Chapter One

WNBA Connections

Eras of the Mercury - Beginning, Middle, and...NEW

Taurasi was the senior-most Olympic and WNBA player on the 2024 roster and with the win in Paris, she became the only player in Olympic basketball history to have 6 gold medals. She was drafted into the WNBA in 2004 by the Phoenix Mercury and stayed with them her entire WNBA career up until her retirement after the 2024 season.

Not only was she prominent globally at the Olympics and nationally within the U.S. - she was also a huge player in Russia. She played for a professional Russian team during her off-seasons and even sat out of the 2015 WNBA season to play for the Russian team because they paid her significantly more than the WNBA. She won 3 WNBA championships with the Mercury. The first in 2007 and the second in 2009. For her third championship, she'd have the help of future Olympic teammate - Brittney Griner.

Brittney THE DUNK Griner

Brittney Griner was drafted into the WNBA in 2013 and she'd end up with Taurasi in Phoenix. The Mercury, with Taurasi and Griner on the team, went on to win the WNBA championship the next year in 2014. Brittney Griner is THE dunker of the WNBA. She wasn't the first (or second) to dunk in the W but she BY FAR has done it the most.

In 2015, Griner started playing for the same Russian team Taurasi had been playing for, UMMC Ekaterinberg. In February of 2022, Griner was arrested in Russia at an airport for having a weed pen. She had to face trial and was sentenced to nine years, despite the typical Russian punishment for the crime being under a year. The U.S. government stepped in and negotiated with the Russian's to get Griner back. The U.S. and Russian governments agreed to a prisoner swap - the U.S. released a Russian arms dealer and Russia released Brittney Griner in December of 2022. She missed the entire 2022 season due to this imprisonment but returned in 2023. She played her 11th season with the Mercury in 2024 and made her first team-move for the 2025 season when she went to the Atlanta Dream.

The 2025 season would be the first WNBA season in over 20 years without the massively influential and all time great, Diana Taurasi. The subsequent exit of Brittney Griner, meant the Mercury would have to play without the powerhouse duo of D.T. and B.G. and the season ahead was looking scary for Phoenix. Luckily for them, a powerhouse player, nicknamed The Engine was looking for a new team...But first!...

Kah's in the Sky

Drafted in 2016, Kah went to the Washington Mystics for her rookie WNBA year but she wouldn't be there long. In 2017 she joined the Sky in Chicago and 4 years later, in 2021, the Sky won the WNA Championships and Kah won finals MVP.

In 2023 she started playing for the Phoenix Mercury - joining Brittney Griner and Diana Taurasi. She stayed after Griner and Taurasi left and was joined by a different 2024 Olympic teammate...

WNBA Connections

Starting in the Sun

Alyssa Thomas, or The Engine, joined former Olympic teammate Kahleah Copper and the Phoenix Mercury for the 2025 season after playing for the Connecticut Sun for 10 years. She was drafted in 2014 by the Sun and didn't make the playoffs until 2017 when she made her first playoff appearance, something the Sun hadn't done since 2012. She actually played her first post-season game against the Phoenix Mercury and lost.

In my eyes, A.T. is the all around best player without a championship ring yet. She got super close to getting her first champ title in 2025 - making it to the 2025 playoff finals, but the Aces ultimately ended up with the win.

Gray: Mastermind and Point Gawd

Chelsea Gray was on the Aces team that defeated Alyssa Thomas and the Mercury in the 2025 finals. Both Gray and Thomas entered the league in 2014 and they both went to the Connecticut Sun! The universe knew these 2 would be too powerful together so although they have almost identical introductions to the WNBA, the paths of their careers within the league have been very different.

Chelsea Gray came into her pro career with an injury so she sat out for her rookie season but she saw some game time for the Sun in 2015. In 2016, Gray left the Sun for the Sparks in Los Angeles. She'd win the championship title her first year with the Sparks and played her last season in L.A. in 2020. She went to the Las Vegas Aces in 2021, joining A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Kelsey Plum.

