From last year’s runner-up to now starring on an already-eliminated side, Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas is experiencing the brutal lows of the WNBA at 34 for the first time in her career.

Saying Thomas is a serial winner would be an understatement, as she has virtually secured a future spot in the Hall of Fame. As the WNBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles, a multi-time All-Star, and an Olympic gold medalist, Thomas has completed the sport on an individual basis. However, not winning the coveted WNBA championship must still loom around in her mind.

Unfortunately for her, this is the furthest she has ever been from it. With an 89-99 loss against Angel Reese and the Atlanta Dream, the Mercury are officially out of playoff contention, and looking at how they performed over the course of the season, we all knew it was coming.

Alyssa Thomas made history even as Phoenix’s season came to an end. In the Mercury’s 99-89 elimination loss to Atlanta, Thomas became the first player in WNBA history to reach 5,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 2,000 assists.

Get the Essentially W Newsletter. Everyday front-court analysis and back-court drama — where the W takes center court.

The milestone came with another trademark Thomas performance. She posted 11 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists, recording her 22nd regular-season triple-double in the process.

Thomas let her feelings known in the postgame press conference, telling reporters where she actually belongs when talking about the Mercury’s collective struggles pertaining to defense.

“We’re what, 12th in the league? That’s unheard of, especially for me. I’m accustomed to being at the top of the league. That’s something that you have to look at the end of the season. Today, I mean, the first-quarter defense was a huge problem, and I think once we figured out what the issue was and just went to our man, we were able to get back into it.” Thomas said, via ClutchPoints reporter Hayden Cilley.

The Mercury’s elimination comes at the cost of Angel Reese recording a career-high 31 points and grabbing 14 rebounds for her 25th double-double of the season. While Kahleah Copper’s 38-point performance and Thomas recording her 22nd regular-season triple-double with 11 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 assists gave a fight, it was not enough in the end.

With the Dream extending their record to 24-13, they officially became the fifth team to qualify for the playoffs. Only three spots remain, but the Mercury, who are at the opposite end of the spectrum compared to the Dream with a 13-24 record, need to put on their thinking caps and figure out what all went wrong this season.

For a team that had championship hopes coming out of last season, this is basically rock bottom for head coach Nate Tibbetts and co., who had already come to terms with elimination earlier this month.

“All of [the losses] as you get closer to being eliminated are tougher,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said following an Aug. 7 loss to the Sun. “The reality is that you’re not going to make the playoffs, and that hasn’t been the goal. So yeah, it was a tough go.”

We could see how desperate the Mercury were to right their wrongs at the final stretch of the season, as they traded for Kelsey Plum on August 1. While Plum is obviously an extremely good player who was one of the frontrunners for the MVP award this season before her injury, she also happens to be on an expiring contract.

Trading for Plum is the kind of move you make when you think she can put you over the top and give your team a shot at a title, but Phoenix did it to make their extremely difficult path to the postseason a tiny bit easier.

Maybe we’ll feel different about the trade if the Mercury manages to convince Plum for a long-term contract, but for the time being, Plum is already injured after playing four games. Regardless, back to the drawing board for Tibbets and the Mercury, who can end the season on a high note with seven games remaining.

The Phoenix Mercury can still play for pride

Entering the season as last year’s finalists definitely has a feeling of living up to the hype, and while the Mercury failed to deliver, they can go into the sunset with their heads held high.

Although it can feel like a sports cliché in circumstances like these, “playing for pride” truly is the biggest emphasis in the Mercury building at this point in the season. Let’s not forget the Mercury employs star-studded players like Alyssa Thomas, Kahleah Copper, DeWanna Bonner, and now Plum, who would not want anything but to go out with a bang, at least.

“I think you approach it the same,” Copper said after last Friday’s practice. “I think it’s about who you are deep, deep inside. Do you have pride? Why do you play in the first place? What is your ‘why’? I think you never lose that, no matter what’s ahead or what’s not guaranteed or whatever. So, for me, there’s always pride being a crazy competitor, and I think that’s this group.”

The Mercury know what a championship window looks like. Three titles and six Finals appearances gave Phoenix a high-scoring identity during the Diana Taurasi era, with the franchise lifting the trophy in 2007, 2009 and 2014.

This year feels like a sharp step back. Phoenix went from a Finals team in 2025 to elimination at 13-24 in 2026, leaving the Mercury with plenty to rethink heading into the offseason

“You get to a point where you kind of got to roll with the punches,” she later added. “It’s always about having some pride. It’s always about competing, not looking too far ahead … Why do you love the game? You still have to give it your all. I’m past the disappointment. For me, it’s about continuing to get better every day and having something to look forward to.”

Copper’s mentality is just what the Mercury needs right now, and it was on full display on Saturday night with her monster 38-point display.

While the expectation for the Mercury was to always be in playoff contention, the silver lining in coming up short is that they will have a head start on much of the rest of the league in preparing for next season.

With no playoff berth to chase, the Mercury can learn to uphold a standard their fans could be proud of and excited to witness next season.