# 2019 Phoenix Mercury season

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.
The Mercury's season started with the news that star Diana Taurasi would miss a significant part of the season due to a back procedure. The team started out the season 5–5 by the end of June. This record included a three game losing streak immediately followed by a three game winning streak. July proved more of the same as the team posted a 5–4 record. A two game losing streak split five wins. In August, the team went 5–6, but did secure a playoff spot. Taurasi returned for six games during the season. However, the team finished on a four game losing streak to end the season 15–19. This record earned them the eighth seed in the playoffs.
As the eight seed, the Mercury traveled to the Chicago Sky in the first round. The Mercury are the only eighth seed to win since the WNBA switched to its current playoff format in 2016. However, they could not repeat the feat this season when they lost by 29 points.
The Mercury did well at the end of season awards with Brittney Griner leading the WNBA in scoring, Brianna Turner making the WNBA All-Rookie Team, and Leilani Mitchell winning the WNBA Most Improved Player Award.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
| 1 | 8 | Alanna Smith | Australia | Stanford |
| 2 | 13 | Sophie Cunningham | United States | Missouri |
| 3 | 32 | Arica Carter | United States | Louisville |

### Trades/Roster Changes

| Date | Details |
| February 1, 2019 | Re-Signed G Briann January |
| February 1, 2019 | Re-Signed G Yvonne Turner |
| February 6, 2019 | Signed G/F Essence Carson |
| March 21, 2019 | Re-Signed F Sancho Lyttle |
| March 22, 2019 | Re-Signed G/F DeWanna Bonner |
| April 10, 2019 | Traded C Marie Gülich to Atlanta for F Brianna Turner |
| May 21, 2019 | Traded G Stephanie Talbot to Minnesota in exchange for Minnesota's second round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft |

## Game log
### Preseason

2019 pre-season game log :
May: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 11
Los Angeles Sparks
W 82–75
Bonner (20)
Bonner (8)
Smith (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 3,751
1–0
2
May 15
@ Seattle Storm
W 87–84
Tied (15)
Griner (6)
Tied (3)
Angel of the Winds Arena 3,076
2–0 :
2019 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2019 game log Total: 15–19 (Home: 9–8; Road: 6–11) :
May: 1–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 25
@ Seattle Storm
L 68–77
Bonner (31)
Tied (8)
Tied (4)
Angel of the Winds Arena 8,500
0–1
2
May 31
Las Vegas Aces
W 86–84
Carson (20)
Bonner (12)
Y. Turner (10)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 14,090
1–1 :
June
: 4–3 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
3
June 6
@ Minnesota Lynx
L 56–58
Bonner (25)
Bonner (8)
3 tied (2)
Target Center 8,001
1–2
4
June 9
@ Indiana Fever
W 94–87
Griner (26)
Bonner (7)
Mitchell (6)
Bankers Life Fieldhouse 3,336
2–2
5
June 11
@ Chicago Sky
L 75–82
Bonner (28)
Bonner (12)
Bonner (6)
Wintrust Arena 4,212
2–3
6
June 14
Los Angeles Sparks
L 68–85
Griner (24)
Griner (13)
January (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,381
2–4
7
June 20
@ Dallas Wings
L 54–69
Mitchell (12)
Bonner (8)
January (3)
College Park Center 4,626
2–5
8
June 23
Los Angeles Sparks
W 82–72
Mitchell (22)
Griner (9)
Mitchell (6)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,132
3–5
9
June 28
Indiana Fever
W 91–69
Griner (23)
3 tied (5)
Mitchell (11)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,435
4–5
10
June 30
@ Seattle Storm
W 69–67
Tied (20)
Tied (7)
Mitchell (4)
Alaska Airlines Arena 8,002
5–5 :
July
: 5–4 (Home: 3–1; Road: 2–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
11
July 5
New York Liberty
L 76–80
Griner (30)
Griner (8)
Mitchell (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,560
5–6
12
July 7
Atlanta Dream
W 65–63
Griner (31)
Bonner (14)
Mitchell (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,850
6–6
13
July 10
@ Washington Mystics
W 91–68
Griner (25)
Griner (8)
January (6)
Capital One Arena 15,377
7–6
14
July 12
@ Connecticut Sun
L 64–79
Bonner (20)
Bonner (8)
January (5)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,864
7–7
15
July 14
@ Minnesota Lynx
L 62–75
Bonner (27)
Bonner (7)
Mitchell (5)
Target Center 8,801
7–8
16
July 17
Dallas Wings
W 69–64
Griner (23)
Bonner (8)
January (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,143
8–8
17
July 20
@ Dallas Wings
W 70–66
Griner (17)
Griner (8)
January (4)
College Park Center 5,471
9–8
18
July 23
Indiana Fever
W 95–77
Tied (22)
Griner (7)
January (7)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,528
10–8
19
July 30
@ Washington Mystics
L 93–99
Griner (30)
Griner (9)
Mitchell (8)
St. Elizabeth's East Arena 3,819
10–9 :
August
: 5–6 (Home: 3–3; Road: 2–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
20
August 1
@ Connecticut Sun
L 62–68
Bonner (20)
Bonner (10)
Bonner (4)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,014
10–10
21
August 4
Washington Mystics
W 103–82
Griner (26)
Griner (9)
Griner (8)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,025
11–10
22
August 8
@ Los Angeles Sparks
L 74–84
Griner (27)
B. Turner (14)
Tied (5)
Staples Center 10,345
11–11
23
August 10
Dallas Wings
L 77–80
Mitchell (23)
B. Turner (11)
Tied (3)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,717
11–12
24
August 14
Connecticut Sun
L 71–78
Bonner (17)
B. Turner (8)
Y. Turner (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,734
11–13
25
August 16
Atlanta Dream
W 77–68
Bonner (27)
Bonner (14)
Mitchell (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,480
12–13
26
August 18
New York Liberty
W 78–72
Bonner (30)
Bonner (10)
January (3)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,145
13–13
27
August 20
@ Las Vegas Aces
L 79–84 (OT)
Tied (24)
B. Turner (11)
January (6)
Mandalay Bay Events Center 5,032
13–14
28
August 25
Chicago Sky
L 86–94
Griner (34)
Bonner (11)
Bonner (5)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 12,054
13–15
29
August 27
@ New York Liberty
W 95–82
Tied (29)
Griner (10)
Taurasi (10)
Westchester County Center 1,693
14–15
30
August 29
@ Atlanta Dream
W 65–58
Griner (21)
Tied (8)
Taurasi (8)
State Farm Arena 3,727
15–15 :
September
: 0–4 (Home: 0–3; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
31
September 1
@ Chicago Sky
L 78–105
Griner (26)
Bonner (12)
Mitchell (6)
Wintrust Arena 8,845
15–16
32
September 3
Seattle Storm
L 70–82
Griner (22)
Griner (7)
Tied (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,724
15–17
33
September 6
Minnesota Lynx
L 69–83
Griner (16)
Griner (7)
Mitchell (4)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 12,140
15–18
34
September 8
Las Vegas Aces
L 89–98
Griner (24)
Bonner (8)
3 tied (3)
Talking Stick Resort Arena 13,135
15–19 :
2019 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2019 playoff game log Total: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1) :
First Round: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 11
@ Chicago Sky
L 76–105
Bonner (21)
Bonner (6)
3 tied (3)
Wintrust Arena 6,042
0–1 :
2019 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Western Conference vte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Conf. |
| 1 | Los Angeles Sparks (3) | 22 | 12 | .647 | – | 15–2 | 7–10 | 10–6 |
| 2 | Las Vegas Aces (4) | 21 | 13 | .618 | 1 | 13–4 | 8–9 | 11–5 |
| 3 | Seattle Storm (6) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 10–6 |
| 4 | Minnesota Lynx (7) | 18 | 16 | .529 | 4 | 11–6 | 7–10 | 7–9 |
| 5 | Phoenix Mercury (8) | 15 | 19 | .441 | 7 | 9–8 | 6–11 | 5–11 |
| 6 | e – Dallas Wings | 10 | 24 | .294 | 12 | 8–9 | 2–15 | 5–11 |

