Despite making the WNBA Finals last season, the Mercury missed the playoffs entirely this year, finishing 12th in the 15-team league.
Still, Mercury fans will have some familiar faces to root on as the playoffs start on Sunday.
Arizona is a bit of a desert when it comes to developing women’s basketball talent. None of the players on the eight WNBA playoff rosters were born in or went to high school in the Grand Canyon State. Only one active WNBA player went to an Arizona college.
Most of the ties to Arizona WNBA fans will see in the playoffs are players who once played for the Mercury. The only playoff team without a former Mercury player is the Golden State Valkyries, though their head coach had a couple past run-ins with the Mercury.
Valley basketball fans may also have some recent memories of some of the rookies in the playoff field — eight of them played in the 2026 Women’s Final Four at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.
Minnesota Lynx guard Aari McDonald (4) plays against the Indiana Fever in the first half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Michael Conroy
Went to University of Arizona
Aari McDonald, Minnesota Lynx
McDonald played her sophomore through senior seasons at Arizona, ending in 2021, after starting her college career at Washington. She is still Arizona’s career leader in points and steals per game.
McDonald was the 2021 Pac-12 Player of the Year and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2020 and 2021. She was also named a to the AP All-America Second Team in 2021 and 2020 and was an honorable mention in 2019. After Arizona had missed the NCAA Tournament for 15 straight years, McDonald led them not just to the tournament but to the Final in 2021, leading the team with 22 points in a loss to Stanford.
After sitting out most the 2026 WNBA season, McDonald signed a contract with the top-seeded Lynx on Sept. 7, playing just three games at the end of the regular season. McDonald played just five minutes in her five game but totaled 41 minutes over the next two games when rookie star Olivia Miles was out with a calf strain. It remains to be seen how big a role McDonald will have if Miles can return for the playoffs.
Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner dribbles the ball against the Indiana Fever during the second half of a WNBA basketball game, Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Ross D. Franklin
Played for Mercury
Atlanta Dream
DeWanna Bonner (2009-16, 2018-19, 2025-26)
Only Diana Taurasi has played more minutes in a Mercury uniform than DeWanna Bonner. Bonner’s first stint in Phoenix was interrupted by missing the 2017 season while pregnant with twins.
She rejoined the Mercury in the middle of last season. After playing a key role for the team, including on its run to the WNBA Finals last year, Bonner and the Mercury in August mutually agreed to a contract buyout so she could try to play for a contender in likely her final WNBA season. Three days later, Bonner signed with the Dream where she averaged 8.6 points in just five games to end the regular season.
Bonner is the Mercury’s all-time leader in offensive rebounds and is third in career points, trailing Taurasi and Brittney Griner.
Bonner used to be married to former Mercury teammate Candice Dupree, who is the co-parent of Bonner’s twins. She later began dating then-Connecticut teammate Alyssa Thomas, who became teammates again on the Mercury in 2025 after the couple had gotten engaged.
Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (2020)
Seattle Storm center Awa Fam, right, moves the ball against Las Vegas Aces forward Brianna Turner, left, during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
Lindsey Wasson
Las Vegas Aces
Brianna Turner (2019-23)
Turner was drafted 11th overall in 2019 by Atlanta but traded on the same day to Phoenix for Marie Gulich. That trade worked out very well for Mercury fans.
Turner has never been much of a scorer but was a force on defense and the boards for the Mercury, earning WNBA All-Defensive Team honors in 2020 and 2021. She averaged 7.6 points and 9.3 rebounds across those two seasons and was a key part of the 2021 team that went to the WNBA Finals.
Stephanie Talbot (2017-18)
The Mercury drafted Talbot with the ninth pick in the third round, 33rd overall, in 2014. However, she did not play in the WNBA until the 2017 season. Talbot started in 24 of 34 games in 2017 before being relegated to mostly a bench role the following season. She averaged four points and 2.3 rebounds in her two seasons in Phoenix.
Kalani Brown (2025)
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, left, gets a high-five from guard Sophie Cunningham during the second half of a WNBA basketball game against the Chicago Sky, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
Nam Y. Huh
Indiana Fever
Sophie Cunningham (2019-24)
The Mercury drafted Cunningham 13th overall in the 2019 WNBA Draft. She elevated from a role player to a starter during her time in Phoenix, including playing in the 2021 WNBA Finals. She averaged double-digit points in both 2022 and 2023.
Cunningham has sparked off-court controversy this season due to comments about opposing trans women participating in women’s sports.
