The Phoenix Mercury's 2023 was a challenging period. They had one of the franchise's worst records, and they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012. The Mercury finished that season with a record of 9-31, and they fought through obstacles such as a coaching change. They started the season with Vanessa Nygaard, who took over as their head coach when Sandy Brondello left. Nygaard coaches the Mercury in 2022, and after going 2-10 at the start of the 2023 season, Phoenix shook things up. Phoenix parted ways with Nygaard, and Nikki Blue took over as interim head coach. Then, the Mercury continued the season, and picked up a few more wins. When it came to their season series, they beat the Connecticut Sun 2-1 . The Mercury had a hard time winning any of their other series that year, but they had a special one against another Eastern Conference team. The series between Phoenix and Indiana ended in a tie, and it was due to the Fever's wins in the last two games. Before that, the Mercury had the lead, and