: Diana Taurasi
- 2006
: Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter
- 2007
: Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter, Penny Taylor
- 2008
: No All Star Game
- 2009
: Diana Taurasi, Cappie Pondexter
References
- Sports Illustrated, September 24, 2007, p. 67
- http://www.wnba.com/mercury/news/lifelock_release_090601.html