Training camp always features upstarts and low-profile veteran newcomers trying to make the 12-player regular season roster.
The Phoenix Mercury’s first day of training camp on Sunday, April 27, had many more younger faces compared to their first practice a year ago.
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“It’s been a wild and exciting offseason, but glad to be in the gym here again today,” Mercury’s second-year coach Nate Tibbetts said at practice Sunday.
The Mercury finished 19-21 last season and were eliminated with a first-round playoff sweep by the title runner-up Minnesota Lynx. Phoenix had no choice but to get younger in their transition from the Diana Taurasi era in 2025.
In 2024, they were the WNBA’s oldest team with an average player age of 28.9 years old, per Spotrac. That included the 42-year-old Taurasi, who retired after 20 years with Phoenix on Feb. 25. The Mercury’s other former franchise pillar, Brittney Griner, 34, joined Atlanta as a free agent in January.
The Mercury overhauled the roster after those departures. Veteran starters Natasha Cloud and Rebecca Allen were dealt to the Connecticut Sun in a blockbuster deal that brought multi-year MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas to Phoenix on Feb. 2.
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The same day, fan favorite Sophie Cunningham, who spent all six years of her WNBA career in Phoenix, was sent to Indiana in a three-team trade. The Mercury acquired two-time All-Star forward Satou Sabally from Dallas.
That created the Mercury’s new Big 3 of the 27-year-old Sabally, Kahleah Copper, the league’s third-best scorer last year, and Thomas, who played all of her previous 11 seasons in Connecticut.
The Mercury’s 19-person preseason roster is ranked seventh in average age (26.5) with nine rookies, despite not having any picks during the draft on April 14. They also have five players who have under three years of pro experience.
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“It could really go one or two ways,” Copper said. “When you have more veterans, it’s like you got winners, you got people with experience. And I guess when you say we’re younger, we got more fresh legs. I’m 30 now so I’m not technically still young, but whatever. That technically doesn’t really matter to me. I’m just happy that everyone’s healthy and that we have a great team and that everyone’s excited to play and to win.”
That youth movement is what Tibbetts explained will be balanced by the veteran leadership of their Big 3 and their 36-year-old point guard Sami Whitcomb, who joined as a free agent from Seattle the same day Sabally was traded to Phoenix.
“Two cornerstones with BG (Griner) and DT (Taurasi), I think you’re going to see now that they’ve moved on, I think you’ll see Kah step up her leadership,” Tibbetts said about Copper. “AT (Thomas), it’s pretty natural for her. We’ve been super excited with Sami’s voice. Part of their job is to bring young players along. That’s going to be a challenge each and every day and I think they’re ready for it.”
Mercury guard Kahleah Copper (2) dribbles in front of her head coach Nate Tibbetts against Mystics guard Ariel Atkins (7) during a game at the Footprint Center in Phoenix at Thursday, May 23, 2024.
Thomas replaces Taurasi as Mercury’s leader focused on defense
Thomas already has been appointed the biggest voice in the locker room and on the floor by Tibbetts and Copper.
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Thomas won a gold medal with Taurasi, Copper and Griner last summer at the Paris Olympics. The 6-foot-2 Thomas will play all five positions in their “positionless basketball” system, according to Tibbetts.
She helped make Connecticut the winningest franchise without a title in league history, leading the team to eight consecutive playoff appearances, including two trips to the WNBA Finals in 2019 and 2022.
Tibbetts explained more about Thomas’ leadership qualities, which he noticed during their first practice.
“She’s a basketball wizard,” Tibbetts said. “She’s got some DT stuff to her, like when it comes to just seeing and feeling and making plays. Her mind, the things that she sees, I’ve been super happy with how she’s been willing to speak up and use her voice in situations. You can say a lot about AT, but the number one thing is that she’s a winner. Her teams win and they win at a high level.”
Copper said the Mercury’s defense will be paramount to their success this season. Thomas wasted no time making that a point of emphasis. That makes sense as Thomas is a six-time All-Defensive selection and was one of the anchors with All-Star center Brionna Jones to Connecticut’s top-ranked defense last year.
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Phoenix was ninth in that category. Copper said their first practice began focused on defense and players “didn’t touch a ball” to show their commitment to improving on that end of the floor.
“I think our coaches are really invested. AT, she started it,” Copper said. “I think her first thing when she spoke to the coaches was, ‘Are we gonna guard?’ (Saturday) night, we had our team dinner and we straight up addressed it.
“We’re gonna guard this year, so us setting the tone early in training camp, our defensive stuff, whether it’s zig-zag, whether it’s team shell. But we’re gonna lock in defensively,” Copper added.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Mercury’s new Big 3 ready to lead team’s youth in 2025 season
