The Phoenix Mercury look very different than they did last season. Diana Taurasi retired, and Brittney Griner signed with the Atlanta Dream in free agency. To replace the two stars they lost, the Mercury traded for Alyssa Thomas and Satou Sabally. Thomas has been an MVP candidate for several years now, and Sabally is an All-WNBA First Team talent when healthy.
Together with Kahleah Copper, they form the Mercury’s new big three. Copper won a championship with the Chicago Sky in 2012, taking home the Finals MVP award in the process, and is now ready to lead the Mercury into a new post-Taurasi era.
Copper knows how important star power is when you want to win at the highest level in the WNBA, but believes that the team’s supporting cast will be the real key to the team’s success.
A good supporting cast can make a huge difference
Kahleah Copper recently appeared on Good Follow and discussed the new-look Phoenix Mercury with host Ros Gold-Onwude. Copper expressed her excitement about playing with Thomas and Sabally but also admitted that they won’t be able to carry the team alone.
“We talk about a big three, but it’s not always going to be about us,” Copper said. “It’s going to be Kalani [Brown], it’s going to be Sev [Uzun], it’s going to be Sami [Whitcomb], it’s going to be all of these players that are going to be with us.”
The Mercury are not a very deep team
A good supporting cast is important. All the best teams feature star power as well as a deep cast of role players. For the Mercury, role players could be especially important considering Satou Sabally’s injury history. In four of her five WNBA seasons, she played fewer than 20 games.
The Mercury have some solid players. Sami Whitcomb has put together a long, successful WNBA career, Kalani Brown established herself as a solid backup center, and Kitija Laksa has played incredibly well in Europe so far. She is a knock-down shooter, something the Mercury will need around their three stars.
However, compared to some of the other top teams in the league, the Mercury are not a very deep team. While Copper is right that the team’s supporting cast will be important, the Mercury likely will have to lean heavily on their stars. Just one serious injury to Copper, Thomas, or Sabally could change the Mercury’s trajectory.
Recently, The Athletic’s Sabreena Merchant predicted on No Offseason that the Mercury would miss the playoffs. That is a scenario the Mercury desperately want to avoid and, like Copper said, they will need everyone to be at their best, not just the three stars.