Monique Billings (2024)
New York Liberty forward Satou Sabally (0) shoots over Toronto Tempo forward Nyara Sabally during the first half of a WNBA basketball game, Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Heather Khalifa
New York Liberty
Satou Sabally (2025)
Made all All-Star team in her one season with the Mercury and helped lead the team to the WNBA Finals.
Rebecca Allen (2024)
Traded away in the 2025 trade that sent Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally to Phoenix.
Anneli Maley (2026)
Played a total of six minutes across two games for the Mercury early in the year before being waved. She is the only Mercury player since Brittney Griner left to wear No. 42.
Dallas Wings forward Alanna Smith shoots free throws during a WNBA basketball game as Connecticut Sun guard Charlisse Leger-Walker (4) looks on Sunday, Aug. 30, 2026, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Tony Gutierrez
Dallas Wings
Alanna Smith (2019-21)
The Mercury drafted Smith eighth overall in the 2019 WNBA Draft. Early in her career, she struggled to find playing time on the team. Her minutes per game jumped to 15.6 in 2020 before dipping back down to 6.5 the following year.
Since leaving, she has established herself as a major player in the league, earning Defensive Player of the Year honors with Minnesota in 2025. She has taken a step back in playing time this year with Dallas, relegated to a sixth-player role, but has still been very efficient when she does see the floor.
Sug Sutton (2023-24)
Kitija Laksa (2025)
Haley Jones (2025)
Minnesota Lynx guard Courtney Williams (10) during a WNBA basketball game against the Golden State Valkyries in San Francisco, Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
Jeff Chiu
Minnesota Lynx
Courtney Williams (2016)
The Mercury selected Williams eighth overall in the 2016 draft. She played in just six games for the team before being traded, one of Phoenix’s worst trades of the past decade, in retrospect.
The Mercury sent Williams away along with another player and a second-round pick to obtain Kelsey Bone from the Connecticut Sun. Bone, 24 at the time, was coming off a season where she averaged 15.4 points per game, was an All-Star and was named Most Improved Player. The former fifth overall pick floundered with Phoenix, however. She averaged just 3 points per game and under 10 minutes per game before getting injured in the playoffs. She played just one more WNBA season with the Aces in 2018, with similar stats, before deciding to only play overseas.
Williams, on the other hand, since 2017 has averaged double-digit points per game for 10 straight seasons and has been an All-Star three times.
Nia Coffey (2020)
Washington Mystics
Michaela Onyenwere (2023)
Onyenwere has been in a trade involving the Mercury four times, two before she was every drafted.
The Mercury obtained her pick, a 2021 first-round pick, along with a 2021 first-round pick in the trade that sent DeWanna Bonner to Connecticut. The Mercury later traded that pick along with a 2022-first rounder to New York for Kia Nurse and Megan Walker.
After winning the 2021 Rookie of the Year with New York, Phoenix acquired Onyenwere in a four-team trade in 2023. In 2024, Onyenwere and Brianna Turner were traded, along with two first-round and two second-round picks, to obtain Kahleah Copper and Morgan Bertsch from Chicago.
Onyenwere’s 8.9 points per game in her year with Phoenix had been her career high until she averaged 9 points per game this season with Washington.
Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase points during the first half of a WNBA basketball game against the Minnesota Lynx, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Abbie Parr
Other ties to the Mercury
Natalie Nakase, Golden State Valkyries head coach
Nakase was turned down by the Mercury twice. She signed a training camp contract with Phoenix as a player in 2007 but was waived. Nakase had a short-lived pro career as a player, playing two seasons in the National Women’s Basketball League and one in Germany. She was later reportedly a finalist for the Mercury head coaching position in 2022. Phoenix instead chose Vanessa Nygaard, who lasted less than two seasons at the helm.
Aziaha James, Dallas Wings
The Mercury traded the 2025 first-round pick, which Dallas later used to select James, to the Wings in the 2025 trade that brought Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas to Phoenix.
Washington Mystics center Lauren Betts (51) plays defense during a WNBA basketball game against the New York Liberty, Sunday, May 10, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)
Daniel Kucin Jr.
Played in the 2026 Women’s Final Four in Phoenix
UCLA
Lauren Betts, Washington Mystics
Angela Dugalić, Washington Mystics
Texas
Rori Harmon, Washington Mystics
South Carolina
Madina Okot, Atlanta Dream
Ta'Niya Latson, Las Vegas Aces
Raven Johnson, Indiana Fever
UConn
Azzi Fudd, Dallas Wings
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