Mercury guard earns 5th career Player of the Week honor and 2nd with Mercury
PHOENIX – Five-time WNBA All-Star and 2020 Olympic gold medalist Skylar Diggins-Smith was named the Western Conference Player of the Week, as announced by the league office today. It’s the fifth career Player of the Week honor for Diggins-Smith and the second she’s earned as a member of the Mercury (September 8, 2020).
Diggins-Smith earns the award after leading the Mercury to a perfect 2-0 record over the course of last week, extending the team’s win streak to six games following the Olympic break. The guard posted averages of of 27.0 points, 6.0 assists and 2.5 steals, while shooting 53.1 percent (17-of-32) from the field and 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from three-point range.
After a 25-point, 7-asssits, 6-rebounds game on August 21 at Atlanta, Diggins-Smith began the new week with a dominating 27-point, 5-assists performance on August 25 at New York. She knocked down a season-high four three-pointers on seven attempts in 106-79 win, and finished 10-of-16 from the field.
Diggins-Smith capped off the week with another 27-point performance in New York on August 27, while adding 7 assists and a season-high 4 steals. She finished a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line. It marked just the second time in WNBA history a player has recorded 27+ points, 7+ assists, 4+ steals and 1+ blocks, joining Epiphanny Prince (June 18, 2014).
Diggins-Smith has been on a tear this season, averaging 19.2 points (highest since 2014 when she averaged a career-high 20.1), 5.1 assists and 3.3 rebounds. She’s the only player in the league this season averaging 19+ points. 5+ assists and 3+ rebounds, a feat that has only been done five times in league history (Becky Hammon-2009, Cappie Pondexter-2009, Candace Parker-2015 and Diana Taurasi-2013 and 2018). Additionally, she joins New York’s Betnijah Laney as the only two players this season to rank inside the top-10 in both scoring (5th) and assists (8th).
WNBA all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi, two-time WNBA scoring champion Brittney Griner and four-time WNBA All-Star Skylar Diggins-Smith return to Phoenix this summer, as the trio attempts to lead the Mercury to a WNBA-record tying fourth championship in 2021.