The Mercury’s offseason was incredibly underwhelming. Satou Sabally left in free agency to sign with the New York Liberty, and no other proven WNBA star chose to come to Phoenix despite the team’s trip to the finals. That left the Mercury with a veteran core of Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper, and DeWanna Bonner and a ton of questions.Â
Valeriane Ayayi was the team’s most promising offseason addition. Ayayi joined the Mercury with little WNBA experience, but as a proven veteran contributor in Europe and on the international stage. She was France’s second-most productive player behind Gabby Williams in a 67-66 loss to Team USA in the gold medal game in Paris two years ago. She also averaged 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.6 steals in EuroLeague play for USK Praha in the 2025-26 season.Â
She got off to a slow start in Phoenix, but now finally looks like the player the Mercury need her to be to turn things around.
Ayayi came up big in the Mercury’s latest winsÂ
After a 4-12 start to the season, Phoenix is 3-1 in its last four games, beating Seattle, Indiana, and Toronto. The latter was without Brittney Sykes and Marina Mabrey, but a win is a win, and the Mercury needed it.Â
Ayayi was big in all three victories. She recorded her first double-double and a season-high 18 points against the Storm on 4-7 shooting from the field and 2-4 from deep. She was quiet in an 86-77 loss to the Fever, but made up for it with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal in the rematch, helping the Mercury to a 111-109 win. Then, Ayayi set a new season high with 20 points against the Tempo and also contributed 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block.Â
She looks notably more comfortable than at the start of the season. Ayayi may not have the kind of gravity and star status Sabally brought to the team last season, but if she can score between 15 and 20 points each game and pitch in on the glass, it will go a long way for the Mercury.Â
Things are finally starting to look up in Phoenix
Losing Sabally for nothing was a tough blow, but a team led by Alyssa Thomas and Kahleah Copper still shouldn’t be one of the worst teams in the WNBA. And yet, Phoenix has a worse record than the young Washington Mystics and both expansion teams.Â
But after three wins in four games, things are starting to look up—if the team can hold on to the momentum those wins built.Â
The next few games will be tough. Seattle’s young core is playing its best basketball of the season, Chicago is fresh off a big win and just as desperate to climb out of the bottom of the standings, the Fever will be looking to get revenge for that two-point loss, and the Aces and Lynx are the top two teams in the W.Â
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