Through their first 11 games of the year, the revamped Phoenix Mercury holds the fourth-best record in the WNBA after beating the Dallas Wings 93-80 at the PHX

Yet in the league's highlight video on Thursday morning, it was all about Wings star Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft who had been out for almost two weeks with a concussion and an illness. She came back strong, with 35 points on 13-for-19 shooting.

Ahead of her first game against her former team, Satou Sabally is settling nicely into her new role in Phoenix.

Satou Sabally, Lexi Held and the Phoenix Mercury survived their most difficult stretch of the season, with new players forced into unfamiliar roles. When some of the team’s stars return from injury, it could set them up well for success.

ESPN picked Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts as its early front-runner for WNBA Coach of the Year. In a panel featuring Kendra Andrews, Kevin Pelton, Alexa Philippou and Michael Voepel, the latter two selected Tibbetts as their coach of the year.