Money well spent: Ishbia’s investment into WNBA’s Mercury pays off fast with surprise run to Finals

PHOENIX (AP) – It’s a typical day for the Phoenix Mercury at their recently built, $100 million downtown practice facility, with players, coaches and support staff making the final preparations for their surprise trip to the WNBA Finals.

The 58,000-square-foot complex has everything a team needs to be successful – two full-size courts, a weight room and a team meeting room with theater-style seating. It opened last year, around the same time the franchise hosted the league’s All-Star game.

This – owner Mat Ishbia says – is the future of the WNBA.

“I don’t want this to be a competitive advantage,” Ishbia said. “I want everyone else to do the same thing.”

As the WNBA enters an era of increased exposure and popularity, the Mercury are one of the league’s crown jewels. The proud franchise has been to the Finals six times since its inception in 1997, winning championships in 2007, 2009 and 2014.

Phoenix will get a chance to add a fourth title to its resume in the coming weeks: The Mercury face the Las Vegas Aces in the best-of-seven Finals starting with Game 1 on Friday in Las Vegas.

Ishbia bought the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the Mercury for roughly $4 billion, finalizing the deal in early 2023. Since then, he’s poured money into both teams and his investment into the Mercury has paid off quickly.

The 45-year-old Ishbia sat courtside for the team’s Game 3 win over the Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals, taking in the raucous atmosphere of nearly 16,000 fans at PHX Arena.

“This matters a lot to me and our organization,” Ishbia said. “We care. And the franchise that cares the most usually wins the most.”

The Mercury weren’t supposed to be this good this quickly, after losing franchise legends Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner during the offseason. Taurasi retired after a stellar 20-year career while Griner left in free agency for the Atlanta Dream.

But second-year coach Nate Tibbetts was able to rebuild the roster in a hurry, adding veterans like Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Satou Sabally to join holdovers like Kahleah Copper and Natasha Mack.

The Mercury finished with a 27-17 record to earn the No. 4 seed in the playoffs before knocking off the defending WNBA champion New York Liberty in the first round and the top-seeded Lynx in the second round.

Copper said word is out around the WNBA that Phoenix is one of the best places to play in the league. She wasn’t surprised when veteran players were so eager to come to the desert.

“The people, the access, the support staff,” Copper said. “We have a sports scientist, we have nutritionists, the list goes on and on. Those things are so important. Having success, being healthy, knowing what your body needs – it’s all for us to perform at the highest level.”

Said Tibbets: “(Ishbia) gives us everything we need. He’s involved, but he’s not over the top. And there are also expectations, which is good. I’m happy for him because he made a commitment and took a chance on me and others.

“Now we’re showing results, and we’re not done yet.”

The team’s practice facility has only become more important as WNBA players adjust to the grind of a longer season. This year’s 44-game schedule was the longest in league history and the upcoming Finals will be first time the league has had a series that could potentially last seven games.

For a league that’s had its share of growing pains in recent months – Napheesa Collier’s salvo against WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert is the latest example – the Mercury are a positive example of what the league could look like over the coming years.

“When you have good people around, great things can happen,” Ishbia said. “I don’t know if we’ll win the title this year. We may win it this year, next year or in eight years, but there’s always going to be consistent investment.”