PHOENIX – When the Olympics get underway towards the end of the week, Team USA will have three players from the Phoenix Mercury on their roster in Brittney Griner, Diana Taurasi and Kahleah Copper. This will be Taurasi's sixth time competing for a gold medal and Griner's third time, while this is Copper's first selection.
All three players took part in WNBA All-Star Weekend festivities as part of Team USA including Sunday's All-Star game against the Team WNBA, which was comprised of All-Star players not going to the Olympics.
Aside from the Mercury, the Las Vegas Aces have the most number of players on Team USA with four in A'ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young. During a media availability session over All-Star Weekend, Brittney Griner spoke about what kind of role the Mercury contingent will play at the Olympics for Team USA, with a bit of a hilarious admission.
“A great playlist. We're going to put Dee [Diana Taurasi] in charge of that. It's going to be really West Coast, a little techno, yeah,” Griner joked. “We're just going to do what we need to do. We're going to bring the energy, bring the the off the court and on the court energy and we're just going to let it all take away from there.”
Diana Taurasi added that the chemistry the trio have already developed during the first half of the WNBA regular season is going to help them tremendously on the court at the Olympics. To be able to play with regular teammates is something she's always seen as a big benefit of playing on Team USA.
“It's always, I think, been a big strength of the Olympic team. . .we've had the opportunity now to play the last couple of months together,” Tarausi said. “And I think that just helps us more on the court. You put these different lineups together that you do have some familiarity with, with different players and it's going to be no different this Olympic team.”
Mercury hope to continue playoff push following Olympics
The Mercury came into this season having undergone a few major changes. They added two All-Star caliber players in Kahleah Copper and Natasha Cloud. Copper was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Sky while Cloud was signed as a free agent.
The Mercury are currently 13-12 and in sixth place in the WNBA standings. It's probable that this team will make the playoffs after missing the postseason last year for the first time in 11 seasons. But the team has been playing .500 basketball during the first half of the season. They're going to need to start stringing together consecutive wins if they want to be taken as a serious playoff threat.
The Mercury's starting lineup is as a good as anyone with Copper, Cloud, Diana Taurasi, Brittney Griner and Sophie Cunningham. It's their depth that's been a little more questionable and could hinder a true postseason run.
This is also head coach Nate Tibbett's first season at the helm. He was hired in the offseason after a stint as an assistant coach in the NBA under Jamahl Mosely with the Orlando Magic.
Follow Us
Subscribe
