# 2024 Phoenix Mercury season

The 2024 Phoenix Mercury season was the 27th season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association, and their first season under new general manager Nick U'Ren and head coach Nate Tibbetts. Prior to the season, interim coach Nikki Blue's contract was not renewed, and Tibbets was hired on October 18, 2023.
The season tipped off on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, against the Las Vegas Aces in Las Vegas. The Mercury would go on to lose that game 80–89. However, they would win the next three games, including a ten-point win at Las Vegas, and three-point wins over Atlanta and Washington. However, they lost their final four games of the month, including a game against Connecticut where they scored only 47 points. They ended May 3–5. They began June by defeating Los Angeles at home. They lost in Seattle before winning their next two games. They would lose to Las Vegas before winning their next two games. The Mercury lost two of their last three games in June to finish to month 6–4. They opened July with a loss before winning their next three matches, including two against Dallas. THe would lose two games, before winning the final game before the Olympic break against Washington. They finished July 4–3. Their up and down season continued after the Olympic break as they alternated wins and losses for the first five games of the month. They finished the month by losing two games to finish 3–4. They entered September in the hunt for a playoff spot and lost four of their first five games in the month. However, they defeated Chicago and Los Angeles before losing the final game of the season to Seattle. The Mercury finished the month 3–5 and the season 19–21.
Their record saw them finish seventh in the WNBA, which qualified them for the playoffs. They faced off against the second seeded Minnesota Lynx in the First Round of the playoffs. They lost both games in Minnesota to lose the series two games to zero. The first game was closer as it finished 95–102, while the second was 88–101. Their nineteen wins more than doubled their win total from a season ago. It was the second time they qualified for the playoffs and were swept in the First Round in the past three years.

## Transactions
### WNBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
| 3 | 25 | Charisma Osborne | United States | UCLA |
| 3 | 29 | Jaz Shelley | Australia | Nebraska |

### Transactions

| Date | Transaction |
| October 28, 2023 | Hired Nate Tibbetts as Head Coach |
| January 17, 2024 | Extended a Qualifying Offer to Sug Sutton |
| January 27, 2024 | Signed Sug Sutton to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 1, 2024 | Signed Natasha Cloud |
| February 3, 2024 | Acquired Rebecca Allen in exchange for Moriah Jefferson |
| February 3, 2024 | Signed Christyn Williams to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 6, 2024 | Acquired Kahleah Copper and the rights to Morgan Bertsch in exchange for Michaela Onyenwere, Brianna Turner, the third pick in the 2024 draft, Chicago's second round pick in the 2025 draft, Phoenix's 2026 first round pick, and the right to swap 2026 second round picks. |
| February 8, 2024 | Signed Mikiah Herbert Harrigan to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 9, 2024 | Signed Natasha Mack to a Training Camp Contract |
| February 13, 2024 | Signed Amy Atwell to a Training Camp Contract |
| March 7, 2024 | Signed Mya Hollingshed to a Training Camp Contract |
| March 15, 2024 | Waived Kadi Sissoko |
| March 30, 2024 | Re-Signed Brittney Griner |
| April 16, 2024 | Signed Charisma Osborne and Jaz Shelley to Rookie Contracts |
| April 24, 2024 | Signed Air Hearn, Bella Murekatete, and Desi-Rae Young to a Training Camp Contracts |
| April 28, 2024 | Waived Desi-Rae Young |
| May 11, 2024 | Waived Amy Atwell, Air Hearn, Mya Hollingshed, Bella Murekatete, Charisma Osborne, Jaz Shelley, and Christyn Williams |
| May 11, 2024 | Signed Liz Dixon to a Training Camp Contract from waivers |
| June 10, 2024 | Waived Morgan Bertsch |
| June 13, 2024 | Signed Charisma Osborne |
| July 2, 2024 | Waived Liz Dixon |
| July 5, 2024 | Signed Liz Dixon to 7-day contract |
| July 12, 2024 | Released Liz Dixon (contract ended) |
| July 12, 2024 | Signed Celeste Taylor to 7-day contract |
| August 16, 2024 | Released Celeste Taylor (contract ended) |
| August 18, 2024 | Signed Monique Billings to 7-day contract |
| August 20, 2024 | Acquired the rights to Klara Lundquist from the Washington Mystics in exchange for Sug Sutton and a 2025 3rd round pick |
| August 23, 2024 | Signed Celeste Taylor to a second 7-day contract |
| August 25, 2024 | Signed Monique Billings to a rest-of-season contract |
| August 30, 2024 | Signed Celeste Taylor to a third 7-day contract |
| September 5, 2024 | Signed Amy Atwell to a 7-day contract |
| September 6, 2024 | Signed Celeste Taylor to a rest-of-season contract |

