Phoenix Mercury training camp Day 1 observations
Here is everything that stood out during Day 1 of Phoenix Mercury training camp.
PHOENIX — Phoenix Mercury basketball is finally back. The Mercury and the 12 other teams around the WNBA opened training camp on Sunday.
Although some players returned to Phoenix months ago to prepare for the upcoming season, Sunday marked the first day of organized practice.
Here is everything that stood out and what was noteworthy after Sunday’s practice and media availability.
Who has separated themselves from the rest of the pack at Phoenix Mercury training camp?
The Mercury brought 19 players into training camp and 15 of those players were present on Sunday.
Kitija Laksa (Famila Schio/Italy), Murjantu Musa (Tarbes Gespe Bigorre/France) and Helena Pueyo (Casademont Zaragoza/Spain) are all competing in their respective playoffs for their European club teams and will arrive to camp late.
Laksa’s team advanced to the Italian league final and will play games on May 2, May 4 and May 8. How much she participates in camp will not matter too much as the Latvian wing will almost certainly make the final roster as she is on a protected contract.
Musa’s team advanced to the French playoff semifinals and will play games on April 30 and May 4.
Pueyo’s team advanced to the Spanish playoff semifinals on Sunday and will play games on May 1 and May 4.
Monique Akoa Makani (Charnay Bourgogne Sud/France) made it back to Phoenix on Saturday but did not participate during the first day of training camp.
Celeste Taylor was participating in a limited capacity as she continues to work her way back from a foot injury she suffered in Australia.
“I feel good, but obviously (it’s) the doctor's discretion,” Taylor told Desert Wave Media on April 2 in an interview published on April 5.
“I should do what's best for me and my future. But I'm in my rehab process, so it's been good to be able to touch the ball a little bit and continue to work and be around all the people with the Mercury. So the goal is to be ready by training camp. But if everything goes as planned, that's the plan.”
Taylor was included as part of the group that also featured Kahleah Copper, Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas, Sevgi Uzun, Sami Whitcomb and Natasha Mack.
Kalani Brown, Shyla Heal, Lexi Held, Anna Makurat, Megan McConnell, Temira Poindexter, Alexis Prince and Kathryn Westbeld all participated in a separate group.
Whether Mack is preferred over Brown remains to be seen, but it is something to monitor as Mack was included in the group which included the bigger-name players.
Brown nevertheless will almost certainly be one of the 11-12 players to make the final roster. She is on a protected contract and is signed through the end of 2026 after being included in the Sabally trade.
Uzun is not guaranteed to make the final roster, as she is on a training camp contract, but her being included in the most prominent group is an encouraging sign for her.
Kahleah Copper is fully healthy after missing part of Unrivaled season
Copper said her lower right leg is feeling great and she is not carrying an injury. Copper got hurt during the Unrivaled season and last played Feb. 7, missing the rest of the Unrivaled season, including the title game which her Rose BC team won.
“Nah, I’m great. I feel great,” Copper said when asked if there is any lingering pain in her leg.
Sami Whitcomb the shooter
Fresh off an Australian season she had for the record books, Whitcomb enters Mercury camp as one of the team’s more-experienced players with eight seasons in the WNBA under her belt.
Playing for the Bendigo Spirit during the WNBA offseason, Whitcomb was named MVP of the WNBL. She led the league in scoring at 21 points per game. She also led the league in 3-pointers at 3.4, finished third in assists at 5.0, tied for third with 2.0 steals and was 10th with 5.6 defensive rebounds per game.
She later went on to win the WNBL title, was named Finals MVP and was All-WNBL First Team. When you throw in the fact she led the league in scoring, Lauren Jackson is the only other player to ever accomplish that feat.
“She’s gonna be huge for our culture,” Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said on Sunday. “We’ve got this Noah system that tracks all the shots that they shoot. She’s been here for four days and she’s taken the most shots by far.
“That’s part of being a culture builder and a worker. It’s good for our young players to see.
“And then just her voice today. She’s been around. She’s felt things, and she’s not afraid to speak up.”
The 36-year-old has never averaged more than 8.7 shot attempts per game during a WNBA season, and averaged just 5.2 attempts per game while playing for the Seattle Storm last season.
Whitcomb played in all 40 games in 2024 but saw more of a reduced role in Seattle due to the Storm’s plethora of talent at the guard position. She averaged 15.3 minutes per game, the fewest she’s averaged since 2018, her second year in the league.
Expect her to have a much more prominent role with the Mercury in 2025.