Chelsea Gray is nicknamed the Point Gawd so there's no doubt she's a bucket. But she's also just on a completely different level when it comes to her court-vision, passing abilities, and leadership in general. She suffered a season-ending injury in 2023 when the Aces made it to the playoffs, giving them the opportunity to defend their 2022 title. To offset her inability to participate on the court, she took on a leadership role, effectively becoming an assistant coach, and helped the Aces take the repeat title in 2023... Perhaps like the brain of the team... Which makes me think Gray Matter?

Another player from the 2024 team USA Olympic roster would join Chelsea Gray in 2025 with the Las Vegas Aces...

WNBA Connections

Loyd, Liberty, and Lynx

Loyd was drafted in 2015 by the Seattle Storm. She won the 2018 and 2020 WNBA championships with the Storm and stayed with them until 2024. She started playing for the Aces along with Dana Evans in 2025. Together, they joined Chelsea Gray, A'ja Wilson, and Jackie Young, forming what I'm going to call the "Lucky Five"... They are the ones, along with the rest of the Aces team, that won the 2025 Championship

Jewell Loyd's nickname, The Gold Mamba was given to her by the Kobe Bryant so I can't actually try and replace it... But in my mind, I always think "Luck the Jewell". Not to say she's "just lucky", she just brings a certain kind of boost to her teammates.

Breanna Stewart was drafted a year after Loyd, in 2016. She also went to the Seattle Storm. Stewie and Loyd got their first and second championship titles together as teammates and they'd both earn their third separately with different teams.
We already know Jewell won her third title with the Aces. Stewie won hers with Sabrina Ionescu in 2024, playing for the New York Liberty.

Breanna Stewart's nickaname is Stewie. 10/10. Love it. Perfect.

Sabrina Ionescu was drafted in 2020 by the Liberty. Going into the 2024 Finals, the Liberty had never been WNBA champions and they were up against the Minnesota Lynx - a team that had won 4 championship titles already.

Playing for the Lynx in that 2024 Finals series against the New York Liberty was Napheesa Collier. Although she was on the 4-time championship team, she had not yet won one herself.

Collier was drafted in 2019 to the Minnesota Lynx and still currently plays for them. Stewie and Napheesa being opponents is especially notable because they started working together off the court in 2023 and launched a new U.S. based professional women's league in 2025 that ran during the WNBA's offseason. (MUCH more on Unrivaled later)

WNBA Connections

PLUMS, STARS, AND ACES

Kelsey Plum entered the league in 2017 going to the San Antonio Stars. The next year in 2018, the Stars relocated to the Las Vegas and were renamed the Aces. Plum relocated with the team in 2018 and was joined by 2018 draft pick A'ja Wilson.

K.P. was the first in a sequence of Aces picks that would eventually lead to the "Core Four" coming together and winning back-to-back WNBA championship titles in 2022 and 2023.

Up next in the sequence of picksis A'ja Wilson, drafted by the Aces in 2018. She is currently the closest thing to the "Face of the League" (if that's even a thing). She played college basketball at the University of South Carolina under the guidance of Olympic gold medalist and O.G. WNBA player, **Dawn Staley** (MUCH more to add for A.W. coming back later)

Next in the sequence of picks is Jackie Young. My personal top favorite player. Her birthday is September 16 and I know that because we share birthdays :')

The last of the sequence of picks is not really a "pick" but the "signing" of veteran WNBA playerm, Chelsea Gray in 2021.

I call the 4 players in this "sequence" - the Core Four. Kelsey Plum, A'ja Wilson, Jackie Young, and Chelsea Gray won the 2022 and 2023 championship together and formed 1/3 of the 2024 team USA Olympic roster.

With Kelsey Plum's exit after the 2024 season and the addition of Jewell Loyd and Dana Evans in 2025 - I feel like the "Core Four" was reinvented into the "Lucky Five"...