2019 Phoenix Mercury season

The 2019 WNBA season was the 23rd season for the Phoenix Mercury franchise of the WNBA. The season tipped off on May 25, 2019 versus the Seattle Storm.^[1]

2019 Phoenix Mercury season
Coach	Sandy Brondello
Arena	Talking Stick Resort Arena
Attendance	10,193 per game
Results
Record	15–19 (.441)
Place	5th (Western)
Playoff finish	8th seed; Lost in 1st Round to Chicago
Team Leaders
Points	Brittney Griner – 20.7 ppg
Rebounds	DeWanna Bonner – 6.5 rpg
Assists	Diana Taurasi – 5.3 apg
Media
Television	Fox Sports Arizona (FS-A)
← 2018 season 2020 season →

The Mercury's season started with the news that star Diana Taurasi would miss a significant part of the season due to a back procedure.^[2] The team started out the season 5–5 by the end of June. This record included a three game losing streak immediately followed by a three game winning streak. July proved more of the same as the team posted a 5–4 record. A two game losing streak split five wins. In August, the team went 5–6, but did secure a playoff spot. Taurasi returned for six games during the season. However, the team finished on a four game losing streak to end the season 15–19. This record earned them the eighth seed in the playoffs.

As the eight seed, the Mercury traveled to the Chicago Sky in the first round. The Mercury are the only eighth seed to win since the WNBA switched to its current playoff format in 2016. However, they could not repeat the feat this season when they lost by 29 points.

The Mercury did well at the end of season awards with Brittney Griner leading the WNBA in scoring, Brianna Turner making the WNBA All-Rookie Team, and Leilani Mitchell winning the WNBA Most Improved Player Award.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2019 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Team/Country
1	8	Alanna Smith	Australia	Stanford
2	13	Sophie Cunningham	United States	Missouri
3	32	Arica Carter	United States	Louisville

Trades/Roster Changes

Date	Details
February 1, 2019	Re-Signed G Briann January[3][4]
	Re-Signed G Yvonne Turner[5][6]
February 6, 2019	Signed G/F Essence Carson[7][4]
March 21, 2019	Re-Signed F Sancho Lyttle[8]
March 22, 2019	Re-Signed G/F DeWanna Bonner[9]
April 10, 2019	Traded C Marie Gülich to Atlanta for F Brianna Turner[10]
May 21, 2019	Traded G Stephanie Talbot to Minnesota in exchange for Minnesota's second round pick in the 2020 WNBA draft[11]

Roster

2019 Phoenix Mercury roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs F 24 Bonner, DeWanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 143 lb (65kg) 1987-08-21 Auburn 9 G 17 Carson, Essence 6' 0" (1.83m) 163 lb (74kg) 1986-07-28 Rutgers 11 G 9 Cunningham, Sophie 6' 1" (1.85m) 170 lb (77kg) 1996-08-16 Missouri R C 42 Griner, Brittney 6' 9" (2.06m) 205 lb (93kg) 1990-10-18 Baylor 6 G 12 January, Briann 5' 8" (1.73m) 144 lb (65kg) 1987-01-11 Arizona State 10 F 20 Little, Camille 6' 2" (1.88m) 180 lb (82kg) 1985-01-18 North Carolina 12 F 31 Lyttle, Sancho 6' 5" (1.96m) 175 lb (79kg) 1983-09-20 Houston 14 G 5 Mitchell, Leilani 5' 5" (1.65m) 138 lb (63kg) 1985-06-15 Utah 11 F 11 Smith, Alanna 6' 4" (1.93m) 180 lb (82kg) 1996-11-10 Stanford R G/F 3 Taurasi, Diana  6' 0" (1.83m) 163 lb (74kg) 1982-06-11 Connecticut 14 F 21 Turner, Brianna 6' 3" (1.91m) 170 lb (77kg) 1996-07-05 Notre Dame R G 6 Turner, Yvonne 5' 10" (1.78m) 131 lb (59kg) 1987-10-13 Nebraska 2	Head coach Sandy Brondello (Western Sydney) Assistant coaches Julie Hairgrove (Arizona) Penny Taylor Strength and conditioning coach Jonathan Mak (Illinois State) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Game log

Preseason

2019 pre-season game log
May: 2–0 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 11 Los Angeles Sparks W 82–75 Bonner (20) Bonner (8) Smith (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena 3,751 1–0 2 May 15 @ Seattle Storm W 87–84 Tied (15) Griner (6) Tied (3) Angel of the Winds Arena 3,076 2–0
2019 pre-season schedule

