Nate Tibbetts is set to become the highest-paid coach in WNBA history with the Phoenix Mercury, which prompted one WNBA star to call out the pay discrepancies between players and coaches.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad coaches are getting paid,” Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier wrote on social media. “But it’s kinda crazy they’re making 4 times more than the highest paid players.”

For the 2023 season, Indiana Fever guard Erica Wheeler was the highest-paid player in the league, with a salary of $242,154. In 2024, a trio of players are set to lead the league with salaries of $241,984: Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale, Seattle Storm guard Jewell Loyd and Chicago Sky guard Kahleah Copper.

Collier had a salary of $202,154 for the 2023 season. The average salary for WNBA players in the 2022 season stood at $102,751.

Las Vegas Aces head coach Becky Hammon, who was the highest-paid coach in the WNBA before Tibbetts, reportedly earns $1 million per season. While the exact terms of the deal have not been reported, he is set to outearn Hammon, ESPN reported Monday.

Collier is not the first player who has called out salary issues in the WNBA. Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum pointed out the pay gap with the NBA after the 2022 season, saying: “We’re not asking to get paid what the men get paid. We’re asking to get paid the same percentage of revenue shared.”

Skylar Diggins-Smith seemed to call out the Phoenix Mercury on social media Sunday after Sandy Brondello led the New York Liberty to the 2023 WNBA Finals in just her second year as head coach.

Brondello, 55, formerly served as head coach of the Phoenix Mercury from 2014 to 2021, leading the team to the WNBA title in 2014 and to the playoffs in every one of her eight seasons. But following the 2021 season, in which the Mercury lost to the Chicago Sky in the Finals, the team opted to move on from Brondello and did not renew her contract.

Since then, the Mercury have struggled, which resulted in the team parting ways with Brondello’s replacement, Vanessa Nygaard, midway through 2023. They also failed to make the WNBA playoffs this season for the first time since 2012.

Brondello, meanwhile, joined the New York Liberty in 2022. One season later, she has led the superteam to its first WNBA Finals appearance since 2002.

“Damn, it’s almost like Sandy is a good coach?” Diggins-Smith wrote on social media.

Diggins-Smith, 33, has been at odds with the Mercury organization since the end of last season. She gave birth to her second daughter this year, and she remained on maternity leave for the entire 2023 season. She’s set to be a free agent this offseason and all signs point to a departure from Phoenix.

Recently, Diggins-Smith said that she wants to feel “supported and welcomed” by her next WNBA team.

Skylar Diggins-Smith wants to be “supported and welcomed” by her next WNBA team.

The impending free agent hinted again at her rift with the Phoenix Mercury in an interview with Edition by Modern Luxury. The 33-year-old guard spent the 2023 season on maternity leave, and she seems set to depart the Mercury in the offseason.

In 2020, Diggins-Smith joined the Mercury via a sign-and-trade deal from the Dallas Wings after spending the 2019 season on maternity leave after the birth of her first child. Ahead of the 2023 season, she gave birth to her second child. Her desire to balance motherhood and her playing career created friction with her teams, she said.

“I’ve definitely been working towards trying to have one of my most productive years next year, because I think a lot of times—especially in sports—you’re not encouraged to have kids. And the teams that I played for in the past when I got pregnant didn’t like that,” she said. “And so I’m looking forward to being somewhere where my family and I are supported and welcomed.”

While she contemplates free agency, she is working her way toward her WNBA comeback. But she also is not pressuring herself.

“I have been trying to give myself grace and not putting that pressure on myself to be ready now,” she said. “I’m just going through flowing through the process. I’ve been feeling really good.”

And she knows she has time to get back into form. The next WNBA season is still more than six months away, so she is taking it “one day at a time” and spending time with her daughters.

“I hate this freaking snapback culture. Nope, I’m not conforming to that,” she said. “I was obviously blessed. I know not everybody has that luxury to take on maternity leave. So I was able to do that and just recover. So I didn’t feel the pressure to have to pop right back up to practice.”

Even still, she has “hated” missing this year as a competitor. But it’s made her eager to return next year.

And when she does return, she’ll be celebrating 10 years in the WNBA. That’s not something many players can say.

