- Slug: Sports–Phoenix Mercury Reunion, 770 words.
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By Anne-Marie Iemmolo
Cronkite News
PHOENIX – In the decade following the Phoenix Mercury’s 2014 championship win, the members of that team have continued their basketball legacies both on and off the court.
The Mercury celebrated the 10th anniversary of their third – and most recent – championship Friday after the team’s 88-69 home loss to the Connecticut Sun. It was the first time the team had reunited since Phoenix won the title 10 years ago.
The reunion featured current players Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner, former Mercury players who were members of the 2014 team – including star forward Penny Taylor – along with Connecticut wing DeWanna Bonner, who was a member of two Mercury championship teams, including the 2014 squad.
“I’m so happy that the organization has chosen to celebrate this team in the way they have because it’s so special,” Taylor said during the reunion.
On Sep. 12, 2014, the Mercury completed a three-game sweep of the Chicago Sky to claim the title. Phoenix had a 29-5 record during the 2014 regular season and won 16 consecutive games, the second-longest win streak in WNBA history behind the Los Angeles Sparks, who won 18 in a row in 2001.
Taurasi, Taylor, and Bonner were all starters on that Mercury club, and Taylor, who joined the team in 2004, was a member of all three of the franchise’s championship teams along with Taurasi.
The 6-foot-1 Australian native retired from the WNBA in July 2017, but her ties to the league and the Valley remain strong. Following her retirement, Taylor served as the Mercury’s director of player development and performance for two seasons before becoming the team’s assistant coach in 2019.
In 2020, the Mercury announced Taylor would be stepping down from her role with the team to focus on motherhood. Taylor and Taurasi have been married for seven years and have two children together.
Still, Taylor’s love for and commitment to the game has never wavered.
In 2022, Taylor, a two-time Olympic silver medalist from Australia, was inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame. Her jersey number is retired to the rafters at Footprint Center.
“Everyone took a piece of themselves and set it aside in order for this team to be successful,” Taylor said during the ceremony.
Griner sustained an eye injury during Game 2 of the WNBA Finals series against the Sky, but Taurasi, Taylor, Bonner and their teammates made up for the absence of Phoenix’s star center and finished off the Sky.
“It was a genuine team, and we enjoyed each other’s company,” Bonner said during an interview with Cronkite News before Friday’s game.
The 6-foot-4 Bonner is averaging 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and two assists per game this season for the Sun, and currently ranks fourth all-time in scoring in WNBA history.
“A lot of players don’t get to play this long in the league,” Bonner said.
The 14-year WNBA vet credited her former teammate and fellow league leader, Taurasi, for teaching her how to have longevity and remain productive while playing in the “W.”
“As you get older, you understand certain things that you have to do to be a professional and to stay at a high level,” Taurasi said.
Polish basketball player Ewelina Kobryn, who took a 12-hour flight from Poland to attend the reunion, was the player who replaced Griner in the Mercury’s starting lineup for Game 3 of the 2014 Finals.
“I played the last game, but I kept my head up all season,” Kobryn said.
After her title win with the Mercury, Kobryn went on to play for the Fenerbahçe Women’s Basketball Club in Istanbul, Turkey. In 2023, she created the Ewelina Kobryn Foundation E11 to promote and popularize the sport among Polish youth.
Shay Murphy, a shooting guard on the 2014 Phoenix roster, was also in attendance Friday. Following the championship, Murphy played for the Mercury until 2017, when she was traded to San Antonio, where she played her final WNBA season.
In 2021, Murphy became the first Black woman coaching associate for the NBA Los Angeles Lakers franchise. Today, she is an ambassador for the Seychelles Basketball Sports Envoy Program, which features a series of basketball clinics and inspirational talks for youth in the East African nation.
Former Mercury forward Candice Dupree was not in attendance on Friday night. Dupree was traded to the Mercury in 2010 and played a key role during the team’s 2014 championship run, averaging 16.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game during the playoffs.
In May, the seven-time WNBA All-Star was appointed as coach of Tennessee State University’s women’s basketball team.
The 2014 Mercury team took different paths after their monumental win, but remained united through their love of basketball and a desire for success.
“Forever my family,” Bonner said, addressing her former teammates and the crowd during the reunion.
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