PHOENIX — The Phoenix Mercury are headed into the All-Star break with a 10-18 record and on the outside looking in at the playoff race. While they certainly aren’t completely out of it, the Mercury will need to play near-perfect basketball in their remaining 16 games if they want to go back to the postseason for the third season in a row.
It’s a dangerous position to be in for one of the winningest franchises in WNBA history, as Phoenix has only missed the playoffs three times since 2007. But still, amidst what’s felt like a rollercoaster of emotions in the past three months, a few underrated developments have transpired for fans to keep an eye on as the 2026 season approaches its conclusion.
Let’s check in on some of Phoenix’s more recent additions that are beginning to settle into a defined role with the team.
Lexi Held returns to Phoenix as a leader
Lexi Held’s WNBA journey has come full circle, as the 26-year-old guard debuted for the Mercury in 32 games a season ago, only to suddenly depart from the organization during the 2026 WNBA Expansion Draft — where she was selected by the Toronto Tempo.
After playing just 60 minutes in eight games for Toronto, Held was waived on May 28. Days later, she was back in Phoenix, becoming yet another familiar face from the 2025 finals run to hopefully turn around a disappointing start to the season.
“Last year was amazing, my rookie year,” Held said during her first media availability after being signed. “Just the way everybody here poured into me, believed in me last year. Super special. I’m really happy to be back in this environment with everyone.”
It wasn’t exactly clear what Held’s role would be or how many minutes she would play during her second stint with the Mercury, at least not right away. However, she was immediately thrown into the fire. On the same day she was signed, without participating in a single practice, head coach Nate Tibbetts played Held 15 minutes during a 111-77 loss to the Minnesota Lynx.
She recorded just five points, in what happened to be Phoenix’s worst loss of the season, but getting her feet wet and receiving a loud ovation from the X-Factor crowd after checking into the game was still enough for Held to feel right back at home.
“I’m really excited for the opportunity,” Held said after the game. “I know I’m a little bit fresh on the scene, but I have a lot of faith in this group and these coaches in this organization. So to me, I’m just grateful to be here.”
Since then, Held has grown into a regular piece of Tibbetts’ rotation. In desperate need of guard play with Monique Akoa Makani and Sami Whitcomb each missing extended time, and Jovana Nogic leaving the team for the remainder of the season, Held has been counted on to play about 20 minutes per game — even starting in seven of her 18 appearances.
While none of her traditional stats necessarily jump off the page, her impact shows up in other ways. Held’s perimeter defense in particular is something that goes unnoticed if one is simply box-score watching.
In a league driven by star guards, Tibbetts has given Held the assignment to defend the likes of Olivia Miles, Paige Bueckers and Kelsey Plum on a nightly basis. More of a pest than an outright stopper, Held makes life uncomfortable on these stars with her constant effort and competitive nature.
“I think I can contribute — similar to last year — just a really [high] tenacity on defense, a lot of activity,” Held said. “I can shoot the ball well offensively, space the floor, make good decisions, and just be really willing to do the dirty work, play really hard — whatever the team needs.”
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Offensively, Held has made great strides, as well. Notable performances include a pair of 17-point games — the first on June 11 against the Dallas Fever, and the second on July 2 against the Seattle Storm. In the latter of those outings, Held made a career-high five 3-pointers on six attempts, leading Phoenix to a blowout victory that was its third in a row at the time.
Beyond that, Held has developed the intangible skill of being a leader. In only her second season, she has shown great poise during what have often been rough times for the Mercury. Even during Phoenix’s most catastrophic stretches, Held is always seen trying to keep the game in order while she’s on the court.
Whether it’s emphatically encouraging a dejected teammate to lock back in on defense or calmly signalling for another play on offense after an opponent goes on a scoring run, as the point guard, it’s her job to stay composed.
“[Held] has come a long way,” Mercury associate head coach Kristi Toliver said after that July 2 game against Seattle. “But she’s always had a really, really big heart, and I think that’s what everyone in this organization has loved about her. And we’re certainly happy that she’s back here, where she belongs, and she’s only going to get better.
“She’s gritty, she’s tough, you can communicate with her,” Toliver continued. “She has a very high IQ. She’s a thinker of the game, and those are all things that you obviously want in your point guard and your playmaker.”
What’s Marta Suarez’s status with the Mercury?
Like the Mercury’s season, Marta Suarez’s rookie year has been a wild ride. The Spanish forward out of TCU was the 16th overall selection in the 2026 draft, originally by the Seattle Storm, but then traded to the Golden State Valkyries in exchange for 8th overall pick Flau’jae Johnson.
But her time in Golden State did not last long, as after only one preseason game, she was waived and later signed by the Mercury on a developmental contract. Suarez made her regular-season debut in Phoenix’s sixth game against the Los Angeles Sparks in a uniquely memorable fashion — she fouled out in just nine minutes of play.
That debut quickly made it clear what to expect from Suarez: a highly physical presence who is going to compete in every possession, and maybe talk a little trash along the way.
“I always love to talk shit,” Suarez said with a smile at a team shootaround, recalling her “welcome to the league” moment when veteran Natasha Cloud was jawing at her during a game. “I understand my position as a rookie — I’m not going to start it. I might say a little something behind, but if you keep going, I’m going to be right there.”
