In 1998, 2007, 2009, 2014, and 2021 the Mercury went to the WNBA Finals; they lost to Houston in 1998, but won the title in 2007, 2009, and 2014 over Detroit, Indiana, and Chicago respectively.

The franchise has been home to players such as former UConn Diana Taurasi, Rutgers grad Cappie Pondexter, former Temple power forward Candice Dupree, former Baylor center Brittney Griner, and Australian guard Penny Taylor.

In February 2023, Mat Ishbia, a former Michigan State college basketball player, completed the acquisition of Phoenix Mercury from Robert Sarver.

[3][4] With a cast that included hall-of-famer Nancy Lieberman, and future hall-of-famers Michele Timms of Australia, and Jennifer Gillom, hyper-active star Bridget Pettis, and outspoken coach Cheryl Miller, the Mercury quickly established itself as a major franchise.

Westhead was the first WNBA coach to have won a previous NBA championship (with Los Angeles Lakers in 1980).

Westhead's run and gun offense quickly became The Mercury's trademark and the franchise would soon set new league records for points scored.

The Mercury would run away with the Western Conference, posting their best record in franchise history at 23–11, as well as clinching the #1 seed.

[6] On November 7, 2007, The Mercury announced the hiring of Corey Gaines as head coach to replace the departing Paul Westhead.

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 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.

Phoenix swept San Antonio in the first round of the Playoffs, but lost to the eventual champion Seattle Storm in the conference finals.

Once the 2013 WNBA draft arrived in April 2013, the Mercury used the top overall pick on two time Women's College Basketball Wooden award winner Brittney Griner.

On February 3, 2015, Diana Taurasi announced that she would sit out the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian Premier League team, UMMC Ekaterinburg.

In June 2009 the Mercury and WNBA announced a sponsorship agreement with identity theft protection service LifeLock to place that company's logo on their jerseys through the 2013 season, making the Mercury among the first non-soccer franchises in the major leagues of North America to place a company logo on their uniforms.

[8] For the 2014 season and going forward, the Mercury will wear jerseys sponsored by Casino Arizona and Talking Stick Resort.