In the 2026 WNBA season, the Phoenix Mercury were expected to only march forward. After all, this was a team that went head-to-head in the Finals last season, with the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces. But just a few weeks in, and they find themselves near the bottom of the standings (No. 13) with a disappointing 4-12 record. So, needless to say, it’s the kind of collapse nobody saw coming, and it also stunned former Mercury guard Sophie Cunningham.

“I think everyone around the league truly is stunned,” Cunningham said during her broadcasting debut on USA Network. “I am a little struck because you still have (Kahleah Copper), and she is an elite-level scorer. And then you have DeWanna Bonner. She has been a great shooter for every team she’s been on, not just a shooter but a scorer in general. So I think the whole league is kind of taken aback.”

See, on paper, this Mercury team still has enough talent to compete with anyone in the league, and that’s evident in their latest game. They locked horns with the Aces and dominated in the first half of the game. Though it ended in an 86-76 loss, Phoenix had four of its players finish in double-figure scoring. So what exactly is going wrong?

A big part of the answer comes down to execution. In their matches so far, the Mercury haven’t been able to sustain the fire inside them for a full 40 minutes. After a few minutes of dominance, they let their opponents get comfortable in the game and take control.

Another issue that they just can’t seem to fix is turnovers. Against Aces, Phoenix had 22 turnovers per ESPN that turned into 28 points on the other end. If they could have avoided this, there was a good chance of them winning this game.

But then, as per WNBA Advance Stats, the Mercury currently have a 108.9 defensive rating and a -5.8 net rating. That means they are being outscored by 5.3 points per 100 possessions on average, while also struggling to consistently get stops on the defensive end.

However, there is a good part for Phoenix as well: Kahleah Copper has been doing everything in her power to steady the offense. Against the Los Angeles Sparks, she exploded for 41 points while continuing to average 18.8 per game this season. She even has solid support from DeWanna Bonner, who has provided veteran scoring and stability on both ends of the floor.

But even with both of them contributing, the Mercury still haven’t been able to recover from the offensive gap that Satou Sabally’s departure left.

Yet if you were to ask Sophie Cunningham, she believes they just need to find their rhythm in the league.

“They have so many threats. And when they catch rhythm, they’re gonna be scary,” she added. “But can they get it together? It’s gotta be sooner than later; the season is flying by.”

For now, the Mercury’s struggles continue as they suffer their fourth straight loss. And if they are planning to turn things around, they’ll need to do it fast or else the season will start slipping further away.