WNBA Playoff Preview: Why Sky Fans Should Watch Liberty vs. Mercury
This series features two of the WNBA's original eight teams. In the league's first few seasons, both the New York Liberty and the Phoenix made the Finals but failed to capture a championship each time.
The now-dissolved Houston Comets beat the Liberty in the first-ever WNBA Finals in 1997. Then, the Comets beat the Mercury in 1998. Houston went on top win the next two titles against New York.
The official bracket for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs presented by @Google is set 🚨
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 12, 2025
Round 1 begins Sunday, September 14! pic.twitter.com/h591q7gCt1
Phoenix won three WNBA titles (2007, 2009, and 2014) before New York finally hoisted up their first championship last year. Together, these two current playoff opponents have combined for 11 total appearances in the WNBA Finals. Only one can move on and keep their next title hopes alive.
Chicago Sky Connections with Phoenix Mercury (27-17)
Sky fans should recognize Kahleah Copper, who is a guard for the Mercury. After debuting in the WNBA with the Washington Mystics in 2016, she played in Chicago for seven seasons.
The 31-year-old athlete was a member of the 2021 Sky team that won the WNBA championship. As well, she played for them in 2023, the last season that the team made the postseason.
Sky rookie forward Maddy Westbeld will be watching her older sister, Kathryn, in this series. The older Westbeld is 29 years old, but also a rookie this year. She scored in double digits more than her sister, Maddy, but her season-high is much lower than the Sky forward's 25 points.
Chicago Sky Connections with New York Liberty (27-17)
Veteran guard Courtney Vandersloot started her WNBA career with the Chicago Sky. She left the team to play two seasons for New York, including last year.
Vandersloot brought the experience of winning a second league title back to the Windy City with her for the 2025 WNBA regular season. The Sky unfortunately did not get a full season with their legend as she suffered a torn ACL early on in the summer, playing in less than ten games for Chicago.
Lastly, Emma Meesseman is a center for the Liberty and a former Sky player, too. The 32-year-old averaged 13.4 points per game in 2025, one point less than she did for Chicago in 2022. With Meeseeman, New York won 10 of their 17 games.
How did Chicago do against Phoenix and New York in 2025?
The Sky lost early on in the season against the Mercury. Phoenix went 4-1 after beating Chicago, 94-89. A second loss happened for the Sky at the hands of the Mercury in the midst of their six-game win streak in June.
On August 3, Copper went off for 25 points against her former team for the second double-digit win over Chicago and Phoenix's third victory. The Mercury swept the season series but even that can't get back the 2021 WNBA title that the Sky won.
As for the Liberty, a 25-point shellacking handed the Sky their second loss of the season. A 19-point blunder gave Chicago its sixth loss on the year. Kamilla Cardoso showed out for their third meeting as the center's stat line included 22 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in the six-point win over New York.
The Sky's season finale in 2025 was at home in Wintrust Arena against the Liberty. Even without their star forward, Angel Reese, Chicago only lost to New York by five points. The Sky might want to study the Mercury and Liberty closely on how to go from being a 10-win team to a playoff team that won 27 times.
My name is Scott Conrad and I am a Contributor for the Chicago Sky with Sports Illustrated.com. I am also a Contributor with FanSided on NinerNoise, as well as Da Windy City. In addition, I am the Site Editor/Expert for The View from Avalon. I spent two seasons (2015 & 2016) with the Tampa Bay Times as a Correspondent covering high school football. I am a two-time published author with more work to come. In my teenage years, I started watching both MLS and WNBA start in 1996 and grow to be the juggernauts they are in their respective sports. Much love to the career on and off the court for fellow-Napervillian and former Sky forward Candace Parker. Outside of the sports journalism world, I am a travel volleyball coach. I accepted the Head Coach position with Greater Cincinnati Volleyball Club for their U13-2 team. In terms of active sports, I play volleyball, soccer, softball, kickball and train in mixed martial arts.