PHOENIX — The Phoenix Mercury are locked into the No. 4 seed in the WNBA playoffs, and they will face the No. 5 seed and defending champion New York Liberty in the first round.
The Mercury clinched home court advantage by landing in the top half of the eight playoff spots.
Game 1 is Sunday at PHX Arena, and the first round is a back-and-forth best-of-three series. Game 3 will return to PHX Arena, if necessary.
The second round is a best-of-five, while the WNBA Finals is a best-of-seven series.
Phoenix plays one more regular-season game on Thursday, against the Dallas Wings. A win or loss will not slide the team from its number 4 seed.
Tickets for games one and three are still available. Click here for more information.
Alyssa Thomas Race for MVP
WNBA veteran Alyssa Thomas has had a record-breaking season as a first-time Mercury player.
Her name has been consistently mentioned among the top three candidates for the 2025 Most Valuable Player award, along with Minnesota's Napheesa Collier and Las Vegas' A'ja Wilson.
Thomas is currently averaging 15.7 points, nine rebounds, 9.3 assists and 1.6 steals.
She has scored a record eight triple-doubles (10+ points, 10+ rebounds, 10+ assists) this season and leads the league in all-time triple-doubles. She owns 23 of the WNBA's total ever 57 triple-doubles.
On Saturday against the Connecticut Sun, Thomas became the player with the most assists in a single season, surpassing the record set last year by Caitlin Clark, who marked 337 assists.
Then, on Tuesday against the LA Sparks, she became the fastest player in league history to mark a triple-double: at 21 minutes and 52 seconds.
Thomas isn't the only Merc making noise this season. The rookies are second in league history when it comes to three-pointers made. Monique Akoa Makani, Kathryn Westbeld, Lexi Held and Kitija Laksa have a combined total 156. The only other team to have more is Minnesota with 186 in 1999.
Mercury vs. Liberty
Phoenix defeated New York three times in four games this season, earning an 80-63 victory in the most recent matchup on Aug. 30 at PHX Arena. The Liberty did not have All-Star guard Sabrina Ionescu in that game, and both teams are entering the playoffs with healthy rosters.
The Mercury are looking for their first playoff series win since their WNBA Finals run in 2021, which was Sandy Brondello’s last season as their head coach. Brondello has coached the Liberty since 2022.
The Liberty are coming off back-to-back WNBA Finals appearances and won their first championship in 2024. Ionescu is New York’s leader in scoring (18.8 PPG), followed by Breanna Stewart (18.2 PPG) and Jonquel Jones (13.9 PPG). The Liberty have not lost this season when that trio has been healthy to start and finish a game at 13-0.
Natasha Cloud, who spent last season in Phoenix, leads New York in games started. Additionally, one of New York’s reserves is Nyara Sabally, the younger sister of Mercury All-Star Satou Sabally.
Phoenix, meanwhile, entered Tuesday having won six of its last seven games, reaching 27 wins for the second time in franchise history after a 29-5 campaign in 2014.
Mercury-Liberty previous scores
June 19: Mercury 89, Liberty 81
June 27: Mercury 106, Liberty 91
July 25: Liberty 89, Mercury 76
Aug. 30: Mercury 80, Liberty 63