“It’s so dope. I wouldn’t even say 10% of women who come into the WNBA are able to sustain that for 10 years,” she said. “So I really am proud of that and I don’t take it for granted.”

Diggins-Smith “can’t wait to get back on the court again,” and she is excited to have her kids watch her play, she told Edition.

“I love for the idea for them to see me pouring into what I’m really passionate about and to see how high I can go,” she said. “You put your work into this craft, you don’t cheat it. It opened doors to me. … I definitely look forward to seeing what my personal best is because I feel like I still have more to give to the game.”

Brittney Griner has no plans to play with any WNBA team but the Phoenix Mercury.

While Griner, 32, enters the offseason as an unrestricted free agent, she has made it clear that she intends to stay in the place where she’s played the entirety of her 10-season WNBA career.

“Phoenix is home,” Griner said Monday at the Mercury’s final media session of the year. “Me and my wife literally just got a place [here]. This is it.”

The Mercury (9-31) finished last in the WNBA standings in 2023 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012. But Griner and fellow Mercury veteran Diana Taurasi want to stay put.

Taurasi signed a two-year deal ahead of the 2023 season, which will keep her in Phoenix through 2024. The 41-year-old guard confirmed Monday that she intends to play, putting to bed any rumors of retirement.

This season, Taurasi missed 14 games due to injuries, including the final stretch. She last played on Aug. 29. But when she played, she averaged 16.0 points and 4.6 assists.

“Sometimes you can do all the right things, offseason, in season. That doesn’t mean you’re always going to get what you want,” Taurasi said. “I’ve got another year on my contract and I’m definitely going to fulfill that. I’m excited with what we’ll be able to do in free agency and having some salary cap space to make some moves.”

Griner and Taurasi also both intend to make a run for the Paris Olympics next summer.

“Our first training camp is Nov. 2, and I’ll be reporting, and doing my best to hopefully be on that team,” Taurasi said of going for her sixth Olympic appearance for Team USA.

Skylar Diggins-Smith is putting in the work – even if she can’t access the Phoenix Mercury facilities.

Diggins Smith, who is on maternity leave and embroiled in a feud with the franchise, will be a free agent next year. And on Saturday, Bridget Pettis, a former Mercury guard, posted a video of Diggins-Smith to Instagram.

In the video, the guard is seen shooting jumpers, dribbling between her legs and driving into the lane for layups.

Diggins-Smith, a six-time WNBA All-Star, missed the end of the 2022 regular season and the team’s first-round playoff loss to the Las Vegas Aces because of personal reasons.

She then went on maternity leave at the start of this season and, as she revealed in a series of tweets in early August, has not been allowed to use the teams’ practice facilities or access other team resources: massage therapists, chiropractors, chefs, strength and conditioning coaches and nutritionists.

“I’m fine with being distanced,” she wrote on X. “Now I can’t possibly be the villain anymore.”

The Mercury (9-30) have struggled without Diggins-Smith and have the worst record in the league. In their final home game of the season, the Mercury fell to the Las Vegas Aces, 94-73, but Sug Sutton provided a bright spot with a triple-double – the first in league history by a player drafted after the first round.

The team wraps up its regular season Sunday on the road against the Aces.

Sug Sutton’s WNBA career got off to an inauspicious start.

After a four-year college career at Texas, during which she averaged 8.4 points per game, Sutton was selected with the 36th overall – and final – pick of the 2020 WNBA Draft. She has bounced around the league ever since.

On Friday, though, Sutton, now on the Phoenix Mercury, shone like never before.

The guard recorded the first triple-double in Mercury history, posting 18 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. Phoenix lost to the Las Vegas Aces, 94-73, but Sutton’s performance provided a bright spot in a disappointing campaign for the franchise.

“What a special performance and a special opportunity for a special young lady – someone who hasn’t gotten a shot in the league,” Mercury head coach Nikki Blue told reporters.

“She had a shot in Washington once, but jumped from team to team and has finally got her opportunity. We knew from training camp how special of a player Sug was. It’s taken all season for her to really start believing in herself and showing what she can do, and for her to come out and get a triple-double is extremely special.”

Sutton, who is averaging 8.1 points, 4.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game, became the first player drafted after the first round to record a triple-double in WNBA history.

