Alyssa Thomas, Nate Tibbetts try to find silver lining after Mercury eliminated from playoffs

PHOENIX– With seven games remaining in the 2026 season, the Phoenix Mercury were eliminated from the playoffs, courtesy of a 99-89 loss to the Atlanta Dream.

It comes as a shock and has even amplified the disappointing season, thanks to the Mercury clinching a WNBA Finals berth a season ago. 

It’s extremely uncharted territory for Alyssa Thomas and head coach Nate Tibbetts. The latter has made the playoffs every season with the exception of 2026. For Thomas, it’s her first time missing the playoffs since the 2016 season.

Throughout the season, there hasn’t been a clear-cut answer to why the team struggled. Some say it was defense; some say it was a lack of pride; some say it was coaching; some say that it’s all of the above. Certainly injuries didn’t help, but it could also be a credit to the competition in 2026.

Teams have clearly gotten better in major categories. Obviously the statistical ones stand out, but new spacing concepts, defensive coverages, and simply being adaptable to the changing landscape of how WNBA playbooks are designed cannot be underestimated. 

Nonetheless, sitting down at the podium was Thomas, who seemed visibly upset about missing out on postseason basketball.

“It’s definitely disappointing,” she added postgame. “Definitely not what we anticipated for the season, but there’s still games to be played. Hard to say what the goal is, but I think it’s just about continuing to build, play our brand of basketball. Win or lose, we still gotta go out there and give it everything we have.”

What is there left to prove for the Mercury?

A focal point throughout August has been pride. The team wants to play with pride, even if the postseason is out the window. Does that officially change now that they’re no longer in contention? Likely not, but it doesn’t make it any easier to digest.

Sitting next to Thomas was Kahleah Copper, who said that it was news to her when reporters asked about the team officially being eliminated from playoff contention. 

The visible and verbal frustration was evident throughout the nearly five minutes both players spoke.

But moments before both of them stepped in, Tibbetts swiftly made his way to the press conference room, nearly 10 minutes after the game concluded. He knew the reality of 2026 not going according to plan.

He mentioned areas like shooting, defense, and injuries, all culminating. Still, there is something Tibbetts can hold his hat on for the final seven games, and something he hopes his team can do too.

“I think just playing to a standard, playing as we did in the second half,” he explained. “Continuing to get healthy, get KP out there, get some of our young players some minutes. But just competing and playing the right way. Unfortunately, we haven’t done it for as long stretches as we need. But we got seven to go. We gotta keep playing.”

Alyssa Thomas and Nate Tibbetts can finish the Mercury’s 2026 season off strong

Not being a part of postseason basketball damages Thomas’s competitive pride and spirit to a significant degree. She’s used to October basketball. Now, she’ll have to watch as other teams pursue their quest to be WNBA champions. 

In everything, though, there is a silver lining and something that might manifest into something beneficial for 2027. 

There is continuity with Thomas and Copper, and the team has a very small sample size of Kelsey Plum playing with the latter two. Having three All-WNBA players took them to the 2025 WNBA Finals, so can they replicate it in 2027? That’s a bit of a stretch and so far in the future that it’s hard to even fathom it. 

Given that Plum does return for the final seven games, and Thomas and Copper remain healthy, the Mercury could give a glimpse of a potential Big 3 that could be a major problem for the rest of the league.

It might not be how Thomas, Tibbetts, or the league envisioned but they can start on sustaining success in 2027 before that respective season even begins.

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