### Roster changes
## Roster
### Depth

| Pos. | Starter | Bench |
| PG | Natasha Cloud | Charisma Osborne |
| SG | Diana Taurasi | |
| SF | Kahleah Copper | Rebecca Allen |
| PF | Sophie Cunningham | Monique Billings Mikiah Herbert Harrigan |
| C | Brittney Griner | Natasha Mack |

## Schedule
### Pre-season

2024 pre-season game log Total: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–2) :
May: 0–2 (Home: 0–1; Road: 0–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 7
@ Seattle
L 59–85
Diana Taurasi (10)
Natasha Mack (7)
Brittney Griner (3)
Climate Pledge Arena
0–1
2
May 10
vs. Los Angeles
L 85–98
Kahleah Copper (16)
Natasha Mack (4)
Sug Sutton (5)
Footprint Center 4,598
0–2 :
2024 pre-season schedule :

### Regular season

2024 game log Total: 19–21 (Home: 10–10; Road: 9–11) :
May: 3–5 (Home: 2–1; Road: 1–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
1
May 14
@ Las Vegas
L 80–89
Diana Taurasi (23)
Natasha Cloud (8)
Natasha Cloud (7)
Michelob Ultra Arena 10,419
0–1
2
May 18
Atlanta
W 88–85
Kahleah Copper (38)
Natasha Mack (11)
Natasha Cloud (5)
Footprint Center 10,251
1–1
3
May 21
@ Las Vegas
W 98–88
Kahleah Copper (37)
Sophie Cunningham (9)
Natasha Cloud (10)
Michelob Ultra Arena 10,374
2–1
4
May 23
Washington
W 83–80
Copper, Taurasi (20)
Natasha Mack (9)
Natasha Cloud (10)
Footprint Center 7,474
3–1
5
May 25
Dallas
L 92–107
Kahleah Copper (32)
Diana Taurasi (5)
Natasha Cloud (12)
Footprint Center 8,339
3–2
6
May 28
@ Connecticut
L 47–70
Natasha Cloud (9)
Sophie Cunningham (9)
Kahleah Copper (4)
Mohegan Sun Arena 6,489
3–3
7
May 29
@ New York
L 78–81
Kahleah Copper (20)
Kahleah Copper (9)
Sug Sutton (7)
Barclays Center 9,182
3–4
8
May 31
@ Minnesota
L 71–95
Kahleah Copper (21)
Natasha Mack (10)
Natasha Cloud (7)
Target Center 7,035
3–5 :
June
: 6–4 (Home: 5–2; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
9
June 2
Los Angeles
W 87–68
Diana Taurasi (31)
Natasha Mack (12)
Natasha Cloud (12)
Footprint Center 10,207
4–5
10
June 4
@ Seattle
L 62–80
Kahleah Copper (19)
Kahleah Copper (7)
Natasha Cloud (5)
Climate Pledge Arena 8,133
4–6
11
June 7
Minnesota
W 81–80
Kahleah Copper (34)
Natasha Mack (7)
Natasha Cloud (10)
Footprint Center 9,052
5–6
12
June 9
@ Dallas
W 97–90
Kahleah Copper (29)
Brittney Griner (7)
Cloud, Taurasi (7)
College Park Center 5,568
6–6
13
June 13
Las Vegas
L 99–103
Brittney Griner (25)
Brittney Griner (9)
Cloud, Sutton (6)
Footprint Center 9,325
6–7
14
June 16
Seattle
W 87–78
Kahleah Copper (30)
Brittney Griner (9)
Natasha Cloud (8)
Footprint Center 9,444
7–7
15
June 18
New York
W 99–93
Griner, Taurasi (19)
Diana Taurasi (9)
Kahleah Copper (7)
Footprint Center 9,824
8–7
16
June 22
@ Minnesota
L 60–73
Natasha Cloud (14)
Brittney Griner (7)
Natasha Cloud (5)
Target Center 8,769
8–8
17
June 28
Los Angeles
W 92–78
Kahleah Copper (24)
Brittney Griner (11)
Natasha Cloud (7)
Footprint Center 14,363
9–8
18
June 30
Indiana
L 82–82
Brittney Griner (24)
Rebecca Allen (9)
Natasha Cloud (7)
Footprint Center 17,071
