Weekly WNBA takeaways: It's time to take the Mercury seriously 

It was a consequential week in the WNBA. The Commissioner's Cup finalists were decided, plus the Phoenix Mercury announced themselves as a team to watch.

We are past the quarter post for the 2025 season, with every team having played at least 25% of its games, but just barely.

There's a ton of regular season left. Yet, looking back at the past seven days, here are the key takeaways from what happened in the WNBA.

Mercury are scorching hot 

It's time to buy the Mercury. They are 11-4, with five consecutive wins, including an 89-81 road win over the New York Liberty, the defending champions.

The Mercury also scored a season-high 107 points in a 21-point win over the Chicago Sky on Saturday, making 17 three-pointers in the process.

It was hard to gauge expectations for the Mercury as Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas and Sami Whitcomb were all added this offseason. 

Sabally is scoring a team-high 19.3 points per game. Whitcomb made five triples in the win over the Sky and Thomas is second on the team with 14.4 points, as well as a team-high 8.9 assists per game. 

It might be too early to call them a title contender. They are sixth in the WNBA in point differential, but they have the third-best record and, so far, this roster has come together like a dream.

One step forward, two steps back for the Fever

On one hand, the Indiana Fever clinched a spot in the Commissioner's Cup championship game on Tuesday. That will give Caitlin Clark her first shot at team hardware in the WNBA, plus the matchup against the Minnesota Lynx and Napheesa Collier is a juicy one.

Yet, just when it felt like the Fever were going to turn the corner into top-four contention, they dropped back-to-back road games. 

Making it sting even worse is that the Fever led by at least 10 points in losses to the Golden State Valkyries and Las Vegas Aces — two teams that are in the thick of the playoff race. 

Indiana beat New York last weekend, but is just 2-2 since Clark returned to the lineup. Over the past two games, she's gone 1-for-17 from three-point range (5.8%). 

That won't continue, however, it shows when Clark is human, Indiana is just average. 

Storm's Gabby Williams has played like an All-Star  

Another team that's not talked about enough is the Seattle Storm. They are fifth in the league in wins (eight), fifth in point differential and are the only team to beat the Minnesota Lynx. 

Seattle has a talented roster, but the highest-paid player is Gabby Williams, who is sixth in the WNBA in average salary, according to Spotrac, making $215K this season. 

So far, Williams has been worth every penny. She just secured her first-career double-double Friday night with 18 points and 12 rebounds in a win over the Aces.

The Storm are dangerous, and Williams is a reason why. Last season, she averaged a career-high 10.6 points per game. This season, she has upped that number to 14.4. She's dishing out 4.5 assists, grabbing 4.5 rebounds, averaging 2.5 steals and 2.1 three-point field goals per game. 

Williams has been a force on both ends of the floor. She's also shooting lights out, connecting on 43.5% beyond the arc, 49.3% overall and 82.4% at the free-throw line.

In her fourth season with the Storm, Williams has never been a WNBA All-Star, but if she maintains this form, that should change soon.