CHICAGO — All-Star Kelsey Plum made her much-anticipated Phoenix Mercury debut and Alyssa Thomas secured her second triple-double of the season on Monday night, as the club took a 106-101 win over the Chicago Sky.
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Aug 3, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Kelsey Plum (0) goes to the basket against Chicago Sky center Elizabeth Williams (1) during the first half of a WNBA game at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Forty-eight hours after the biggest trade of a relatively quiet WNBA trade deadline, Plum landed in Illinois, greeted by her new teammates and staff. A player who had to juggle the news, the travel and being thrown into a game with a brand-new team, Plum spoke about the whirlwind before tipoff.
“I was overwhelmed, to be honest,” she said during her introductory press conference. “It’s been a crazy 48 hours. But to be received like that from teammates, from the staff, from the organization, I’m just super grateful. I can’t say how thankful I am to just go out and compete tonight.”
That overwhelming feeling didn’t translate to her play Monday night.
Aug 3, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Phoenix Mercury guard Kelsey Plum (0) brings the ball up court against the Chicago Sky during the first half of a WNBA game at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
In her debut in a Phoenix uniform, Plum posted 20 points with four assists while shooting 6-for-10 in just 21 minutes. Despite the minutes restriction after returning from a lower-body injury, she made her presence known every time she was on the court.
Along with an excellent debut, Thomas finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists — the 27th triple-double of her career. Kahleah Copper added 31 points, while DeWanna Bonner added 14. All in all, it took a total team effort as the Mercury now move to 12-19 for the season and are still in reach of the final playoff spot.
However, there’s still much work left to do, and the team knows that reality all too well.
“We don’t have a choice at this point in the season, we’re gonna take it one game at a time.”
Alyssa Thomas spoke to me about how Phoenix plans to carry momentum into the rest of their road trip after picking up a 106-101 win over Chicago. pic.twitter.com/b4oAddz09G
— Wendy Lopez (@wlopezde) August 4, 2026
“We don’t have a choice at this point in the season,” Thomas said postgame. “We’re gonna take it one game at a time. We gotta give it everything that we have. Unfortunately, we’re in the position that we’re in. But we know that we can win basketball games, but it’s going to take the little details and playing defense and just sharing that ball.”
Aug 3, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (25) drives to the basket against Chicago Sky guard Jacy Sheldon (0) during the first half of a WNBA game at Wintrust Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Plum’s seamless debut added another dynamic scorer to the Mercury’s lineup, while Thomas once again demonstrated why she’s one of the league’s premier all-around players. With time running short in the playoff race, Phoenix will need more performances like Monday’s, but if its newest star settles in as quickly as she did against Chicago, the Mercury have every reason to believe they’re still capable of making a late-season push.
Phoenix now heads to Atlanta to take on the Dream on Wednesday, Aug. 5, at 4 p.m.
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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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