Who will play point guard for the Phoenix Mercury?
One of the biggest question marks heading into Mercury training camp is who will play point guard.
Natasha Cloud had a career year in 2024 (she set a new franchise record with 263 assists in the regular season) and was a stalwart of the Mercury backcourt, but with Cloud now on the New York Liberty, big shoes have to be filled.
In sets the more-experienced group ran on Sunday, Uzun, Whitcomb and Thomas took the majority of reps at point guard with a not 100%-healthy Taylor watching on the sidelines. Taylor is still working her way back after the foot injury but has as good of a chance as anyone to start at point guard for the Mercury.
In addition to the more traditional point guards in Uzun, Whitcomb and Taylor, Tibbetts indicated Thomas will play point guard at times for the Mercury.
In an era where position-less basketball is becoming more of a norm than an anomaly, the Mercury will be more than living up to that norm this season.
“(Thomas) has probably been traditionally a four, but she’s going to be a point guard here, she’s going to be a four, she’s going to be a five,” Tibbetts said.
“We talked about position-less last year, but it’s probably going to look a lot more like that this year.”
Playing center is nothing new for the 6-foot-2 Thomas. She was forced to play center in 2023, and she had arguably the best season of her career.
After Brionna Jones suffered a ruptured right Achilles tendon in June of 2023, Thomas played center for the Connecticut Sun and went on to finish second in MVP voting.
She averaged 15.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.5 blocks, while starting all 40 games in 2023.
Her 9.9 rebounds per game led the league, a season in which the Mercury finished last in the league in rebounding at just 30.9 per game.
Playing Thomas at center will also be reminiscent of the Golden State Warriors’ “Death Lineup” that Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren is credited for constructing during his time in the NBA.
The "Death Lineup” is monumental because it allows a team to spend the floor with shooting, create mismatches on offense and provide versatility on defense.
“I’m excited for multiple ball handlers,” Copper said. “What I love about our offense is that it’s position-less. Anybody can start the break. (Thomas) starting the break, imagine a four trying to pick up her full court? That’s tough.
“It’s not just going to be Sami (as a guard), it’s not just going to be myself (as a guard). I’m excited for us to be able to play our position-less basketball and just create mismatches.”
‘Defense wins championships’
It quickly became evident that the Mercury want to focus on defense more than anything this season.
Last year during training camp (and for much of the season), rebounding was the team’s emphasis. With the additions of Thomas and Sabally, the team seems less concerned with rebounding and more concerned with defense as a unit.
“We started off with defense,” Copper said. “We didn’t touch a ball. We got right on the court and we’re committed to that.
“I think our coaches are really invested. I think (Thomas) she started it. I think her first thing when she spoke with the coaches was, ‘Are we gonna guard?’”
Copper went on to say that defense was also addressed at the team dinner on Saturday night.
With the team holding training camp in Phoenix as opposed to last season where they held camp in San Diego, culture-building activities like a team-dinner are paramount and not to be ignored.
Last year, the Mercury carried 17 players into training camp, and it was a much-more experienced group with the likes of Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner, Rebecca Allen, Sophie Cunningham, Cloud and Copper taking part.
It could be harder to build culture with a group that is not only larger, but less-experienced, which is why team dinners are important.
"There's some new feel to it, for sure,” Tibbetts said of this season. “We're going to be playing a little bit different. It feels a lot more comfortable than a year ago. A year ago, obviously we were in San Diego, the staff was new (and) we had a new team last year.
“Collectively, as a group, it feels like we're kinda rooted a little bit more. But there's a lot of other moving parts. But at least we know what the hell we're doing."
Also, at the Phoenix Mercury’s practice facility, there’s a mysterious “166” on the monitors displayed across the facility. Tibbetts didn’t have an answer as to what the “166” means, but 166 days from now is Oct. 11. The last possible finals date is Oct. 17.
If it is indeed a countdown until the finals, it sends a clear message that the expectation this group is giving itself is a championship.
Phoenix Mercury to play faster in 2025
Tibbetts also indicated he wants the Mercury to play faster in 2025. During the 2024 season, the Mercury finished eighth in the 12-team league in pace at 95.88 (measured by the number of possessions per game).
“We’re gonna be playing faster,” Tibbetts said. “It’s just going to be an exciting brand of basketball. And I think you’re gonna feel the toughness and grit, but then also at the offensive end the skill with some shooting and rim attacks.”
“Just all gas, no brakes is what he’s been saying,” Poindexter said of what Tibbetts has been telling the group.