9–9 :
July
: 4–3 (Home: 1–1; Road: 3–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
19
July 1
Connecticut
L 72–83
Copper, Griner (21)
Kahleah Copper (6)
Natasha Cloud (10)
Footprint Center 8,445
9–10
20
July 3
@ Dallas
W 104–96
Kahleah Copper (34)
Brittney Griner (8)
Natasha Cloud (10)
College Park Center 6,129
10–10
21
July 7
@ Los Angeles
W 84–78
Natasha Cloud (31)
Kahleah Copper (10)
Cloud, Copper (5)
Crypto.com Arena 11,618
11–10
22
July 10
Dallas
W 100–84
Kahleah Copper (32)
Kahleah Copper (5)
Natasha Cloud (6)
Footprint Center 11,601
12–10
23
July 12
@ Indiana
L 86–95
Kahleah Copper (36)
Natasha Mack (9)
Celeste Taylor (5)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 17,274
12–11
24
July 14
@ Connecticut
L 69–96
Kahleah Copper (17)
Brittney Griner (9)
Natasha Cloud (6)
Mohegan Sun Arena 8,910
12–12
25
July 16
@ Washington
W 96–87
Brittney Griner (23)
Natasha Cloud (9)
Natasha Cloud (10)
Capital One Arena 12,586
13–12 :
August
: 3–4 (Home: 1–2; Road: 2–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
26
August 15
@ Chicago
W 85–65
Kahleah Copper (29)
Brittney Griner (9)
Cloud, Griner (6)
Wintrust Arena 9,025
14–12
27
August 16
@ Indiana
L 89–98
Kahleah Copper (32)
Kahleah Copper (8)
Kahleah Copper (6)
Gainbridge Fieldhouse 17,274
14–13
28
August 18
Chicago
W 86–68
Diana Taurasi (23)
Sophie Cunningham (10)
Diana Taurasi (5)
Footprint Center 14,267
15–13
29
August 21
@ Atlanta
L 63–72
Kahleah Copper (22)
Cloud, Griner (8)
Diana Taurasi (4)
Gateway Center Arena 3,260
15–14
30
August 23
@ Atlanta
W 82–80
Brittney Griner (22)
Sophie Cunningham (7)
Natasha Cloud (7)
Gateway Center Arena 3,260
16–14
31
August 26
New York
L 70–84
Brittney Griner (22)
Cloud, Griner (6)
Natasha Cloud (7)
Footprint Center 10,299
16–15
32
August 28
Minnesota
L 76–89
Cunningham, Taurasi (16)
Griner, Mack (7)
Natasha Cloud (8)
Footprint Center 9,482
16–16 :
September
: 3–5 (Home: 1–4; Road: 2–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceRecord
33
September 1
Las Vegas
L 79–97
Brittney Griner (24)
Kahleah Copper (6)
Diana Taurasi (7)
Footprint Center 13,981
16–17
34
September 3
Atlanta
W 74–66
Kahleah Copper (28)
Brittney Griner (8)
Diana Taurasi (5)
Footprint Center 7,639
17–17
35
September 5
Washington
L 77–90
Brittney Griner (15)
Natasha Mack (9)
Celeste Taylor (6)
Footprint Center 7,709
17–18
36
September 7
@ Seattle
L 66–90
Diana Taurasi (18)
Brittney Griner (8)
Natasha Cloud (6)
Climate Pledge Arena 14,066
17–19
37
September 13
Connecticut
L 69–88
Brittney Griner (26)
Brittney Griner (9)
Natasha Cloud (7)
Footprint Center 14,190
17–20
38
September 15
@ Chicago
W 93–88
Brittney Griner (26)
Brittney Griner (10)
Natasha Cloud (11)
Wintrust Arena 8,577
18–20
39
September 17
@ Los Angeles
W 85–81
Cunningham, Griner (14)
Celeste Taylor (5)
Natasha Cloud (12)
Crypto.com Arena 11,294
19–20
40
September 19
Seattle
L 70–89
Brittney Griner (11)
Brittney Griner (8)
Copper, Taylor (5)
Footprint Center 11,333
19–21 :
2024 season schedule :