Regular season

2019 game log Total: 15–19 (Home: 9–8; Road: 6–11)
May: 1–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 25 @ Seattle Storm L 68–77 Bonner (31) Tied (8) Tied (4) Angel of the Winds Arena 8,500 0–1 2 May 31 Las Vegas Aces W 86–84 Carson (20) Bonner (12) Y. Turner (10) Talking Stick Resort Arena 14,090 1–1
June : 4–3 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 3 June 6 @ Minnesota Lynx L 56–58 Bonner (25) Bonner (8) 3 tied (2) Target Center 8,001 1–2 4 June 9 @ Indiana Fever W 94–87 Griner (26) Bonner (7) Mitchell (6) Bankers Life Fieldhouse 3,336 2–2 5 June 11 @ Chicago Sky L 75–82 Bonner (28) Bonner (12) Bonner (6) Wintrust Arena 4,212 2–3 6 June 14 Los Angeles Sparks L 68–85 Griner (24) Griner (13) January (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,381 2–4 7 June 20 @ Dallas Wings L 54–69 Mitchell (12) Bonner (8) January (3) College Park Center 4,626 2–5 8 June 23 Los Angeles Sparks W 82–72 Mitchell (22) Griner (9) Mitchell (6) Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,132 3–5 9 June 28 Indiana Fever W 91–69 Griner (23) 3 tied (5) Mitchell (11) Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,435 4–5 10 June 30 @ Seattle Storm W 69–67 Tied (20) Tied (7) Mitchell (4) Alaska Airlines Arena 8,002 5–5
July : 5–4 (Home: 3–1; Road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 11 July 5 New York Liberty L 76–80 Griner (30) Griner (8) Mitchell (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,560 5–6 12 July 7 Atlanta Dream W 65–63 Griner (31) Bonner (14) Mitchell (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,850 6–6 13 July 10 @ Washington Mystics W 91–68 Griner (25) Griner (8) January (6) Capital One Arena 15,377 7–6 14 July 12 @ Connecticut Sun L 64–79 Bonner (20) Bonner (8) January (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,864 7–7 15 July 14 @ Minnesota Lynx L 62–75 Bonner (27) Bonner (7) Mitchell (5) Target Center 8,801 7–8 16 July 17 Dallas Wings W 69–64 Griner (23) Bonner (8) January (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena 10,143 8–8 17 July 20 @ Dallas Wings W 70–66 Griner (17) Griner (8) January (4) College Park Center 5,471 9–8 18 July 23 Indiana Fever W 95–77 Tied (22) Griner (7) January (7) Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,528 10–8 19 July 30 @ Washington Mystics L 93–99 Griner (30) Griner (9) Mitchell (8) St. Elizabeth's East Arena 3,819 10–9
August : 5–6 (Home: 3–3; Road: 2–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 20 August 1 @ Connecticut Sun L 62–68 Bonner (20) Bonner (10) Bonner (4) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,014 10–10 21 August 4 Washington Mystics W 103–82 Griner (26) Griner (9) Griner (8) Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,025 11–10 22 August 8 @ Los Angeles Sparks L 74–84 Griner (27) B. Turner (14) Tied (5) Staples Center 10,345 11–11 23 August 10 Dallas Wings L 77–80 Mitchell (23) B. Turner (11) Tied (3) Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,717 11–12 24 August 14 Connecticut Sun L 71–78 Bonner (17) B. Turner (8) Y. Turner (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,734 11–13 25 August 16 Atlanta Dream W 77–68 Bonner (27) Bonner (14) Mitchell (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,480 12–13 26 August 18 New York Liberty W 78–72 Bonner (30) Bonner (10) January (3) Talking Stick Resort Arena 9,145 13–13 27 August 20 @ Las Vegas Aces L 79–84 (OT) Tied (24) B. Turner (11) January (6) Mandalay Bay Events Center 5,032 13–14 28 August 25 Chicago Sky L 86–94 Griner (34) Bonner (11) Bonner (5) Talking Stick Resort Arena 12,054 13–15 29 August 27 @ New York Liberty W 95–82 Tied (29) Griner (10) Taurasi (10) Westchester County Center 1,693 14–15 30 August 29 @ Atlanta Dream W 65–58 Griner (21) Tied (8) Taurasi (8) State Farm Arena 3,727 15–15
September : 0–4 (Home: 0–3; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 31 September 1 @ Chicago Sky L 78–105 Griner (26) Bonner (12) Mitchell (6) Wintrust Arena 8,845 15–16 32 September 3 Seattle Storm L 70–82 Griner (22) Griner (7) Tied (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena 8,724 15–17 33 September 6 Minnesota Lynx L 69–83 Griner (16) Griner (7) Mitchell (4) Talking Stick Resort Arena 12,140 15–18 34 September 8 Las Vegas Aces L 89–98 Griner (24) Bonner (8) 3 tied (3) Talking Stick Resort Arena 13,135 15–19
2019 season schedule

