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WNBA team season
The 2022 WNBA season was the 25th season for the Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association . The season began on May 6, 2022, against the Las Vegas Aces [1] and ended in the 1st round of the WNBA Playoffs against the same team. The season was marred by a number of issues, including injuries and the absence of Brittney Griner , who was detained in Russia on drug charges.
On December 6, 2021, the Mercury announced that they would not be renewing Sandy Brondello 's contract and parted ways with her as Head Coach.[2] On January 24, 2022, the Mercury announced that Vanessa Nygaard had been hired as Brondello's replacement.[3]
The Mercury got off to a quick start to the season, winning two of their first three games. However, that momentum did not last as they then went on a seven game losing streak. They ended May 2–7. They were able to end their losing streak in June and win four of their first six games that month. However, they lost three and won three of their final six to end the month 7–5. July was another up and down month as the team struggled to build momentum and couldn't build a streak. They finished the month 4–5. Diana Taurasi suffered a quad strain during their game against the Connecticut Sun on August 2. The Mercury announced that she would miss the rest of the regular season with the injury.[4] On August 11, 2022, the Mercury announced that Skylar Diggins-Smith would miss the final 3 games of the season due to personal reasons.[5] Despite injuries to two of their prominent players, the Mercury entered the final day of the season with a chance at qualifying for the playoffs. Despite a final day loss and a 2–4 August record, the Mercury finished in eighth place in the standings and qualified for the final playoff spot.
The Mercury faced first seed Las Vegas in First Round of the playoffs. The first two games of the series were in Las Vegas and the Mercury lost both games, preventing the series from returning to Phoenix. Neither game was close with the Mercury losing by sixteen points in Game One and thirty-seven points in Game Two.
Transactions
WNBA Draft
Trades and Roster Changes
Date
Transaction
December 6, 2021
Parted Ways with Head Coach Sandy Brondello
January 11, 2022
Extended a Qualifying Offer to Shey Peddy [6]
January 13, 2022
Sign Shey Peddy to a Qualifying Offer [7]
Waived Megan Walker [8]
Extended a Qualifying Offer to Kia Nurse [9]
January 24, 2022
Hired Vanessa Nygaard as Head Coach[10]
January 31, 2022
Traded Kia Vaughn to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for a 2023 Third Round Pick[11]
February 1, 2022
Re-Signed Sophie Cunningham to a One-Year Deal[12] [13]
February 3, 2022
Traded Bria Hartley , the 20th Pick in the 2022 WNBA Draft , and a 2nd Round Pick in 2023 to the Indiana Fever , as well as a 1st Round Pick in 2023 to the Chicago Sky in exchange for Diamond DeShields from Chicago[14]
Signed Jennie Simms to a Training Camp Contract[15]
February 4, 2022
Signed Tina Charles to a One-Year Deal[16]
February 5, 2022
Signed Kia Nurse to One-Year Deal[17]
February 13, 2022
Signed Leaonna Odom to a Training Camp Contract[18]
March 1, 2022
Signed Kiana Williams to a Training Camp Contract[19]
March 2, 2022
Hired Crystal Robinson as an Assistant Coach[20]
March 10, 2022
Signed Kristine Anigwe to a Training Camp Contract
March 31, 2022
Hired Nikki Blue and Cinnamon Lister as Assistant Coaches[21]
April 12, 2022
Signed Sam Thomas to a Training Camp Contract
April 13, 2022
Signed Maya Dodson and Macee Williams to Rookie Scale Contracts
Signed Mael Gilles and Vivian Gray to Training Camp Contracts
April 16, 2022
Signed Emma Cannon to a Training Camp Contract[22]
April 21, 2022
Waived Macee Williams
April 30, 2022
Waived Mael Gilles [23]
May 3, 2022
Waived Emma Cannon , Kiana Williams , Jennie Simms, and Vivian Gray
May 4, 2022
Signed Megan Gustafson to a Training Camp Contract
May 5, 2022
Temporarily Suspend Brianna Turner and Diamond DeShields due to Overseas Commitments
Waived Maya Dodson and Leaonna Odom
May 6, 2022
Signed Emma Cannon and Jennie Simms to Hardship Contracts[24]
May 10, 2022
Activated Brianna Turner and Diamond DeShields from their Temporary Suspensions
Released Emma Cannon and Jennie Simms from their Hardship Contracts
May 14, 2022
Signed Brianna Turner to an Contract Extension
May 25, 2022
Signed Karlie Samuelson to a Hardship Contract[25]
May 30, 2022
Released Karlie Samuelson from her Hardship Contract
June 9, 2022
Signed Jennie Simms to a Hardship Contract[26]
June 23, 2022
Released Jennie Simms from her Hardship Contract
June 24, 2022
Waived Kristine Anigwe
June 25, 2022
Waived Tina Charles [27]
June 28, 2022
Signed Reshanda Gray and Jennie Simms to 7-Day Contracts[28]
July 4, 2022
Signed Reshanda Gray and Jennie Simms to their 2nd 7-Day Contracts
July 11, 2022
Signed Reshanda Gray and Jennie Simms to their 3rd 7-Day Contracts
July 18, 2022
Signed Reshanda Gray
Signed Jennie Simms to a Hardship Contract
July 21, 2022
Signed Kaela Davis to a 7-Day Hardship Contract[29]
July 29, 2022
Signed Kaela Davis to a 2nd 7-Day Hardship Contract
August 8, 2022
Signed Yvonne Turner to a Hardship Contract[30]
August 10, 2022
Temporarily Suspend Skylar Diggins-Smith
August 11, 2022
Signed Kaela Davis to a Hardship Contract
Roster
2022 Phoenix Mercury roster
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Nat.