## Playoffs

| First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | First round: Single elimination (Sept. 11) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Second round: Single elimination (Sept. 15) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | Semifinals: Best-of-five (Sept. 17 – Sept. 24) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) | WNBA Finals: Best-of-five (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10) |
| | | | | | | 1 | Washington Mystics | 97 | 103 | 75 | 94 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 93 | 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 95 | 91 | 92 | 90 | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Chicago Sky | 105 | 5 | Chicago Sky | 92 | | | | | | | 1 | Washington Mystics | 95 | 87 | 94 | 86 | 89 |
| 8 | Phoenix Mercury | 76 | | | | | | | | | | 2 | Connecticut Sun | 86 | 99 | 81 | 90 | 78 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Connecticut Sun | Connecticut Sun | 84 | 94 | 78 | | | | | | | |
| | | | 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | 92 | 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | Los Angeles Sparks | 75 | 68 | 56 | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Seattle Storm | 84 | 6 | Seattle Storm | 69 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 7 | Minnesota Lynx | 74 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

## Statistics
### Regular season

| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Brittney Griner | 31 | 31 | 32.8 | 46.4 | 33.3 | 80.8 | 7.2 | 2.4 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 20.7 |
| DeWanna Bonner | 34 | 34 | 32.9 | 37.7 | 27.2 | 91.6 | 7.6 | 2.7 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 17.2 |
| Leilani Mitchell | 32 | 27 | 30.3 | 44.1 | 43.0 | 82.9 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 12.8 |
| Briann January | 32 | 26 | 26.6 | 39.0 | 37.8 | 83.7 | 1.3 | 3.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 6.5 |
| Yvonne Turner | 29 | 14 | 20.5 | 34.3 | 32.9 | 87.8 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 6.4 |
| Essence Carson | 23 | 13 | 18.5 | 35.2 | 34.1 | 78.4 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 5.8 |
| Diana Taurasi | 6 | 6 | 21.5 | 10.3 | 4.2 | 94.4 | 3.2 | 5.3 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 4.3 |
| Brianna Turner | 29 | 12 | 15.9 | 53.8 | 0 | 73.1 | 4.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 4.0 |
| Camille Little | 29 | 0 | 14.7 | 43.5 | 33.3 | 80.6 | 2.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 3.9 |
| Sophie Cunningham | 32 | 5 | 12.2 | 35.4 | 30.4 | 88.2 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 3.1 |
| Sancho Lyttle | 20 | 2 | 12.5 | 41.9 | 25.0 | 62.5 | 2.9 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 2.9 |
| Alanna Smith | 18 | 0 | 7.4 | 19.5 | 11.1 | 50.0 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.1 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date awarded |
| DeWanna Bonner | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | June 10, 2019 |
| Briann January | WNBA Community Assist Award - May | June 27, 2019 |
| Brittney Griner | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | July 8, 2019 |
| DeWanna Bonner | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 15, 2019 |
| Brittney Griner | WNBA All-Star Selection | July 15, 2019 |
| Brittney Griner | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | September 3, 2019 |
| Brittney Griner | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month - August | September 4, 2019 |
| Brittney Griner | Peak Performer: Points | September 9, 2019 |
| Brianna Turner | WNBA All-Rookie Team | September 16, 2019 |
| Leilani Mitchell | Most Improved Player Award | September 18, 2019 |