2020 Phoenix Mercury season
23rd season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association
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The 2020 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association. The season tipped off on July 25, 2020, versus the Los Angeles Sparks.[1]
Head coachSandy Brondello
ArenaOriginally: Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Rescheduled to: IMG Academy gymnasiums, Bradenton, Florida
Rescheduled to: IMG Academy gymnasiums, Bradenton, Florida
Record13–9 (.591)
Place5th (Western)
| 2020 Phoenix Mercury season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Sandy Brondello |
| Arena | Originally: Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum Rescheduled to: IMG Academy gymnasiums, Bradenton, Florida |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–9 (.591) |
| Place | 5th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | 5th Seed, Lost in Second Round to Minnesota Lynx |
During the off-season, it was announced that Talking Stick Resort Arena would be undergoing renovations and the Mercury would be forced to play their home games at Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum for the 2020 season.[2]
This WNBA season will feature an all-time high 36 regular-season games.[3] However, the plan for expanded games was put on hold on April 3, when the WNBA postponed its season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] Under a plan approved on June 15, the league is scheduled to hold a shortened 22-game regular season at IMG Academy, without fans present, starting on July 24.[5][6]
The Mercury's season got off to a slow start, with the team losing its first two games. However, a four-game win streak followed and the Mercury were 4–2. The Mercury only won two of the next seven games and were just under .500. The team then won its next six games to secure a playoff spot. After losing two of their last three games, they qualified for the playoffs as the fifth overall seed.
As the fifth seed, the Mercury played the Washington Mystics in the First Round of the playoffs. The Mercury won that a nail-biter of a game 85–84, and advanced to the Second Round. They faced off against the fourth seeded Minnesota Lynx and were defeated in another close match, 79–80 to end their season.
Transactions
WNBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Nationality | School/Team/Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Jocelyn Willoughby |  United States |
Virginia |
| 2 | 18 | Te'a Cooper | United States |
Baylor |
| 3 | 29 | Stella Johnson | United States |
Rider |
Trades/Roster Changes
| Date | Details | |
|---|---|---|
| February 11, 2020 | Traded F DeWanna Bonner to Connecticut in exchange for the 7th and 10th pick in the 2020 WNBA draft in addition to a first-round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft.[7] | |
| February 12, 2020 | Traded the 5th and 7th pick in the 2020 WNBA draft in addition to a first-round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft to Dallas in exchange for Skylar Diggins-Smith.[8] | |
| February 13, 2020 | Re-signed C Brittney Griner[9] | |
| Signed G Bria Hartley[10] | ||
| February 19, 2020 | Acquired F Jessica Breland and F Nia Coffey in exchange for G Briann January, the 17th pick in the 2020 WNBA draft, and the team's second round pick in the 2021 WNBA draft[11] | |
| February 24, 2020 | Signed C Kia Vaughn[12] | |
| April 17, 2020 | Acquired G Shatori Walker-Kimbrough from New York in exchange for the draft rights to G/F Jocelyn Willoughby.[13] | |
| July 12, 2020 | F Jessica Breland medically excused for 2020 season.[14] | |
Roster
| 2020 Phoenix Mercury roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Game log
Regular season
| 2020 game log Total: 13–9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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July
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August
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September
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| 2020 season schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playoffs
| 2020 playoff game log Total: 1–1 | ||||||||||||||||||
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First Round
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Second Round
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| 2020 playoff schedule | ||||||||||||||||||
Standings
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | Conf. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | x – Las Vegas Aces | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
| 2 | x – Seattle Storm | 18 | 4 | .818 | – | 8–2 |
| 3 | x – Los Angeles Sparks | 15 | 7 | .682 | 3 | 5–5 |
| 4 | x – Minnesota Lynx | 14 | 8 | .636 | 4 | 4–6 |
| 5 | x – Phoenix Mercury | 13 | 9 | .591 | 5 | 4–6 |
| 6 | x – Chicago Sky | 12 | 10 | .545 | 6 | 6–4 |
| 7 | x – Connecticut Sun | 10 | 12 | .455 | 8 | 7–3 |
| 8 | x – Washington Mystics | 9 | 13 | .409 | 9 | 6–4 |
| 9 | e – Dallas Wings | 8 | 14 | .364 | 10 | 1–9 |
| 10 | e – Atlanta Dream | 7 | 15 | .318 | 11 | 5–5 |
| 11 | e – Indiana Fever | 6 | 16 | .273 | 12 | 4–6 |
| 12 | e – New York Liberty | 2 | 20 | .091 | 16 | 2–8 |
Playoffs
| First round Single elimination (September 15) | Second round Single elimination (September 17) | Semifinals Best-of-5 (September 20–29) | WNBA Finals Best-of-5 (October 2–11) | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Minnesota Lynx | 80 | 7 | Connecticut Sun | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 85 | 5 | Phoenix Mercury | 79 | 1 | Las Vegas Aces | 0 | ||||||||||
| 8 | Washington Mystics | 84 | 2 | Seattle Storm | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 2 | Seattle Storm | 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Los Angeles Sparks | 59 | 4 | Minnesota Lynx | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 6 | Chicago Sky | 81 | 7 | Connecticut Sun | 73 | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Connecticut Sun | 94 | ||||||||||||||||
Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.
- Bold – Game or series winner
Statistics
| Legend | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage | TO | Turnovers per game |
| PF | Fouls per game | Team leader | League leader | ||||
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diana Taurasi | 19 | 19 | 28.1 | 40.9 | 36.5 | 91.2 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 18.7 |
| Brittney Griner | 12 | 12 | 31.8 | 49.7 | 0 | 80.9 | 7.5 | 3.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 17.7 |
| Skylar Diggins-Smith | 22 | 22 | 30.7 | 47.4 | 39.7 | 90.0 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 17.7 |
| Bria Hartley | 13 | 3 | 24.8 | 42.0 | 38.5 | 80.5 | 2.9 | 4.5 | 1.2 | 0 | 14.6 |
| Shatori Walker-Kimbrough | 21 | 10 | 19.0 | 42.9 | 43.1 | 92.0 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 7.3 |
| Brianna Turner | 22 | 22 | 27.9 | 57.9 | 0 | 64.3 | 9.0 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 2.0 | 7.2 |
| Kia Vaughn | 22 | 10 | 18.9 | 48.8 | 0 | 57.9 | 3.6 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 6.1 |
| Alanna Smith | 19 | 0 | 15.6 | 42.2 | 23.3 | 69.0 | 3.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 6.1 |
| Sophie Cunningham | 21 | 11 | 18.9 | 38.5 | 23.5 | 88.0 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 5.0 |
| Shey Peddy | 8 | 0 | 17.6 | 29.4 | 10.5 | 100 | 3.0 | 2.4 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 4.0 |
| Alisia Jenkins | 2 | 0 | 11.5 | 25.0 | 0 | 66.7 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 |
| Nia Coffey | 15 | 1 | 15.3 | 42.1 | 33.3 | 16.7 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 2.7 |
Awards and honors
| Recipient | Award | Date awarded | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skylar Diggins-Smith | WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week | September 8, 2020 | [15] |
| Brianna Turner | 1st Team All-Defense | September 29, 2020 | [16] |
| Diana Taurasi | All-WNBA Second Team | October 4, 2020 | [17] |
| Skylar Diggins-Smith |