Playoffs

2019 playoff game log Total: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1)
First Round: 0–1 (Home: 0–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 11 @ Chicago Sky L 76–105 Bonner (21) Bonner (6) 3 tied (3) Wintrust Arena 6,042 0–1
2019 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Western Conference v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Conf.
1	Los Angeles Sparks (3)	22	12	.647	–	15–2	7–10	10–6
2	Las Vegas Aces (4)	21	13	.618	1	13–4	8–9	11–5
3	Seattle Storm (6)	18	16	.529	4	11–6	7–10	10–6
4	Minnesota Lynx (7)	18	16	.529	4	11–6	7–10	7–9
5	Phoenix Mercury (8)	15	19	.441	7	9–8	6–11	5–11
6	e – Dallas Wings	10	24	.294	12	8–9	2–15	5–11

Playoffs

Main article: 2019 WNBA Playoffs

	First round Single elimination (Sept. 11)					Second round Single elimination (Sept. 15)					Semifinals Best-of-5 (Sept. 17 – 24)					WNBA Finals Best-of-5 (Sept. 29 – Oct. 10)
											1	Washington Mystics	3
						4	Las Vegas Aces	93			4	Las Vegas Aces	1
	5	Chicago Sky	105			5	Chicago Sky	92								1	Washington Mystics	3
	8	Phoenix Mercury	76													2	Connecticut Sun	2
											2	Connecticut Sun	3
						3	Los Angeles Sparks	92			3	Los Angeles Sparks	0
	6	Seattle Storm	84			6	Seattle Storm	69
	7	Minnesota Lynx	74

Note: Teams re-seeded after each round.

• Bold – Game or series winner
• Italic – Team with home-court advantage

Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Brittney Griner	31	31	32.8	46.4	33.3	80.8	7.2	2.4	0.7	2.0	20.7
DeWanna Bonner	34	34	32.9	37.7	27.2	91.6	7.6	2.7	1.3	0.6	17.2
Leilani Mitchell	32	27	30.3	44.1	43.0	82.9	3.0	4.0	0.9	0.3	12.8
Briann January	32	26	26.6	39.0	37.8	83.7	1.3	3.3	0.8	0.1	6.5
Yvonne Turner	29	14	20.5	34.3	32.9	87.8	2.8	2.3	0.6	0.1	6.4
Essence Carson	23	13	18.5	35.2	34.1	78.4	2.2	1.5	0.5	0.3	5.8
Diana Taurasi	6	6	21.5	10.3	4.2	94.4	3.2	5.3	0.3	0.2	4.3
Brianna Turner	29	12	15.9	53.8	0	73.1	4.1	0.5	0.2	0.7	4.0
Camille Little	29	0	14.7	43.5	33.3	80.6	2.4	0.8	0.4	0.3	3.9
Sophie Cunningham	32	5	12.2	35.4	30.4	88.2	1.4	0.8	0.3	0.1	3.1
Sancho Lyttle	20	2	12.5	41.9	25.0	62.5	2.9	0.3	0.6	0.3	2.9
Alanna Smith	18	0	7.4	19.5	11.1	50.0	1.9	0.2	0.3	0.3	1.1

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
DeWanna Bonner	WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week	June 10, 2019	[12]
Briann January	WNBA Community Assist Award - May	June 27, 2019	[13]
Brittney Griner	WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week	July 8, 2019	[14]
DeWanna Bonner	WNBA All-Star Selection	July 15, 2019	[15]
Brittney Griner
Brittney Griner	WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week	September 3, 2019	[16]
	WNBA Western Conference Player of the Month - August	September 4, 2019	[17]
	Peak Performer: Points	September 9, 2019	[18]
Brianna Turner	WNBA All-Rookie Team	September 16, 2019	[19]
Leilani Mitchell	Most Improved Player Award	September 18, 2019	[20]