The Phoenix Mercury are entering the 2025 WNBA season with a fire that only a Finals loss can ignite. After being swept by the Las Vegas Aces in October, the Mercury are not just looking for redemption—they're out to prove that their Cinderella run was no fluke.
When the final buzzer sounded in Game 3 of the WNBA Finals, Kahleah Copper didn't let her team walk away quietly. She gathered her teammates on the court, forcing them to soak in every moment of the Aces' celebration. "I wanted us to feel it. I wanted us to hear the celebrations. I wanted us to really feel the moment, feel the hurt," Copper recalled. "Let it just fuel us for the future."
That fuel has been burning for seven months. Now, as the league tips off its historic 30th season, the Mercury find themselves in a poetic opening matchup—back in Las Vegas, facing the same team that ended their championship dreams. And if the memory of defeat wasn't enough, the Mercury will have to watch the Aces raise their championship banner and receive their rings on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.
"You would have some motivation too, right?" a fired-up Copper said Wednesday, her intensity palpable. "We just got swept…We want to get that one for sure."
Last season, no one gave the Mercury a chance. They were written off before the playoffs even began, yet they defied expectations and fought their way to the Finals. But even after that remarkable run, the doubters remain. Many preseason predictions have Phoenix finishing as low as seventh in the league.
"We're not really worried about the expectations of what others think," Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said, dismissing the outside noise. "Our expectation is always going to be bigger than what the national media thinks. Some national media picked us to be the seventh best team in our league. When we look in the mirror, we don't see that. We see a team that's playing for a championship."
The Mercury haven't won a title since 2014, during the legendary Diana Taurasi era. But this new-look team, built around Copper and a core that faced near-complete roster turnover, believes they're ready to write a new chapter. With the sting of defeat still fresh and a chip on their shoulder the size of the desert sun, Phoenix is ready to prove that last season was just the beginning.