Perhaps the greatest player that women's basketball and the WNBA has ever seen won't be playing in the 2025 season as Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi has elected to retire. As much as it could've from the 42-year-old guard, the decision to step away from the game after her decorated and illustrious 20-year career caught the WNBA world off guard.
Of course, there's probably no one as caught off guard as Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts. While the Mercury have a core with Kahleah Copper and newcomer Alyssah Thomas that can headline things without Taurasi in the Mercury lineup, the truth of the matter is that Phoenix's backcourt now has a glaring question mark.
Without Taurasi on the roster, Phoenix doesn't have a clear backcourt mate to run the show with Copper and there are no options really that can deliver the scoring and overall performance the veteran did in that role — or at least not anyone who's proven as much just yet in their career.
So what will the Mercury lineup now look like in a Taurasi-less season? Let's take a look at how Phoenix and Tibbetts could adjust to make that happen.
Projected Phoenix Mercury lineup with Diana Taurasi now retired
Position | Phoenix Mercury Starter |
|---|---|
PG | Sevgi Uzun |
SG | Kahleah Copper |
SF | Natasha Mack |
PF | Alyssa Thomas |
C | Satou Sabally |
For now, it feels like the most obvious bet to step into the shoes of Taurasi at point guard is Turkish newcomer Sevgi Uzun, who came to Phoenix in the Thomas trade along with Satou Sabally and Kalani Brown. The 27-year-old had a solid rookie season as a role player, averaging 4.4 points and 3.0 assist in 20.5 minutes per game, though her shooting efficiency left quite a lot be desired (34.2/23.8/82.6 percent splits).
Having said that, with a bit more experience under her belt from that rookie season, she could step into that role as more of a distributor around Copper and a much-improved and deeper frontcourt, even with the departure of Brittney Griner. That change to more of an offensive facilitator from Taurasi rather than a scorer with Uzun could actually benefit the Mercury's roster construction.
That being said, it also wouldn't be all too surprising to see the likes of Sami Whitcomb or second-year guard Celeste Taylor get looks as Copper's starting backcourt mate as well. Whitcomb showed signs of declines in the 2024 season while Taylor played only sparingly. Still, both players have something different to offer at their best than Uzun, which is a challenge for Tibbetts to tackle in trying to get the best lineup for Phoenix on the court.
While the busy offseason and splashes for the Mercury certainly make even more sense now with Taurasi's retirement, it still leaves some questions about how the team will manage, especially early in the season. For now, this looks like their best option — though there's plenty of time and the draft for that to change.