After his team’s Game 1 home loss to the defending champion New York Liberty in the first round of the WNBA playoffs, Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts said, “No one’s picking us to win this series.”
But Phoenix came back to win the next game on the road, forcing a Game 3, then closed out the Liberty in Phoenix on Sept. 19.
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Now, No. 4-seed Phoenix advances to the semifinals against the No. 1-seeded Minnesota Lynx, which defeated No. 8 Golden State Valkyries, 2-0, in the opening round. The No. 6 Indiana Fever face the No. 2 Las Vegas Aces in the other semifinal series. The semifinal winners advance to the WNBA Finals.
Game 1 of the Mercury-Lynx series is in Minneapolis on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 2 p.m., and will be televised on ESPN.
Minnesota (34-10 regular season), which lost to New York in the 2024 WNBA Finals, has been the league’s top team all season. The Lynx defeated Phoenix (27-17) in their regular-season series, 3-1. The semifinals match brings a host of intriguing matchups involving league stars. Here’s a breakdown of key players to watch for in the best-of-five series:
Mercury’s Thomas, Lynx’s Collier battle for MVP
The MVP award will be the last to be announced among the league’s top honors on Sept. 21 at 11:30 a.m., ahead of Game 1. Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas and Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier are two of this year’s five MVP finalists. Both players are having historic seasons.
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Thomas is a walking triple-double who had eight during the regular season, which set a league single-season record, and another in Game 3 against New York. She averaged 15.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 9.2 assists and 1.6 steals a game this season. Collier became the second player (Elena Della Donne was the first) to finish the regular season with shooting splits above 50/40/90 (53.1% from the floor, 40.3% from 3-point range and 90.6% from the free throw line), but the first to do it averaging more than 20 points per game (No. 2 overall at 22.9). Thomas and Collier are elite defenders. Collier won Defensive Player of the Year last season.
Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (25) defends against Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier (24) during the fourth quarter at PHX Arena on July 9, 2025.
Forward progress: Mercury’s Sabally vs. Lynx’s Smith
Minnesota’s Alanna Smith split this year’s Defensive Player of the Year award with the Las Vegas Aces’ MVP finalist A’ja Wilson. The Mercury’s Satou Sabally, along with Thomas, was named an all-star this season and is a solid defender. Sabally and Smith have length as versatile 6-foot-4 forwards and both were second in steals on their respective teams (1.3 each per game). They both play well along the wing and inside the paint on offense. Sabally and Smith don’t have high 3-point percentages (about 32% each) but they both can get streaky. Smith helped make the Lynx the league’s No. 1 defense this year, which could make it tough for Sabally in one-on-one isolation plays.
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Mercury’s Copper vs Lynx’s McBride: Clash of styles
Phoenix’s Kahleah Copper is one of the league’s fastest downhill scorers and tough to chase off the Mercury’s staggered screens to get her shots from midrange and 3. Kayla McBride was the Lynx’s other all-star alongside Collier this year, possessing a lightning-quick shot release as one of the league’s top 3-point shooters (finished second in total makes from deep this season). The Lynx are a switch-heavy team, but Copper against McBride will be a tough grind for both players guarding each other.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: WNBA playoffs semifinals: Phoenix Mercury face Minnesota Lynx
