Phoenix Mercury are heading into new era without Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner

PHOENIX (AP) — The Phoenix Mercury will open their first season in 21 years without Diana Taurasi. She’s busy at home enjoying the first few months of retirement.

There’s also no Brittney Griner for the first time since 2012. The game-changing center is now wearing an Atlanta Dream uniform.

Two of the greatest players of their generation are gone, sending the Mercury into an uncharted new era.

“I came here with a lot of new faces, a lot of hungry people,” new Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas said Wednesday during the team’s media day. “It’s just going to be fun to be part of an organization that’s known for winning has multiple championships and, just overall, has been the top of this thing for a long time.”

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The Mercury had a good run with Taurasi and Griner.

Taurasi staked her claim as one of the greatest players in women’s basketball history since the Mercury selected her with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2004 WNBA draft. In the 20 years that followed, she racked up six Olympic gold medals, three league championships and numerous records before calling it a career earlier this year.

The 6-foot-9 Griner was a force during her 11-year stay in the desert, throwing down dunks and swatting shots like no other player while helping the Mercury win their most recent championship, in 2014. She opted to test free agency and signed a one-year contract with the Dream, hoping to set herself up for a bigger contract when the league’s new collective bargaining deal is in place next year.

Those are two big holes to fill, but general manager Nick U’Ren already had the wheels in motion to start the Mercury’s new era.

Phoenix first acquired Thomas in a trade with Connecticut, adding a veteran do-everything forward who’s the WNBA’s career leader with 15 triple-doubles. The 6-2 forward played her entire 11-year career with the Sun, leading them to the WNBA Finals in 2019 and 2022, and earned a gold medal at the Paris Olympics last summer.

With Taurasi’s retirement looming, Phoenix pulled off a three-way trade that brought Sabally to the desert. The 6-4 forward was an All-WNBA first-teamer in 2023, then averaged 17.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists in a 2024 season limited to 15 games because of a shoulder injury.

“Pushing through uncomfortable times really makes us stronger and we are the pros at pushing through adversity,” Sabally said. “I think I’ve been through a lot in my life, but it just really makes you appreciate times like this even more.”

Rounding out Phoenix’s new Big Three is Kahleah Copper, a dynamic scorer and leader.

The 6-1 small forward was a three-time All-Star with Chicago before being traded to Phoenix, where she had a massive impact in just one season.

Copper was the WNBA’s third-leading scorer at 21.1 points per game last season and became a leader on a team that already had two of the game’s best players. She also has a WNBA title under her belt, helping the Sky beat the Mercury in the 2021 finals.

Now that Taurasi and Griner are gone, Copper fully will take the reigns as the team’s leader, pushing teammates new and old to continue the Mercury’s long history of winning.

“I think you’re really going to see her kind of like spread her wings and take pride,” second-year Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said. “You’ve seen it this whole offseason, adding the free agents, and she’s really kind of bought into what we’re about.”

The Mercury had no choice but to take a new direction with Taurasi and Griner gone. They’re hoping the new core can lead the franchise along the same winning direction.

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AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba