How Far Did the Mercury Fall in the Standings?

The Phoenix Mercury not only lost to the Atlanta Dream in a blowout, but also got passed up by them in the WNBA standings. How far did the Mercury slide and can they avoid falling further?

Aug 1, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Lexi Held (1) and Atlanta Dream guard Te-Hina Paopao (2) fight for the ball during the second half at Gateway Center Arena at College Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

On July 14, the Phoenix Mercury were celebrating a gritty one-point win in front of a packed house against the Golden State Valkyries, a team that has shocked the league with their toughness this season, especially at home.

The Mercury were 15-6 and appeared to have an iron grip on third place in the WNBA standings, setting themselves up for a favorable home matchup when the playoffs come around. Today, after a blowout loss to the Atlanta Dream, their worst loss of the season, they are 16-11 and have lost five of their last six games.

The Dream's second win over the Mercury this season pushed their record to 17-11, half a game ahead of the Mercury. Luckily for Phoenix, the fifth-place Seattle Storm lost a double overtime thriller to the Los Angeles Sparks last night, dropping them to 16-12, half a game behind the Mercury. For the first time this season, the Mercury, now in fourth place, are at risk of losing their grip on home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Aug 1, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Dream forward Naz Hillmon (00) dribbles past Phoenix Mercury guard Sami Whitcomb (33) during the first half at Gateway Center Arena at College Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The team raced out to that strong start despite missing several key players due to injuries, and the recent slide has happened with a mostly healthy lineup. All three members of the Mercury's Big 3 have played in every game since the All-Star break (albeit with Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper starting out on a minutes restriction) but the team has struggled with chemistry since.

Blown defensive assignments, sloppy turnovers on offense, and miscommunications in help situations have plagued the team's recent play, with only the second half of their win against the Washington Mystics meeting the high standard the Mercury have established on defense this season.

Phoenix is heading into the final game of their five-game road trip on Sunday, when they travel to Chicago to take on a struggling Sky team that they blew out 107-86 back in June. Suddenly, a game against one of the league's bottom dwellers has become a must-win for a team hoping to avoid tumbling down the standings.

After the matchup against the Sky, Phoenix will have a chance to capitalize on a stretch of four consecutive home games, although three of those will come against playoff teams (the Fever and Dream, who have both beaten Phoenix in the last week, and the Las Vegas Aces), so it won't be easy. This could be one of the most important stretches of the season for the Mercury and it will say a lot about how far they can go this year.

For all your Mercury news, follow us on Facebook and X.

feed