Lexi Held has enjoyed playing in front of friends and family during her successful basketball career.
It has been three years, however, since the 2018 Cooper High School graduate has been able to have that full experience.
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Held will have some special moments July 30, when she plays her first professional basketball game a short drive from her hometown of Burlington, Kentucky.
Held is a rookie for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association, playing the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, two hours away from Boone County. It is their only regular-season game this year in Indianapolis, the closest WNBA city besides Chicago to her hometown.
“I’m excited,” she said Tuesday from Indianapolis. “It’s an opportunity to have my family and friends come out and support. Getting to see them, have them be involved is great. I’m focused on the game and getting another road win.”
Since graduating from DePaul University in 2022 following an outstanding four-year career there, Held played the last two seasons in multiple European countries and Australia.
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She said her parents flew overseas a few times to see her play.
Phoenix Mercury guard Lexi Held (1) shoots over Connecticut Sun player Olivia Nelson-Ododa June 18.
“I’m fortunate to have basketball be my job and be able to travel,” Held said. “I’m lucky to have them coming out for more games.”
Held is averaging 7.6 points for the Mercury, averaging more than 19 minutes per game off the bench. She averages 1.2 steals per game and has made 22 3-pointers. She has six games in double figures including 24 against Golden State June 5.
She missed a month with a partially collapsed lung suffered June 19, but came back last week and has averaged 10 minutes per game in three games since. She said she feels fine and is getting her conditioning back.
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Lexi Held is helping Phoenix get back on the winning track
Held is helping the Mercury, on pace to have their best season since 2014, when they last won the WNBA championship. The team enters the game in third place in the WNBA with a 16-9 record, second in the Western Conference, and the Fever are sixth in the league at 14-12.
Phoenix has had three straight losing seasons, including 9-31 in 2023.
The Mercury franchise has three WNBA championships. In 2014, Phoenix went 29-5 but has won 20 games only twice since then, and not since 2018.
This year’s team seems likely to snap those streaks. The Mercury roster has almost completely turned over from last season, retaining one starter (third-leading scorer Kahleah Copper) and bringing in several veterans from other teams. Held, at 25 years old, is the second-youngest player in the rotation.
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“We have meshed really well together,” Held said. “Everybody is open-minded and open to learning. It has been fun from the beginning. We’re learning each other but where was never any tension. People have told us you wouldn’t know it was our first time playing with each other. We have a great coaching staff that knows what they’re doing.”
Lexi Held learns from her older teammates
Their top scorers, Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas, are WNBA veterans. Thomas, in her 11th season, was first-team all-WNBA the last two seasons with Connecticut. She averages nearly a triple-double with 15.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 9.4 assists.
“One of our biggest strengths is team chemistry and our approach every day,” Held said. “Everybody has bought into the process. There are no personal agendas. It’s a really selfless team that works very hard.”
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Held is part of a sharpshooting roster that makes nearly 10 3-pointers per game. She averages 1.2 steals per game for a team that averages 8.4.
Her career-high 24-point game against Golden State included a key 3-pointer in the final minute as the Mercury ended the game with an 18-1 run.
“I see every day how hard she works and you trust hard work. The results will show by itself,” Sabally said in the Arizona Republic that night. “I would even make a case that she could make Rookie of the Year. She’s not only helping on offense, but on defense, putting that lock on people and defending relentlessly every single game… . She’s just such a smart player already.”
Held was a star scorer in high school and college
At Cooper, Held scored 2,430 points with 604 rebounds, 341 steals, 315 assists and 97 blocks, and was a finalist for Kentucky Miss Basketball.
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At DePaul, Held was a three-time All-Big East selection, helping the Blue Demons win back-to-back conference tournament titles in 2019 and 2020. Held scored 1,578 points for DePaul. She averaged 3.2 assists per game, 5.2 her senior year. She also had 211 career steals, averaging more than 2.5 her final two seasons.
She has been the star player on her teams in high school and college but enjoys coming off the bench for a contending team.
“My role is to defend very well and let the game come to me,” she said. “We have a team of really talented players. I’m used to being on teams where I have to do everything, so it’s nice to have a singular role and take pride in that. I’m on a team with all-stars and former champions so it’s fun and easy to learn from them.”
Held expects a tough game in Indianapolis, though the Fever are likely to be without superstar Caitlin Clark, who has missed the last several games with injury. That would deny Held’s loved ones the chance to see her and the Iowa product guard each other.
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Held enjoys the festive atmosphere at Mercury home games, which often draw crowds of more than 10,000 to PHX Arena.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” she said. “We have a great fan base, great support staff. It’s an enjoyable environment to play in. Great energy, great vibes, I love home games.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Phoenix Mercury star Lexi Held plays first WNBA game close to home
