Alexa PhilippouESPNAug 27, 2023 9:37pm ET4 minutes read
The Wings eliminate Mercury from playoff contention
The Dallas Wings defeat the Mercury 77-74, knocking Phoenix out of playoff contention.
The Phoenix Mercury were eliminated from postseason competition Sunday with a 77-74 loss to the Dallas Wings, ending the league’s longest active streak of playoff appearances (10 straight seasons).
The last time the Mercury missed the playoffs was in 2012, when Diana Taurasi played just eight games through injury and missed Penny Taylor the entire year after tearing an ACL during the off-season. Brittney Griner was drafted the following spring.
The Mercury’s postseason streak was the second-longest in WNBA history. The Lynx made the playoffs for 11 straight seasons from 2011-2021.
Also on Sunday, the Seattle Storm’s run of consecutive playoff appearances (2016-2022) was broken with the loss to Chicago Sky. The longest active streak of postseason berths now belongs to the Connecticut Sun (2017-2023).
“It was a less than ideal season,” said interim coach Nikki Blue of what went wrong for the Mercury. “However, we still have a few games to go, so our season is not over yet. Even though we might miss the playoffs this year, we will still focus on winning the next few games.”
It was a disappointing year for the Mercury, which coach Vanessa Nygaard fired in the middle of her second season after a 2:10 start. Franchise stars Griner and Taurasi only appeared in 25 games each, while several players missed at least a handful of games through injury. Longtime All-Star guard Skylar Diggins-Smith was also absent for the entire season while on pregnancy/maternity leave.
Griner – who missed all of last season while jailed in Russia for 10 months – played on Sunday after missing a week due to health and safety protocols. Taurasi has been out since August 20 with a toe injury. And Sophie Cunningham missed the final three minutes of Sunday’s game after missing out through injury.
Phoenix made the playoffs by a narrow margin of 15-21 last year despite a tumultuous summer of multiple midseason absentees, injuries and retirements.
Blue said that while the Mercury will miss the postseason, “our players keep fighting and I’m very, very, very proud of us for that.”
“They come every day and work hard. You don’t realize our track record in our workouts is what it is because of their morale — they’re cheerful, they’re eager to learn, they’re eager to play, they’re eager to compete.”
Guard Moriah Jefferson, who is in her first year at Phoenix, added: “We’ve been through a lot this season, with injuries, people coming in and out and a new coaching staff. As for us, we make no excuses.” , especially in games like tonight. I think we should have won that. But for us it’s all about getting better with every single game. No matter what comes our way, we just have to keep working on it. This year we’ve come a lot closer and we hope we can continue like that.”
Blue, who was appointed caretaker coach after Nygaard’s sacking, said she hopes the Mercury put away their caretaker title and noted that despite any injuries, she is confident the team has made progress during her tenure.
“I hope they’ve seen the transformation that our team has made in the time I’ve been head coach,” said Blue. “Once we have a full squad, I’d love to see what we can do with it.”
Phoenix have six games left, two of them at home. The Mercury are 1-15 on the way.