Editing Phoenix Mercury (section)

===Mercury fall, Mercury rise (2008–2011)===
In 2008, the Mercury started slowly and never really found a groove, finishing the season with a disappointing record of 16–18, well out of the playoff picture in a tough Western Conference.  The Mercury became the first team in WNBA history with the dubious honor of failing to qualify for the playoffs after winning the WNBA Finals the year before.

However, a year later, the Mercury were back to what they were two years before. The Mercury clinched the top spot in the playoffs along with the number one seed in the Western Conference. The Mercury defeated the 2008 conference champion San Antonio Silver Stars in the first round, winning the very exciting series 2–1 after losing the first game on the road. The Mercury then defeated the Los Angeles Sparks in the conference finals, winning 2–1 in a series that ended Lisa Leslie's career. The Mercury then went on to beat the [[Indiana Fever]] 3–2 in the best of 5 series to capture the second title in their franchise history. Diana Taurasi captured the [[WNBA Finals MVP Award]]. All-star guard Cappie Pondexter was traded to the [[New York Liberty]] amid some controversy in the offseason; All-Star [[Candice Dupree]] joined the duo of Taurasi and Penny Taylor as the Mercury looked to repeat in 2010.

It was not easy, however, as the Mercury faced a few bad losing streaks throughout the 2010 season. The team managed to finish 15–19, good for second place in the Western Conference. Phoenix swept San Antonio in the first round of the Playoffs, but lost to the eventual champion [[Seattle Storm]] in the conference finals.

After a hectic offseason for Diana Taurasi, most of the Mercury team was rested and ready to play. The team started the 2011 season with a surprising 0–3 record, but flew back into playoff contention, entering the [[2011 WNBA All-Star Game|All-Star break]] with a 10–5 record. Ultimately, they recovered to gain the third seed in the [[2011 WNBA Playoffs]], and upset the Seattle Storm in the opening round, closing an 18-point deficit to win on Seattle's home floor, allowing the Mercury to reach its third straight conference finals. Unfortunately, for the team, they came up short against the top-seeded [[Minnesota Lynx]], losing in two games.