Is Lexi Held Key to the Mercury's Success?

In a game against the New York Liberty, rookie Lexi Held was injured as she dove for a runaway ball. Since the injury the Mercury have gotten worse, specifically on the bench where Lexi made her impact. Could she be what the Mercury need to win?

Jun 18, 2025; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Lexi Held (1) dribbles the ball against the Connecticut Sun during the second half at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images / Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Mercury had one of the most shockingly successful starts to a season out of every team in the WNBA, beginning the season at a 12-5 record. That success was aided strongly by rookie Lexi Held, who averaged 1.5 steals a game and 1.7 rebounds a game, she was a key piece of the defense.

On June 27, 2025, the Mercury played the New York Liberty, winning 106-91. Unfortunately, in that game Held was injured during the third quarter after diving for a runaway ball and colliding with much bigger Breanna Stewart. Held ended up with an injury in her right lung, possibly keeping her out for the rest of her rookie season.

Since her injury, the Phoenix Mercury have gone 0-2 in strange defensively worse games compared to when Held was in play.

The first example is the Las Vegas Aces. When the Mercury faced the Aces in early June, the Mercury held the Aces to 70 points in a low-scoring defensive masterclass. In their rematch hardly two weeks later, the Mercury lost 81-84; however, it was a close game and the loss could not directly be attributed to the absence of Held. Then they lost again to the Dallas Wings, and it wasn't even close.

In their first match-up with the Wings the Mercury were on fire, winning confidently 93-80; yet, in their second meeting, they lost 98-89. With higher offensive prowess in the rematch, it should have been an easy win against Dallas, but they were without Lexi the second time.

Extrapolating from two singular games to the entire 2024 season, the Mercury went 8-7 in their first 15 games before adding Held to the roster, and ended the season with a losing record of 19-21. Compared to the 2025 season with Held, the difference is certainly there, three more games won through the first 15 and a record of 11-4.

Her impact was prominent on the bench players, who scored an average of 17.5 points when Held was gone compared to about 23 when she was playing alongside them, enough to have won against the Aces and to make the game close against the Wings.

As the season continues only time will tell whether Lexi Held is truly the key piece that made the Mercury bench so dominant or if the numbers tell a different story. The Mercury's first chance to do so is on Monday night, July 7 as they face the Dallas wings for the third time of the 2025 season.

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