Phoenix Mercury Just Embarrassed the Defending Champs, Now Golden State Gets the Rematch Nobody Saw Coming

The Phoenix Mercury walked into the Las Vegas Aces' house on Opening Night and absolutely dismantled the defending champions 99-66. Now they're heading to San Francisco on Sunday night to face the Golden State Valkyries, an expansion team that just beat Seattle 91-80 to kick off their season. This back-to-back road trip for Phoenix is about to get a whole lot spicier.

Golden State's Disaster Preseason Set the Tone

Here's the wild part: the Valkyries were such a mess heading into this season that coach Natalie Nakase only scheduled one preseason game. One. That's how badly the expansion team needed time just to get everyone on the same page. They opened without last year's top pick, Juste Jocyte, who's still finishing up an obligation to her Spanish League team. They also started without one of last year's top players, Iliana Rupert, who is pregnant. And if that wasn't enough, they lost starting guard Tiffany Hayes to a dislocated pinkie finger and key reserve Cecilia Zandalasini to a concussion. All four are ruled out for Sunday.

Even with the win over Seattle, Nakase knows her defense was atrocious. The Valkyries, last year's top defensive team statistically, allowed 24 and 27 point quarters in that game. "My expectations are high for us defensively," Nakase said. "We just have to be smarter. There's a lot of corrections that we can make." She's banking on the fact that some of her players have only been to three or four practices so far.

Mercury Brought Weapons Vegas Didn't Expect

Phoenix wasn't just hungry to beat the Aces, they were hungry to make a statement. These are the guys who lost to Las Vegas in the 2025 WNBA Finals, and they had to sit there and watch the Aces' ring ceremony before the nationally televised game.

Alyssa Thomas led the Mercury with 20 points, but the real star was Serbian forward Jovana Nogic, who had been playing in Russia. She absolutely took over, dropping 19 points, all in the first half. Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts credited the league's new higher-paying collective bargaining agreement for bringing in talent like Nogic. "This is a player that hasn't come over, because maybe it wasn't worth it, right?" Tibbetts said. "She had an awesome start; I'm really happy for her."

Sunday night in San Francisco, the Mercury bring that same momentum into a wounded Valkyries team still trying to figure out who they are. Golden State better get healthy fast.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.