Name
Height
Weight
DOB
From
Yrs
G
9
Cunningham, Sophie
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
1996-08-16
Missouri
G
33
Davis, Kaela
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
03-15-1995
South Carolina
G
1
DeShields, Diamond
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
172 lb (78 kg)
1995-03-05
Tennessee
G
4
Diggins-Smith, Skylar (S)
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
145 lb (66 kg)
1990-08-02
Notre Dame
F
12
Gray, Reshanda
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
192 lb (87 kg)
06-01-1993
California
C
42
Griner, Brittney (inactive)
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
1990-10-18
Baylor
C
10
Gustafson, Megan
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
12-13-1996
Iowa
G
0
Nurse, Kia
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
168 lb (76 kg)
1996-02-22
Connecticut
G
11
Peddy, Shey
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
147 lb (67 kg)
1988-10-28
Temple
G
25
Simms, Jennie
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
04-21-1994
Old Dominion
G/F
3
Taurasi, Diana
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
163 lb (74 kg)
1982-06-11
Connecticut
G/F
14
Thomas, Sam
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
06-14-1999
Arizona
F
21
Turner, Brianna
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
1996-07-05
Notre Dame
G
22
Turner, Yvonne
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
131 lb (59 kg)
1987-10-13
Nebraska
Head coach
Vanessa Nygaard (Stanford )
Assistant coaches
Crystal Robinson (SE Oklahoma State ) Nikki Blue (UCLA ) Cinnamon Lister (Cal State Northridge )
Athletic trainer
Hannah Breck (Boston University )
Strength and conditioning coach
Derrick Nillissen (Iowa Wesleyan )
Legend
(C) Team captain
(FA) Free agent
(IN) Inactive
(S) Suspended
Injured
Depth
Schedule
Preseason
Regular Season
2022 game log Total: 15–21 (Home: 11–7; Road: 4–14)
May: 2–7 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–5)
June
: 7–5 (Home: 4–2; Road: 3–3)
Game
Date
Team
Score
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Location Attendance
Record
10
June 3
Connecticut
L 88–92
Diana Taurasi (32)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (6)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (6)
Footprint Center 7,180
2–8
11
June 5
Los Angeles
W 81–74
Skylar Diggins-Smith (29)
Brianna Turner (9)
Diana Taurasi (7)
Footprint Center 10,151
3–8
12
June 10
Atlanta
W 90–88
Diana Taurasi (23)
Brianna Turner (13)
Diana Taurasi (6)
Footprint Center 7,650
4–8
13
June 12
@ Washington
W 99–90 (OT)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (27)
Brianna Turner (10)
Diana Taurasi (7)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200
5–8
14
June 14
@ Washington
L 65–83
Diamond DeShields (21)
Diamond DeShields (8)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (8)
Entertainment and Sports Arena 3,088
5–9
15
June 15
@ Indiana
W 93–80
Tina Charles (29)
Brianna Turner (10)
Shey Peddy (7)
Indiana Farmers Coliseum 1,824
6–9
16
June 17
@ Dallas
L 88–93
Tina Charles (27)
Tina Charles (9)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (10)
College Park Center 3,140
6–10
17
June 21
Minnesota
L 71–84
Skylar Diggins-Smith (25)
Tina Charles (7)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (6)
Footprint Center 6,394
6–11
18
June 23
@ Minnesota
L 88–100
Tina Charles (26)
Brianna Turner (8)
Skylar Diggins-Smith (5)
Target Center 8,004
6–12
19
June 25
@ Dallas
W 83–72
Skylar Diggins-Smith (26)
Diamond DeShields (10)
Shey Peddy (6)
College Park Center 4,240
7–12
20
June 27
Indiana
W 83–71
Diana Taurasi (27)
Brianna Turner (8)
Shey Peddy (5)
Footprint Center 5,044
8–12
21
June 29
Indiana
W 99–78
Skylar Diggins-Smith (17)
Brianna Turner (11)
Diggins-Smith Taurasi (7)
Footprint Center 5,833
9–12
July
: 4–5 (Home: 4–1; Road: 0–4)
August
: 2–4 (Home: 2–2; Road: 0–2)
2022 season schedule
Playoffs
Standings
Notes
(#) – League Standing
x – Clinched playoff berth
e – Eliminated from playoff contention
Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings
Playoffs
Template:2022 WNBA Playoffs
Statistics
Regular Season
‡ Waived/Released during the season
† Traded during the season
≠ Acquired during the season
Playoffs
Awards and Honors
References
^ "2022 Phoenix Mercury Schedule" . mercury.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved January 1, 2022 .
