The Phoenix Mercury open the WNBA regular season Tuesday in Las Vegas against the two-time defending champion Aces.
This season marks 20 years in Phoenix for the league’s all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi. She says she’s grateful to have spent her entire WNBA career here.
"When I got here in 2004, I’d never been to Phoenix before. I didn’t really know much about the city, the people, the basketball culture here. I have to say, I watched the Suns a lot because I was a Lakers fan, and I always knew there was something special here and I’ve just been truly lucky to have been here my entire career."
The 41-year-old future hall-of-famer says her goal is to stay healthy after battling injuries the last few seasons.
The Mercury are trying to bounce back from a difficult 2023 season, in which they won just nine of their 40 games. They have a new head coach in longtime NBA assistant Nate Tibbetts.
The team now has a new general manager and head coach, as well as some changes to the roster. They’re also now dealing with an injury to one of their stars — Brittney Griner broke a toe on her left foot and is out indefinitely. The team says she’ll be re-evaluated in the coming weeks.
To preview the Mercury’s season, and the WNBA as a whole, The Show spoke with Cassandra Negley, who covers women’s basketball and the WNBA for Yahoo Sports.
