How Mercury Can Move Past Former Struggles

The Phoenix Mercury had a rough time in the 2023 Commissioner's Cup, and they struggled the year before as well.

Jun 29, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (3) in bounds the ball against the Indiana Fever during the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Indiana Fever took home this year's Commissioner's Cup, and some of the WNBA's best teams won the prestigious event before them. The Phoenix Mercury have not won a Commissioner's Cup, but some of their performances have been better than others.

In this year's event, the Mercury finished 4-2. The year before, they finished 3-2. The 2023 season was a challenging year for Phoenix, and the Commissioner's Cup was no exception. The Mercury went 1-9 in that year's event, and when it comes to the overall season, they had a record of 9-31.

Apr 21, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi works out during training camp at Verizon 5G Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Cheryl Evans/The Republic via USA TODAY NETWORK / The Republic-USA TODAY NETWORK

Their performance in the 2022 Commissioner's Cup was not much different from 2023, as the Mercury finished that period with a record of 3-7.

Phoenix started that year's festivities with a loss to the Las Vegas Aces. The Aces beat them 106-88, and was a balanced effort on both sides. Skylar Diggins was Phoenix's leading scorer, as she had 25 points.

Diggins was one of four players who scored in double figures, as Shey Peddy had 16 points, Tina Charles had 15 points and Sophie Cunningham had 12.

On the Aces' side, they had five players in double digits, and Dearica Hamby led the team with 24 points.

Jun 29, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (3) drives against Indiana Fever center Queen Egbo (4) during the first half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images / Joe Camporeale-Imagn Images

The Mercury bounced back from that game, as they beat the Seattle Storm 97-77.

Charles was the team's leading scorer this time around, as she had 22 points. Then, Diggins had 19, Diana Taurasi had 15, Diamond DeShields had 12 and Peddy had 10. The Mercury beat the Storm again a few days later, as they won 69-64. Taurasi had a big game, as she scored 24 points.

Phoenix lost the next three Commissioner's Cup games, and the Aces, the Dallas Wings and the Los Angeles Sparks were the teams that beat them. Their next win was a rematch against the Sparks, and they won 81-74. Diggins and Taurasi led the way for the Mercury, as they had 29 points and 19 points, respectively.

The Mercury lost their last three Commissioner's Cup games, as the Wings beat them once again, and they lost back-to-back games against the Minnesota Lynx.

Sep 17, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi (3) reacts after the game against the LA Sparks at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Once everything was settled, the Aces ended up winning the tournament. They beat the Chicago Sky 93-83.

Phoenix did not have the best showing that year, but from now on, they will be one of the teams that can win the tournament.

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