^ "MERCURY COACHING ANNOUNCEMENT" . mercury.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved January 1, 2022 .
^ "MERCURY NAMES VANESSA NYGAARD HEAD COACH" . Phoenix Mercury . Retrieved 2022-01-24 .
^ Maloney, Jack. "Diana Taurasi injury update: Mercury star to miss remainder of WNBA season with quad injury" . cbssports.com . CBS Sports. Retrieved August 12, 2022 .
^ Gonzalez, Isabel. "Mercury guard Skylar Diggins-Smith out for the remainder of the season for 'personal reasons' " . cbssports.com . CBS Sports. Retrieved August 12, 2022 .
^ "Rachel Galligan Tweet" . twitter.com . Twitter. Retrieved January 11, 2022 .
^ "WNBA Transactions" . acrossthetimeline.com . Across the Timeline. Retrieved January 13, 2022 .
^ Ortiz, Jenna. "Phoenix Mercury sign Shey Peddy, waive Megan Walker in offseason moves" . azcentral.com . Arizona Central. Retrieved January 13, 2022 .
^ "WNBA Transactions" . acrossthetimeline.com . Across the Timeline. Retrieved January 13, 2022 .
^ "MERCURY NAMES VANESSA NYGAARD HEAD COACH" . mercury.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved January 24, 2022 .
^ "Atlanta Acquires Kia Vaughn in Trade" . dream.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved January 31, 2022 .
^ "MERCURY RE-SIGNS SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM" . mercury.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved February 1, 2022 .
^ "Richard Cohen Tweet" . twitter.com . Twitter. Retrieved February 1, 2022 .
^ "MERCURY ACQUIRES ALL-STAR DIAMOND DESHIELDS" . mercury.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved February 5, 2022 .
^ "Rachel Galligan Tweet" . twitter.com . Twitter. Retrieved February 10, 2022 .
^ "MERCURY SIGNS 2021 WNBA LEADING SCORER TINA CHARLES" . mercury.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved February 10, 2022 .
^ "MERCURY RE-SIGNS ALL-STAR WING KIA NURSE" . mercury.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved February 10, 2022 .
^ "Khristina Williams Tweet" . twitter.com . Twitter. Retrieved February 16, 2022 .
^ "Khristina Williams Tweet 2" . twitter.com . Twitter. Retrieved March 2, 2022 .
^ "MERCURY ADDS CRYSTAL ROBINSON TO COACHING STAFF" . mercury.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved March 2, 2022 .
^ "PHOENIX MERCURY ADD NIKKI BLUE AND CINNAMON LISTER TO 2022 COACHING STAFF" . mercury.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved April 15, 2022 .
^ "MERCURY ADD EMMA CANNON TO TRAINING CAMP ROSTER" . mercury.wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved April 23, 2022 .
^ "The Phoenix Mercury has waived Maël Gilles" . twitter.com . Twitter. Retrieved May 2, 2022 .
^ "The Phoenix Mercury has signed Emma Cannon and Jennie Simms to replacement contracts" . twitter.com . Twitter. Retrieved May 6, 2022 .
^ "The Phoenix Mercury has signed Karlie Samuelson to a hardship contract. She will be available for tonight's game" . twitter.com . Twitter. Retrieved June 1, 2022 .
^ "The Phoenix Mercury has signed Jennie Simms to a hardship contract. She will be available for tomorrow night's game" . twitter.com . Twitter. Retrieved 14 June 2022 .
^ Phoenix Mercury [@PhoenixMercury] (June 25, 2022). "Thank you, Tina! (thread)" (Tweet ) – via Twitter .
^ "Phoenix Mercury sign forward Reshanda Gray, guard Jennie Simms" . Arizona Sports . 2022-06-27. Retrieved 2022-06-27 .
^ Phoenix Mercury [@PhoenixMercury] (July 21, 2022). "The Phoenix Mercury has signed forward Kaela Davis to a hardship contract. She will be available for tomorrow night's game against the Seattle Storm" (Tweet ) – via Twitter .
^ Phoenix Mercury [@PhoenixMercury] (August 8, 2022). "The Phoenix Mercury has signed Yvonne "Vonnie" Turner to a hardship contract due to an injury suffered by Diana Taurasi" (Tweet ) – via Twitter .
^ "Chicago Sky Trio of Kahleah Copper, Emma Meesseman, Courtney Vandersloot Highlight Reserves for AT&T WNBA All-Star 2022" . wnba.com . WNBA. Retrieved July 1, 2022 .
^ @WNBA (July 18, 2022). "These two have been BALLING 👏 @SkyDigg4 & @De11eDonne are your #WNBA Players of the Week 🌟" (Tweet ) – via Twitter .
^ "Kia WNBA MVP A'ja Wilson Leads 2022 All-WNBA First Team" (Press release). WNBA. September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 17, 2022 .
External links
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