Skylar Diggins-Smith excelling in new opportunity with Storm after heated exit from Mercury

Turning around a Storm team who went 11-29 in 2023, Diggins-Smith, WNBA star Jewell Loyd and company are 9-4 so far this season, good for second in the Western Conference. In their last 10 games, Seattle is 8-2.

On Sunday, Diggins-Smith and the Storm will face the Mercury in Phoenix, making it the first time she will play at Footprint Center since a dramatic ending to her stint in the Valley.

Rocky Relationship Ends in Split

Originally, the Dallas Wings traded Diggins-Smith to Phoenix in exchange for multiple draft picks.

The Notre Dame product played and started in 84 games, averaging 18.4 points, 5.1 assists and 3.5 rebounds while with Phoenix. During her three seasons as a Mercury, Diggins-Smith was in the running for WNBA MVP each year (2020-22).

She last played for the Mercury on Aug. 4, 2022, because of her stepping away due to personal reasons.

As time flew by, there were multiple instances where Diggins-Smith would call out the Mercury and disagree with some of what they did or said, prompting questions of whether an exit was imminent.

Diana Taurasi and Diggins-Smith were involved in a heated dispute on the bench during a game early on in the 2022 season.

After another game, former Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard would then say that “it wouldn’t be an All-Star Game without Taurasi.” Diggins-Smith, who was an All-Star in 2022, posted a clown emoji on X (formerly Twitter) as a response.

Then on Aug. 3, 2023, 12News sports anchor Cameron Cox documented several posts on X made by Diggins-Smith which were directed at the Mercury, including her allegedly not being able to access the team’s practice facility while she was a maternity leave.

It was only a matter of time until both sides went their separate ways, an outcome that worked best for the two parties.

The Mercury are now happy with Taurasi, Natasha Cloud and Kahleah Copper who can all play at guard. Even if the team and Diggins-Smith came to better terms, there would have been a logjam in the position to fit her into the starting lineup regardless.

For the Storm, Diggins-Smith is enjoying some of her best basketball as she is trying to lead Seattle back to a WNBA championship for the first time since they won in 2020. She was on the Mercury when they lost to the Chicago Sky in the 2021 WNBA Finals.

Tip-off between the Mercury and Storm begins at 12 p.m. PT on Sunday in Phoenix.