Sky’s Angel Reese praises Mercury’s X-Factor crowd

The Mercury fanbase, also known as the X-Factor, has been a staple of the team since its inception. Selling out almost every home game this season, Phoenix’s crowd can help change the momentum in a game at any moment.

Reese, one of the league’s most notable young stars, applauded the energy the crowd had. Despite playing against the X-Factor’s favorite team, she felt only positivity on the court.

“It’s a healthy basketball environment, these are just straight basketball fans,” Reese said, according to the team’s post-game notes. “We don’t hear any negativity. Obviously, fans are going to be fans, as far as they’re going to cheer for their own team, but for me, I feel the love here.”

The Mercury and the Sky played a close game down to the wire, with the Mercury taking an 83-79 win. Reese had one of the Sky’s better performances in the loss, with 20 rebounds, 15 points and four assists.

“They always ask me about some of the places that I love playing in and Phoenix is always one of them,” she said. “… When there’s just straight-up basketball fans that know basketball, that love basketball and nothing else. They just care straight-up about basketball. That’s what you want here.”

Mercury guard Kahleah Copper knows how important their fan base is, with several other players giving credit to their crowd for being engaged throughout the season. With playoffs around the corner, the team looks for the X-Factor’s energy to fuel momentum.

“I think the X-Factor is number one in the league, period,” Copper said after Thursday’s game, according to the team’s post-game recording. “I think it’s very hard to play here. I think our fans are very engaged… They were extra loud, talking trash, getting with the refs, everything, so just a shout-out to the X-Factor.”

The X-Factor’s lasting impact is becoming harder to ignore, as players across the WNBA take notice of its unwavering passion.