### Playoffs

2024 playoff game log :
First round vs. Minnesota Lynx Lost Series: 0–2
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
September 22
@ Minnesota
L 95–102
Natasha Cloud (33)
Cloud, Griner (6)
Natasha Cloud (10)
Target Center 8,524
0–1
2
September 25
L 88–101
Brittney Griner (24)
4 players (5)
Target Center 8,769
0–2 :
2024 playoff schedule :

## Standings

| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. | Home | Road | Cup |
| 1 | yx – New York Liberty | 32 | 8 | .800 | — | 16–4 | 16–4 | 16–4 | 5–0 |
| 2 | cx – Minnesota Lynx | 30 | 10 | .750 | 2 | 14–6 | 16–4 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 3 | x – Connecticut Sun | 28 | 12 | .700 | 4 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 14–6 | 4–1 |
| 4 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 27 | 13 | .675 | 5 | 12–8 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 2–3 |
| 5 | x – Seattle Storm | 25 | 15 | .625 | 7 | 13–7 | 14–6 | 11–9 | 4–1 |
| 6 | x – Indiana Fever | 20 | 20 | .500 | 12 | 11–9 | 12–8 | 8–12 | 3–2 |
| 7 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 19 | 21 | .475 | 13 | 10–10 | 10–10 | 9–11 | 3–2 |
| 8 | x – Atlanta Dream | 15 | 25 | .375 | 17 | 7–13 | 8–12 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 9 | e – Washington Mystics | 14 | 26 | .350 | 18 | 7–13 | 5–15 | 9–11 | 1–4 |
| 10 | e – Chicago Sky | 13 | 27 | .325 | 19 | 5–15 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 1–4 |
| 11 | e – Dallas Wings | 9 | 31 | .225 | 23 | 6–14 | 7–13 | 2–18 | 0–5 |
| 12 | e – Los Angeles Sparks | 8 | 32 | .200 | 24 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 3–17 | 2–3 |
* v
* t
* e
Notes
    (#) – League Standing
    c – Commissioner's Cup winners
    y – Regular Season Champion
    x – Clinched playoff berth
    e – Eliminated from playoff contention
    Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

## Playoffs

| Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Round One: Best-of-3 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Semifinals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 | Finals: Best-of-5 |
| 1 | New York Liberty | 2 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Atlanta Dream | 0 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Atlanta Dream | 0 | 1 | New York Liberty | 3 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 1 | | | |
| 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 2 | 4 | Las Vegas Aces | 1 | | | |
| 5 | Seattle Storm | 0 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Seattle Storm | 0 | | | | 1 | New York Liberty | 3 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Minnesota Lynx | 2 |
| 2 | Minnesota Lynx | 2 | | | | | | | 2 | Minnesota Lynx | 2 |
| 7 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Phoenix Mercury | 0 | 2 | Minnesota Lynx | 3 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | | | |
| 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | 3 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | | | |
| 6 | Indiana Fever | 0 | | | | | | |
Bold: series winner

