PHOENIX — Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts has made it clear he wants to go with an eight-player rotation for the rest of the season.
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Jun 7, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Lexi Held (1) drives past Seattle Storm guard Lexie Brown (8) in the second half at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images
Injuries throughout the year have forced Tibbetts to change and modify rotations using the players available at the moment. Since the injured players have returned, the head coach has focused on making smaller rotations compared to the ones he was using before.
Players like Kalani Brown, Kitija Laksa and Lexi Held have seen their minutes decrease with the new setup. Although Tibbetts hasn’t given a clear answer as to why they haven’t been playing as much as they once did, he believes this rotation will give the team success down the stretch for the rest of the season.
Jun 19, 2025; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Phoenix Mercury center Kalani Brown (21) during a game against the New York Liberty at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
“This is the hardest league in women’s basketball, right?” Tibbetts said after their game on Aug. 10, according to the team’s post-game recording.. “There’s not a lot of spots… We’ve got good players. And so it’s their job to stay ready. They’re also good players. I’ve just kind of decided to go in a different direction.”
The Mercury are 19-12, holding the fourth-best record in the league, but have gone just 4-5 since the All-Star break. With 13 games remaining, it’s still too early to tell whether the recently implemented rotation, which has been in place for only a few weeks, will lead to sustained success.
Jun 15, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Aces guard Chelsea Gray (12) knocks the ball away from Phoenix Mercury guard Kitija Laksa (9) in the second quarter at Michelob Ultra Arena. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-Imagn Images
However, Tibbiters is confident the rotation will help the team in the long run.
“If you look across the league, there’s a lot of teams that play eight,” Tibbetts said. “We’ve played more early in the season, I think more because our hand was a little bit forced. So yeah, I do like the eight-player rotation.”
A perfection in the pick and roll leads to a power finish 🤌
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— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) August 12, 2025
The Phoenix Mercury will continue to work with the eight-player rotation as they host the Las Vegas Aces on Friday, Aug. 15.
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Wendy Lopez is a reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow her on her X account, @wlopezde
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