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.”

Skylar Diggins-Smith, who is on maternity leave, is unable to use the Phoenix Mercury’s practice facilities or any other team resources, she said Thursday.

The 33-year-old guard has been on maternity leave since the start of the 2023 WNBA season after giving birth to her second child earlier this year. While she has been seen practicing her game in social media videos, her return to the court this season remains an open question.

The six-time WNBA All-Star is under contract with the Mercury. Yet while coach Vanessa Nygaard – with whom Diggins-Smith had a tenuous relationship – was fired in June, the team and Diggins-Smith remain at odds.

In a series of social media posts Thursday, Diggins-Smith said she is barred from using the team’s facility and resources. The initial post came in response to fan, who noticed that the team had not wished Diggins-Smith a happy birthday. Diggins-Smith turned 33 on Aug. 2.

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

She then clarified which resources she is going without but which “EVERY other player has access to,” including massage therapists, chiropractors, chefs, strength and conditioning coaches and nutritionists.

“I’m fine with being distanced… (because) now I can’t possibly be the villain anymore,” she wrote.

Local reporter Sarah Kezele reported that the lack of access for Diggins-Smith “is related to her personal relationship with the organization at the moment, not the fact that she is on maternity leave.”

Earlier this season, Phoenix players remained mum about her return, but several – including Brittney Griner – noted that they had spoken with her this season.

But Mercury general manager Jim Pitman, when asked directly if he would like to see Diggins-Smith in a Mercury uniform this season, said only that “she’s on maternity leave right now.”

Diggins-Smith missed the last four games of the 2022 regular season and Phoenix’s opening-round playoff series against the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces for personal reasons, the team said at the time. She averaged 19.7 points in 30 games up to that point.

“It was all good when I was leaving for personal time!! But when I’m leaving because I was having complications and scared of risking my child… while leading the league in minutes (pregnant). Trade her?” she wrote Thursday, alluding to issues with the team dating back to the 2022 season.

LAS VEGAS — A few days before the All-Star Game, in a poetic sort of foreshadowing, Courtney Vandersloot decided to watch highlights of Brittney Griner dunking.

The 6-foot-9 Phoenix Mercury center has been known for the skill since her college days at Baylor, and Griner and Vandersloot have now both been in the league for a long time — a decade for Griner and 12 years for Vandersloot. They’ve played together overseas and against each other in the WNBA. Seeing Griner dunk brought back happy memories for the Liberty guard.

Last season, Vandersloot and the rest of the WNBA weren’t sure if they would see Griner again at all, let alone dunking on a basketball court.

But on July 9, she threw one down against the Sparks for her first of the season. And on Saturday, there she was again, dunking twice in the All-Star Game and adding a new highlight to the videos Vandersloot was watching.

Brittney Griner was back where she belonged.

“Just to see her smile again, she just lights up the WNBA community,” DeWanna Bonner said before the game. “I’m super excited that she gets to be back here and experience this.”

When Griner was announced, the Las Vegas crowd erupted into booming cheers. This time last year, she was still wrongfully detained in a Russian prison. Her presence was felt as the WNBA’s 2022 All-Stars honored Griner by all coming out in the second half wearing her No. 42 jersey.

But on Saturday, there was only one Griner jersey on the floor. The only one the WNBA needed.

It was a powerful, heartfelt moment. But that’s not why Griner was in Las Vegas. The Mercury center made her ninth All-Star appearance because, against all odds, she’s in the midst of an incredible season.

When Griner returned home, she promised to play basketball in 2023 but said it would take her time to get her footing once again. In reality, that hasn’t been the case.

In her first game of the season, Griner recorded 18 points, six rebounds, four blocks and two assists, and since then, she’s continued to stuff the stat sheet. The Mercury are struggling, currently second-to-last in the league standings with a 4-15 record, but Griner is not. She’s averaging 19.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.

Seeing Griner smiling, joking with teammates, interacting with fans and even eating bacon and snow cones on the sidelines during All-Star weekend served as a reminder of what was missing when she was gone. Brittney Griner the person is truly something special.

So is Brittney Griner the basketball player. Seeing her with a ball in her hand, wearing an All-Star jersey was just as impactful. And Griner has been impacting the game for years, dating back to her days at Baylor.

“She’s one of the best to ever do it,” Vandersloot said. “She’s unstoppable, unguardable. It’s incredible what she’s been able to do.”

In the All-Star Game, Griner put up 18 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots.

From the sidelines, Stanford star and fellow post player Cameron Brink marveled at Griner’s skills. Brink grew up watching Griner, gleaning whatever she could from the center’s game.

“She’s iconic,” Brink said. “If she drops-steps, you better take charge or something, because you’re not stopping her. She has great body control, a great spin move. She just has a great package of footwork.”

Griner has served as inspiration for a generation of post players who have come behind her, many of whom are in the league now.

Ezi Magbegor still remembers the first time she had to guard Griner when Australia faced the United States in the 2018 FIBA World Cup. Now, the two are peers in the WNBA.

Despite being 6-9 and dominant in the paint, Griner doesn’t just rely on her size, something the 6-4 Magbegor admires.

