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Why Fever-Mercury is becoming one of the WNBA's must-watch matchups PHOENIX Rivalries are critical to the sports ecosystem, helping bring both viewership and engagement.
And the growing tension between the Indiana Fever and Phoenix Mercury suggests a new rivalry has been born.
All eyes will be on Thursday's game between the teams, their third meeting in as many weeks.
Stakes are high as the Mercury try to claw their way into playoff contention and the Fever look to rebound from a loss to the Los Angeles Sparks.
Emotions will likely be higher if their first two games featuring seven technical fouls, one ejection and a flagrant-2 foul are any indication.
It will be the first meeting since the Mercury's 111-109 win over the Fever on June 24 dominated national headlines.
The fallout from that contest included the WNBA handing Alyssa Thomas a one-game suspension and fine for "recklessly" making contact with Caitlin Clark's throat.
Friction between the clubs has been simmering under the surface for some time.
USA TODAY takes a dive into the history between the Fever and Mercury ahead of Thursday's game in Phoenix (10 p.m.
ET, Prime Video): Mercury deny Fever WNBA title in 2009 Fever forward Tamika Catchings led Indiana to the franchise's first WNBA Finals appearance in 2009, where they went head-to-head with future Hall of Famer Diana Taurasi and the Phoenix Mercury.
The Fever lost Game 1 of the best-of-five series to the Mercury 120-116 in overtime, which Catchings widely considers "one of the greatest WNBA games of all time.
The Fever responded by winning the next two games to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
Indiana needed one more win to make franchise history.
Phoenix, however, rattled off consecutive victories to secure the franchise's second WNBA title in three years with a 94-86 Game 5 win in front of 17,000 fans in Phoenix.
Taurasi was named the Finals MVP.
It was hugely disappointing to get so close and yet not win it all, Catchings wrote in her 2017 autobiography, "Catch a Star: Shining through Adversity to Become a Champion." Fever head coach Lin Dunn added, "We came so close in 2009 that you could taste it.
And Tamika, she could taste it, and then it was like, oh no, it just slipped away.
And then as we continued to grow as a team, you started to wonder, would it happen for us? It finally happened for Catchings and the Fever in 2012, when Indiana defeated the Minnesota Lynx in four games.
Diana Taurasi vs.
Caitlin Clark The first matchup between Diana Taurasi and Caitlin Clark in Phoenix in 2024 was billed as The G.O.A.T vs.
The Rook after Taurasi made controversial remarks about rookies moving from college to the pros.
During a chat with ESPN's Scott Van Pelt, Taurasi said "reality is coming" for incoming rookies, including Clark.
"There's levels to this thing," Taurasi, the 11-time WNBA All-Star and three-time champion, said in April 2024.
"And that's just life, we all went through it.
..
You look superhuman playing against 18-year-olds, but you're gonna come with some grown women that have been playing professional basketball for a long time.
Not saying that's not gonna translate.
'Cause when you're great at what you do, you're just gonna get better.
But there is gonna be a transition period where you're gonna have to give yourself some grace as a rookie." Although Taurasi explained she was speaking to the difficulty of jumping to the next level, something she navigated herself, some deemed her comments as a jab at Clark.
Online discourse fanned the flames and quickly pitted veterans against rookies.
The tension was visible on the court when the Mercury and Fever faced off in Phoenix on June 30, 2024.
Five technical fouls and a flagrant-1 foul were called in the first half alone.
Another flagrant 1 was called before the game ended.
But Clark and Taurasi used the game to shut down any narritives.
They showed mutual respect by sharing an embrace before tipoff and stood at half court, sharing a friendly exchange, amid the skirmish.
"(Taurasi) was probably one of the first womens basketball players that I grew up idolizing and really knowing," Clark said at the time.
"I just admired the way she played the game and the fire that she played with.
Its impressive that shes still able to play this game at such a high level and produce like she does." "It's amazing what Caitlin's been able to do in her short career so far.
It's been nothing short of remarkable," Taurasi.
"The one thing I really love about her is that she loves that game.
You can tell she puts the work in.
..
It's been a lot of pressure and a lot of things thrown at her and she keeps showing up and keeps getting better every single game.
Her future is super bright." DeWanna Bonner leaves Fever Bonner signed a one-year contract with the Fever in 2025 and played in Indiana for nine games, starting three.
She began the season as a starter, but things went sideways when she was moved the the bench.
Bonner wasn't with the team for several games due to "personal reasons," before being waived on June 22, 2025.
She didn't elaborate on the break up, only noting the "fit did not work out." "I appreciate the organization's willingness to grant my request to move on, particularly at this point in my career," Bonner said in a statement at the time.
"I wish the Fever great success as they continue to build around this dynamic group of young players." Bonner went on to sign with the Phoenix Mercury and helped the team reach the 2025 WNBA Finals.
Mercury-Fever: Round 1 The Indiana Fever's 86-77 win over the Phoenix Mercury on June 22 descended into chaos, resulting in five technical fouls and an ejection from both teams after Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner got tangled up in the paint.
Clark was called for a personal foul and tensions boiled over when Clark and Bonner exchanged words after the play.
Bonner attempted to walk away but Clark briefly followed before being intercepted by a referee.
As officials attempted to deescalate the situation, Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas and Fever forward Myisha Hines-Allen got into a confrontation and had to be separated.
Then another altercation broke out between Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and DeWanna Bonner after Cunningham pointed her finger at Bonner, prompting Bonner to point back at Cunningham.
The two also had to be separated.
Officials assessed offsetting technical fouls to Cunningham and Bonner, in addition to Hines-Allen and Alyssa Thomas.
Clark was also called for her fifth technical foul of the season for clapping, but the melee wasn't over.
During the next possession, Hines-Allen was called for a personal foul against Thomas.
After the play, Hines-Allen pushed Thomas and was charged with her second technical foul of the night, triggering an automatic ejection.
Alyssa Thomas suspended for reckless contact The Mercury's 111-109 win over the Fever on June 24 was overshadowed by the viral clip of Alyssa Thomas pushing down on the neck of Fever guard Caitlin Clark.
The play didn't result in a foul, which Fever head coach Stephanie White called "egregious." After reviewing play June 25, the league gave Thomas a flagrant-2 foul, one-game suspension and $1,000 fine for "recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area of Caitlin Clark." Clark exited the game early in the third quarter with a back injury after landing on Phoenix's Valeriane Ayayi on a 3-point attempt, which White described as one of "two cheap shots." Thomas served her one-game suspension during the Mercury's 89-80 win over the Toronto Tempo on June 27.
Ahead of the matchup, Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts voiced his frustration over the WNBA's handling of the situation, saying, "the people involved were not questioned" or contacted ahead of Thomas' suspension.
Thomas said she learned of the suspension 10 minutes before it was posted on social media.
Thomas denied any malicious intent and called the contact with Clark "a complete accident," noting she "didn't even know that play happened" until she saw clips of the incident online after the win.
"If you watch the playback, no one in the stands, their bench, knew that it happened," Thomas said.
"The whole narrative that's being painted out there, it's unfortunate that it's come to this over basketball ..
now we're being painted as thugs and there's death threats out on us.
So it's really unacceptable.
It's something that needs to change in this league." Clark said the threats and hate directed toward Thomas and her Mercury teammates need to stop, adding, "I've said up here and said before, the harassment, the hate, none of that is OK." Reach USA TODAY National Womens Sports Reporter Cydney Henderson at [email protected] and follow her on X at@CydHenderson.
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