## Statistics
### Regular season

Phoenix Mercury Regular Season Team Statistics :
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
| Kahleah Copper | 37 | 37 | 32.4 | .435 | .314 | .807 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 21.1 |
| Brittney Griner | 30 | 30 | 28.7 | .579 | .500 | .777 | 6.6 | 2.3 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 1.9 | 17.8 |
| Diana Taurasi | 36 | 36 | 29.0 | .400 | .333 | .857 | 3.8 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 14.9 |
| Natasha Cloud | 38 | 38 | 33.3 | .397 | .308 | .826 | 4.1 | 6.9 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 2.7 | 11.5 |
| Sophie Cunningham | 40 | 21 | 27.8 | .429 | .378 | .870 | 3.9 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 8.4 |
| Rebecca Allen | 18 | 18 | 24.8 | .417 | .352 | .667 | 3.9 | 1.1 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 7.4 |
| Monique Billings $^≠$ | 13 | 2 | 18.1 | .434 | .286 | .800 | 4.2 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 4.9 |
| Natasha Mack | 40 | 11 | 15.5 | .573 | .000 | .579 | 5.0 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 1.4 | 3.8 |
| Celeste Taylor $^≠$ | 15 | 4 | 20.0 | .317 | .200 | .563 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 1.0 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 1.1 | 3.5 |
| Mikiah Herbert Harrigan | 31 | 3 | 10.8 | .412 | .327 | .550 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 3.2 |
| Sug Sutton$^†$ | 22 | 0 | 14.9 | .306 | .270 | .692 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 2.9 |
| Morgan Bertsch $^‡$ | 8 | 0 | 9.8 | .222 | .143 | .875 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 2.6 |
| Amy Atwell $^≠$ | 6 | 0 | 9.8 | .267 | .231 | .800 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Liz Dixon $^‡$ | 17 | 0 | 9.4 | .379 | — | .800 | 2.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| Charisma Osborne $^≠$ | 2 | 0 | 5.0 | .500 | — | — | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
$^‡$Waived/Released during the season $^†$Traded during the season $^≠$Acquired during the season

### Playoffs

Phoenix Mercury Playoff Team Statistics :
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PF | PPG |
| Natasha Cloud | 2 | 2 | 36.5 | .543 | .462 | .833 | 5.5 | 10.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 24.5 |
| Brittney Griner | 2 | 2 | 29.5 | .520 | .500 | .700 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 17.0 |
| Diana Taurasi | 2 | 2 | 29.5 | .423 | .389 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 15.5 |
| Kahleah Copper | 2 | 2 | 29.5 | .407 | .364 | .600 | 4.5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.5 | 5.0 | 14.5 |
| Natasha Mack | 2 | 0 | 13.0 | .636 | — | .000 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 7.0 |
| Sophie Cunningham | 2 | 2 | 31.5 | .500 | .429 | — | 4.5 | 3.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 4.5 | 6.5 |
| Monique Billings | 2 | 0 | 14.0 | .800 | — | .000 | 3.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
| Celeste Taylor | 2 | 0 | 14.0 | .667 | .500 | — | 1.0 | 2.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Mikiah Herbert Harrigan | 2 | 0 | 1.5 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Amy Atwell | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award/Milestone | Date awarded |
| Natasha Cloud | WNBA All-Defensive Second Team | September 29, 2024 |
| Kahleah Copper | Western Conference Player of the Week | May 28, 2024 |
| Kahleah Copper | WNBA All-Star | July 2, 2024 |
| Kahleah Copper | 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist | August 11, 2024 |
| Kahleah Copper | AP All-WNBA Second Team | September 22, 2024 |
| Kahleah Copper | All-WNBA Second Team | October 16, 2024 |
| Brittney Griner | Western Conference Player of the Week | June 18, 2024 |
| Brittney Griner | WNBA All-Star | July 2, 2024 |
| Brittney Griner | 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist | August 11, 2024 |
| Diana Taurasi | WNBA All-Star | July 2, 2024 |
| Diana Taurasi | 2024 Olympic Gold Medalist | August 11, 2024 |