“She’s not one-dimensional,” the Storm forward said. “She can shoot, and she moves up and down the floor really well. Her presence on the court defensively and offensively is felt, and that is something we all look up to. She’s brought a lot to the game.”

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(David Becker/NBAE via Getty Images)

Griner has been consistent on the court from her time at Baylor — where she won an NCAA Championship and was named National Player of the Year in 2012 — to her WNBA career. Since the Mercury selected her with the top overall pick in 2013, Griner has won a WNBA Championship, been named an All-Star seven times and earned a spot on six All-WNBA Teams and seven All-WNBA Defensive Teams.

During her career, Griner has never averaged fewer than 12.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game — the numbers she put up during her rookie campaign.

With that kind of dominance, it comes as no surprise that after Saturday’s All-Star Game, Griner was asked what it would be like to play as an All-Star in Phoenix, the host site of the 2024 game.

There was no qualifying statement of “if you’re selected,” because Griner having another All-Star season feels like a foregone conclusion.

That’s what happens when, as Vandersloot said, you’re one of the best to ever do it.

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

Diana Taurasi sees herself riding off into the sunset upon her eventual retirement from the WNBA.

When asked if she would transition into coaching after the end of her playing career, the 41-year-old guard was firm about her future.

“Coach? No, no, no, no. Not coaching this generation, nope, nope, nope,” she said. “I am transitioning more into like, living on an island with a lot of coffee.”

As Taurasi closes in on the 10,000 point milestone (9,881) in her 19th WNBA season, she also is closing in on the end of her career. Her contract runs through 2025, with Taurasi inking a multi-year extension in February. But the 10-time All-Star and former league MVP knows her time is coming to join the likes of Sylvia Fowles and Sue Bird, both of whom retired after the 2022 season.

“Probably not much longer,” she said of her time remaining in the league. “All good stories come to an end. It’s about wrapping up.”

But while Bird has remained close to the WNBA – including sitting courtside at Wednesday’s Mercury game – Taurasi doesn’t envision that for herself.

“I probably won’t be around much,” she said.

Phoenix Mercury interim head coach Nikki Blue picked up her first win Thursday as the team snapped a six-game losing streak with an 85-63 victory over the Indiana Fever.

“Their energy level was at an all-time high,” Blue said of the players. “It was very fun basketball to watch and even more fun to coach. As much as I credit us as coaches putting it together, it was all these players. They make our jobs easy on nights like this.”

Mercury veteran Diana Taurasi had 17 points, one of her best performances of the season. Following the game, Taurasi talked about Blue’s first win as a head coach.

“We’ve all been through it together,” she told reporters after the game. “It’s been refreshing the last couple of days, of trying to reset as a group and coach has been the main factor in that. It’s been really good trying to move forward. … It’s just a credit to her hard work.”

Taurasi also spoke for the first time about the departure of Vanessa Nygaard, who was fired on June 25 after a 2-10 start to the season.

“The last few years has not been easy in a lot of ways for our franchise, for our team,” she said. “I thought Vanessa did an incredible job of always keeping her cool, always keeping the team together.

“I don’t pick the coaches here. I think people think I do a lot here but I play and the GM and management, they made decisions, what’s best for our team. And I think going forward, that’s what they were thinking. So, I have great respect for Vanessa and I’m sure she’ll find a way to get back in coaching because that is her passion and her love and I learned a lot from her.”

The Mercury have had a “renewed sense of confidence” amid the coaching change, Blue said earlier this week. While the coach did not know what to expect when she took the helm, players have “exceeded my expectations,” she said.

After her first win, she outlined her journey over the last year, which included being passed over for the Arizona State head coaching job in 2022 before she joined the Mercury.

“I’ve been through so much coaching. And it’s not about me, but a year ago, in March, I was assistant coach at ASU,” Blue said. “Charli Turner Thorne said she was retiring, wanted to hand over the program to me. … They actually found a phenomenal coach. But to be told that I checked all the boxes except one, which was head coaching experience, was difficult for me since I was so bought into that school and I wanted that job.

“For us to get this win, it just reminds me of that saying, ‘God doesn’t call on the qualified, he qualifies the called.’ … So all I needed was an opportunity and … a great team to have my back. I’m so grateful we got this win and I got my first win as a head coach, and I’m truly appreciative of that.”

Turner Thorne is joining the Mercury as an assistant on Blue’s staff, the team announced Friday.

The status of Phoenix Mercury star Skylar Diggins-Smith remains up in the air for the 2023 WNBA season.

Diggins-Smith gave birth to her second child earlier this year, and she started the WNBA season on maternity leave. The 32-year-old has been seen on social media putting up shots, but whether she will sit out the season or return to the court (and to the Mercury) is an open question.

Diggins-Smith missed the last four games of the 2022 regular season and Phoenix’s opening-round playoff series against the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces for personal reasons, the team said at the time. She averaged 19.7 points in 30 games up to that point.

After the end of the season, she announced her pregnancy. She missed the 2019 WNBA season after giving birth to her son that spring, which sets a precedent for the guard missing the 2023 season after the recent birth of her daughter.