The Mercury wrap up the regular season Sunday on the road against the Aces.

“We didn’t have a really good season, but there are still positives that came out of it,” Sutton told reporters. “We still had really great fans. We still had that bond within the team. I think we grew a really great relationship with each other regardless of the year, regardless of our record. I am just taking in everything with this last home game.”

Natasha Cloud is calling out the inappropriate behavior she experienced from a WNBA fan outside of the Phoenix Mercury’s arena.

Following the Washington Mystics’ 100-77 win, Cloud walked outside the arena and was accosted by a fan. She described the interaction in a series of posts on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“I have no issue taking pictures with or signing anything for fans,” Cloud wrote. But what she experienced as she left Footprint Center was “too much.”

The fan “demanded” an autograph, then called out the Mystics guard for the long wait, “as if she was irritated I just played a game,” Cloud wrote. After that, Cloud was “inappropriately grabbed and aggressively spun by that same fan” while taking a photo.

“We are human beings bro. And entitlement and aggressiveness towards us is unacceptable,” Cloud concluded. “I never say no to fans. I don’t want to start to for my own protection. So let’s start showing all of us some respect.”

The Phoenix Mercury’s playoff streak has come to an end, and now it’s time for the franchise to look to the future. The team’s run of 10 consecutive postseason appearances officially ended with a loss to the Dallas Wings on Sunday, though the outcome was expected for much of the season.

Phoenix lost 10 of 12 games to start the season before parting ways with head coach Vanessa Nygaard in late June. They battled injuries, and All-Star Brittney Griner missed several games on mental health leave stemming from her 10-month detainment in Russia last year. Meanwhile, veteran guard Skylar Diggins-Smith, who had a career-best season in 2022-23, has been out on maternity leave.

The cards were stacked against the Mercury from the start, and they couldn’t overcome the bevy of challenges.

Interim head coach Nikki Blue said Sunday that her team would focus on winning their remaining games, despite being out of the playoffs but in the running for the top pick in the draft lottery. She also admitted that the team did not live up to the standard previously set in Phoenix.

After falling to the Atlanta Dream 94-76 on Tuesday, the Mercury have games against Connecticut, Minnesota and Washington before closing their season with two contests against first-place Las Vegas.

“It was a season that was not ideal,” said Blue, who served as an assistant coach before assuming the interim role.

Phoenix has also struggled with off-court issues this season surrounding Diggins-Smith. The six-time WNBA All-Star averaged 19.7 points, 5.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game for the Mercury last season after helping them reach the Finals in 2021. But in 2022, Nygaard attempted to downplay rising tensions between her and Diggins-Smith over comments she made around the All-Star Game. And during a game, Diggins-Smith and Diana Taurasi had to be separated during a heated exchange on the bench.

This year, in early August, Diggins-Smith expressed concerns with how the Mercury have managed her maternity leave. Her comments on social media came in response to a fan who questioned why the Mercury did not wish Diggins-Smith a happy birthday on their social media accounts.

“They’re not gonna acknowledge me this year and it’s OK guys,” Diggins-Smith wrote. “We’re not affiliated unless it’s the checks….per management. I can’t even use the practice facility or any resources.”

Diggins-Smith, who gave birth to her second child earlier this year, later clarified that “resources” includes “massage therapists, chiropractor, chefs, strength and conditioning, and nutritionists.”

The Notre Dame product will be a free agent in 2024, and the recent events make it hard to envision her re-signing with Phoenix.

Meanwhile, future Hall of Famer Diana Taurasi became the first player in WNBA history to reach 10,000 career points this season. She is nearing the end of her career, though she has a year left on her contract with Phoenix and remains tight-lipped about a potential retirement.

Taurasi has been the center of Phoenix’s offense since she was drafted by the franchise in 2004. The 41-year-old is being paid $234,936 this season and next, before becoming a free agent in 2025.

The Mercury need to start looking toward the future, especially if they want to capitalize on Griner’s resurgence. She helped Phoenix to a WNBA title in 2014, and the 32-year-old can serve as a centerpiece for several more seasons if the Mercury surround her with talent.

