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WNBA Head Coach Feels 'Weird' Playing Mercury Without Diana Taurasi

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Reign Amurao | Last updated May 30, 2025 10:26 PM ET

There's a new era of Phoenix Mercury basketball with the retirement of WNBA star Diana Taurasi. The one-time Most Valuable Player decided in February to retire from the game of basketball after 20 years. Taurasi spent the entirety of her career with the Mercury.

On Friday, the Mercury are scheduled to play against the Minnesota Lynx. The team has been coached by Cheryl Reeve since 2009, the same year Taurasi was crowned the best player in the league.

However, this is the first season that Reeve will coach against a Phoenix team without Taurasi. Before the game, she revealed her thoughts about the Mercury not having the basketball legend on their roster.

The media asked the head coach ahead of the game about her thoughts on the first WNBA season without the iconic player.

"It is weird, being here in Phoenix," Reeve said about facing the Mercury without Taurasi via Hayden Cilley on X. "It'd be weird to walk out there and some of the teams that they've had... Maybe not weird, but different, for sure."

Cheryl Reeve had a moment when @morrscode_ asked her about the feeling of being in Phoenix and not playing against Diana Taurasi.

“It is weird.” pic.twitter.com/D1x4eyhyWd
— Hayden Cilley (@HaydenCilley) May 31, 2025

According to StatHead, Taurasi played 61 games against the Lynx during the regular season in her career. She had a record of 26-35 with averages of 17.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and four assists. In the playoffs, the 11-time All-Star played 13 games against Minnesota and finished with a record of 2-11. In the postseason, the Mercury legend averaged 21.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

Her last game against the Lynx was in the 2024 playoffs. Taurasi had 10 points, four rebounds and three assists in Game 2 of the first round.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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