The Phoenix Mercury are one of six teams with an above-.500 record. Phoenix has also sent three players to Paris to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics, with Kahleah Cooper, Brittney Griner, and Diana Taurasi representing Team USA.
Two losses in two weeks to the Indiana Fever push Phoenix down the list a bit, but they remain as viable a threat to the higher seeds as any team in the WNBA.
Phoenix is 4-2 over the past six games, as well as 10-7 over the past 17. Cooper is rounding into All-WNBA form at the perfect time, with three 30-point games in July and a 25-point and 10-rebound performance against the Los Angeles Sparks that gave the Mercury a pivotal win.
It's been a season of ebbs and flows for the Mercury, but any team with Cooper, Griner, and Taurasi has a chance to make a run late in the season.
The Indiana Fever might be the best possible 11-15 team. Since starting at 3-10, the Fever have gone 8-5 with victories over some of the top contenders in the WNBA, including the New York Liberty, Minnesota Lynx, and Phoenix Mercury.
That recent win over Phoenix propels Indiana into the No. 6 spot, even with 2.5 games between them in the current postseason standings.
Indiana sent three players to the 2024 WNBA All-Star Game: Aliyah Boston, Caitlin Clark, and Kelsey Mitchell. All three have been spectacular this season, with Clark arguably leading the Rookie of the Year race and ranking No. 1 in the WNBA in assists per game.
Indiana still has ground to gain, but it's been a tale of two halves for a team that went 3-10 during its first 13 games and 8-5 over its past 13.