Although she’s never played more than 15 minutes in a game and has logged several DNPs thus far, the spurts Phoenix have gotten from Suarez tend to carry more energy than what one would expect in such limited time.
No game was that more apparent than on July 9 against the Indiana Fever, where Suarez served as an undersized backup center, tasked with guarding MVP candidate Aliyah Boston in brief stretches while Alyssa Thomas rested on the bench. In just 11 minutes, Suarez scored a career-high 10 points and knocked down both 3-point attempts.
Phoenix proceeded to lose in a close game, but Suarez ended up in the box score +5, one of only three Mercury players with a positive plus-minus.
Coincidentally, Suarez’s best of the season came on the very same day the Mercury took Suarez off of her developmental contract and placed her on a seven-day contract, putting her future with the team in question.
“I love basketball,” Suarez said postgame. “I’m playing the long game, so at the end of the day, it’s just about everyday work and doing what I can. Wherever I can step in this season and help this team, that’s what I want to do. That’s what I think I pride my versatility on. So other than that, there’s no pressure.”
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After appearing in games against Minnesota and Las Vegas, Suarez signed another seven-day contract on July 17, which is due to expire on Friday. With only one more seven-day contract available to sign before hitting the maximum a single player can sign consecutively, it will be interesting to see what Phoenix does with one of its only young rookies on the roster.
By all accounts, Suarez is someone the organization is really high on and believes is one of the hardest workers on the team.
“She’s done a really, really good job as far as just staying ready,” Toliver said. “I walk into the gym at 7, she’s already on the gun, shooting jump shots. She’s just a worker … Extremely excited for her, I thought she rebounded the ball very well, gave us second and third opportunities, and then offensively, we know what she does. She wants to score. She has a knack for the rim, and just to see her contributions means a lot for our group.”
“Marta’s an extremely hard worker,” Tibbetts added after the game against Indiana. “Basketball is extremely important to her. She’s a worker. She’s not afraid of anything. She’s not afraid of competing.”
Still, Suarez’s future with the Mercury remains uncertain. With center Natasha Mack returning from injury, Suarez’s strength as a physical big has become less needed. She hasn’t touched the floor once in the two games since Mack’s return.
“I think her and the front office and her agent currently understand what the plan is,” Tibbetts said before playing the Connecticut Sun on July 17. “I think Marta is going to compete no matter what. I don’t think she’s worried about the business side of it, just like I’m not. That’s more on the agent and our front office.”
“There’s a lot of different aspects that come into the game,” Suarez said after signing her first seven-day contract. “I can’t even imagine how hard the business part of it all has to be. But sometimes it’s just about fit and injuries and roster spots, and I think every player, especially here, is so unique. You’re just trying to figure out how to play everybody together and how to make those things work.”
Valériane Ayayi’s patience is rewarded
The most surprising development of the Mercury’s recent offseason was losing star forward Satou Sabally in free agency to the New York Liberty. With everyone wondering what they would do to replace her, many were even more surprised to see that the main name to do so was Valériane Ayayi.
Ayayi played in the WNBA briefly back in 2015, but carved out a successful career overseas in various European leagues and for the France national team.
When the 32-year-old signed with Phoenix, she was projected to be a versatile forward with size that could immediately come into the starting lineup and do a little bit of everything. However, it didn’t exactly play out like that.
After starting and playing 17 minutes in her season debut, Tibbetts moved her to the bench. Not too long later, she was out of the rotation entirely.
But then on June 20, Ayayi reemerged out of nowhere and poured in 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 on free throws during a big win over the Storm. She followed that up by scoring 19, 20 and 18 points in three of the next four games, cementing her place back in the rotation.
“It was going to take [Ayayi] a little bit of time,” Toliver said after the final game of that stretch. “Just like all the [European players]. Not only have they been playing year-round, that takes time, there’s going to be highs and lows, peaks and valleys, going from playing EuroLeague now into the W.
“But the front office, they did a phenomenal job, and they knew who she was,” she continued. “And now we’re all getting to see it. We get to be fortunate enough to see it every day in practice, and all she needed was confidence, belief from her teammates, from the coaching staff. And I think now she’s able to kind of display the kind of brand of basketball that she has.
“She’s very versatile with her length and her size, and we can use her in a lot of different ways. She’s kind of a Swiss Army knife in that regard. We just got to keep building the right habits. She’s put in a lot of work in practice in the last month, month and a half, and you’re starting to see it. So, she’s only going to continue to blossom.”
In the Mercury’s four wins from June 20 to July 2, Ayayi averaged 18.8 points, 5.3 assists and 2.0 made threes per game with a 52.5% field-goal percentage.
“It was tough for me, of course, not to play,” Ayayi said at shootaround on July 2. “[Mostly] it was about losing, you know? Just to not be able to contribute in the game, that was hard … I’m 32, I’ve never been through this situation, so that was the first time. I’m pretty happy with the way I handled it, but most important for me is that we started winning games.”
She and the team have cooled off a bit since then, but Ayayi is now comfortable with her role as an experienced role player who can start or come off the bench and do whatever the team needs — exactly what the plan for her all along.
“When I signed with Phoenix, they told me they wanted [me to relieve Thomas] from doing everything…” Ayayi said. “…I’m just trying to make my team better, my teammates better. Sometimes scoring, sometimes passing, it will be defending, rebounding, whatever. I just want to be there for my teammates.”