Phoenix will be one of four teams in the lottery with a chance at earning the rights to the top draft pick in 2024, where they could select Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Cameron Brink, Angel Reese or another top college prospect. Despite being at the top of mock draft boards, all four players could come back for a fifth season due to an eligibility rule stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, which canceled their freshman seasons.

But before Phoenix turns to the draft, the organization needs to decide if Blue is the coach for the job. The former UCLA player was an assistant coach for four college programs between 2008 and 2022 before joining the Mercury staff last season.

“I hope that they’ve seen the transition that our team has made in the time that I’ve been head coach,” Blue told reporters on Sunday. “Once we get a full roster, I would like to see what we can do with that.”

Phoenix has gone 7-16 since Blue took over.

Eden Laase is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @eden_laase.

Brittney Griner came to celebrate Diana Taurasi’s 10,000-point milestone Thursday even as she takes time away from WNBA competition to take care of her mental health.

Griner donned Taurasi’s No. 3 jersey and cheered on her Phoenix Mercury teammate as Taurasi became the first player to reach 10,000 career points with a monster 42-point performance. After the game, Griner could be seen dancing behind Taurasi and mouthing, “That’s 10,000 points!” while her teammate was being interviewed.

Of course, Griner has joked with Taurasi before. Back in April, she poked fun at Taurasi’s age in her first press conference since returning from her unlawful detention in Russia in 2022. Griner, 32, and Taurasi, 41, have been teammates since the former joined Phoenix as the No. 1 overall pick in 2013.

“Playing with D — who wouldn’t want to play with a walking fossil?” Griner said with a laugh. “Ha, she’s gonna kill me. No, I’m just so glad. I was really worried. Legit, I was worried. I thought she was gonna retire on me, or I was going to miss it, and that, honestly, was killing me knowing that was a possibility.”

Griner’s exuberance in celebrating Taurasi’s milestone was a wonderful show of support by the nine-time All-Star. Griner has been putting up big performances this season herself, but she has missed the Mercury’s last three games to focus on her mental health.

The Mercury are committed to working with Griner on a timeline for her return, the team said Saturday.

Diana Taurasi became the first WNBA player to reach 10,000 career points Thursday night. And then she kept going.

The 41-year-old guard finished with 42 points in the Phoenix Mercury’s 91-71 win over the Atlanta Dream, a career high for points scored in regulation. With her first 40-point game since 2010, she also became the oldest WNBA player to drop 40-plus points.

Yet even after her milestone night, the latest in a long long of broken records for Taurasi, she kept her accomplishments in perspective. Eventually, someone, someday will take her place.

“I think it is just pushing the limits,” she said after the game. “I said it earlier – when you love something and you are passionate about something, you push the limits. It is not my record. It is not my number. It’s going to be a number that will be broken at one point by someone that loves basketball as much as I did and is willing to give up moments that you take for granted for moments that are legendary.”

For now, though, she’s going to enjoy the moment, particularly as she reflects on the journey that got her here.

“I wouldn’t change a thing. Every moment led to another moment,” she said. “It started in my driveway. It really did. It was just innocent. It was naive. There was no goal. There was no plan. There was no speaking English. It was just a kid who liked to play basketball in her front yard.

“Sometimes you forget that it is supposed to be fun. As the years have gone by, I have to keep reminding myself that when you do something you love, it is not your job. It is not work. It is just your passion.”

Mercury interim head coach Nikki Blue shared in the moment. Blue, 39, has known Taurasi since their AAU basketball days, and she found herself in awe when Taurasi hit the 10,000-point shot.

“I told her that I was proud of her. It’s funny because she is older than me, but we’ve known each other since 16-years-old playing AAU basketball together,” Blue said. “To see her growth and to dominate this sport and to represent the way that she does — it’s not about me, but it was special for me to be able to witness that and to coach her tonight. I thanked her and told her I was proud of her. She was amazing tonight.”

After all, Taurasi didn’t just pass the milestone. She dominated, turning in a vintage Diana Taurasi performance.

“I’ve never seen anything like that before. For her to show that she’s still at the top of her game, it was really a sight to see,” Blue said. “Just to be able to witness this tonight was truly special and only the way the Diana Taurasi could do it. Forty-two points at 41-years-old? You guys! We have never seen anything like this. It was so much fun.”