The relationship between Diggins-Smith and head coach Vanessa Nygaard was rocky, including when she tweeted a clown emoji in response to comments from the coach. But the team parted ways with Nygaard after a 2-10 start.

Still, players and team personnel have remained mum on her status.

“She’s one of the top players in the whole league and when you’re done having a child, who knows how long it takes your body to get back?” Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham said Saturday. “It’s up in the air. We know as much as you. And so that’s that.”

Mercury center Brittney Griner, who was recently named an All-Star starter, said Diggins-Smith congratulated her on the honor. But she did not speculate on a possible return date for Diggins-Smith.

“Above my paygrade, that’s a great question for the people above me,” Griner said when asked about Diggins-Smith’s status. “Last night, she hit me and told me congrats on the All-Star, and I asked her how the fam’s doing, how everything’s going. People get too tied up in basketball. We’re all human, we have families and we have other things that are bigger than basketball. It was good to talk to her.”

Mercury general manager Jim Pitman, when asked directly if he would like to see Diggins-Smith in a Mercury uniform this season, said only that “she’s on maternity leave right now.” Following this season, Diggins-Smith is a free agent.

The guard recently told Essence that she’s in no rush to get back, noting that returning from pregnancy is “a process.”

“Your body changes and everybody carries differently. You just have to really sit back and realize what you’ve done, what your body has done,” she said. “Give your body time to heal, give your body time to recover, give yourself grace during this time. It’s a process.

“I’m not really worried about snapping back. I just want to enjoy this time with my daughter.”

The travel situation for Brittney Griner and the Phoenix Mercury had to hit “rock bottom” before the WNBA addressed the issue, Griner said Monday.

Earlier this month, Griner and her Mercury teammates were harassed by a right-wing YouTuber at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport en route to a road game. In the aftermath of the incident, WNBA players again called for better travel options — particularly for Griner, who was detained in Russia for 10 months in 2022 and has attracted increased attention since her return.

While the WNBA expanded its charter flight program for the 2023 season, most travel still comes on commercial flights in premium economy seats.

In addition to allowing charter flights for travel to back-to-back games, the WNBA also is allowing teams to fly on public charter service JetSuiteX. JSX offers preset routes and schedules but operates out of private terminals, which helps teams bypass airports and TSA security. But only a few WNBA cities are serviced by JSX, and the WNBA prohibits teams from working with JSX to create flights outside of its usual schedule.

“I’ll say this. I think we should have already had the option to use a different airline, a more private airline, charter flights,” Griner said Monday. “It’s a shame that it had to get to rock bottom, because I feel like waiting for something to happen and then making a change… You don’t know what that something is going to be. We’ve all seen what can happen in this world. And when you play the ‘let’s-wait-and-see’ game, you’re really playing with fire. You’re playing with people’s lives.

“So I’m glad that they finally got it together — and, you know, are going to allow us to do this. It’s just a shame that it took so damn long, honestly.”

While the airport confrontation brought the issue of the Mercury’s travel arrangements to the forefront, the WNBA and the Mercury have kept the details of the team’s travel plans private for safety reasons.

The Mercury have been allowed to use JSX flights for the entire team on “created” routes due to special circumstances, ESPN reported. Neither the league nor the Mercury have confirmed such usage.

Also according to ESPN, Griner was approved to fly privately for the entire season after the incident; according to the league, Griner had permission to do so since the beginning of the season.

While WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that the Mercury had been told to do “anything you want to do” in terms of Griner’s travel due to the situation, a source told ESPN that that recommendation was not as broad before the start of the season. Per ESPN, the WNBA approved a “hybrid plan,” which included Griner flying on two preapproved charter flights, with the option to add more with the approval of the league.

The Phoenix Mercury announced on Sunday morning that Vanessa Nygaard is out as head coach after a 2-10 start to the 2023 WNBA season.

The news comes after Phoenix lost to the Seattle Storm 97-74 on Saturday night, marking the team’s fifth straight loss. Both Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi played in Seattle after missing three games due to injury.

“What’s happening just isn’t going to cut it,” Griner said postgame.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever had a record like this, that’s for sure. It’s really frustrating honestly. I don’t know (how to fix it). I guess tear it down and rebuild it back up. I really don’t get it. It’s just not going the way we want it to go. It’s not the Phoenix Mercury basketball that we all know.”

Nygaard, who was hired by the Mercury in January 2022, oversaw a tumultuous 2022 season during which Griner was detained in Russia. The season prior, the Mercury played in the WNBA Finals under head coach Sandy Brondello, who left for the New York Liberty that offseason.

“We thank Vanessa Nygaard for the way she endured and managed the adversity of the last year-plus.  Our organization and our fans have high expectations for this team, and we have not reached those with our performance this year,” Mercury general manager Jim Pitman said in a statement.

Mercury lead assistant coach Nikki Blue will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2023 WNBA season. Prior to working as a collegiate and pro coach, Blue played five seasons in the WNBA for the Washington Mystics (2006-10) and the Liberty (2011).