How A Former Cardinal Won A Championship In Phoenix

The Phoenix Mercury have won three championships in their time, and they have had some talented rosters that made it happen. They found players through the draft, through trades and through free agency, and no matter how they joined the team, or how many minutes they played, everyone played a role.

The Mercury won their first championship in 2007, and after missing the playoffs the following year, they went on a deep playoff run in 2009. In the end, the Mercury won another championship, and it would be a few years before they won another.

Phoenix had a talented roster in 2009, and one of the players they had was Brooke Smith.

Smith attended Stanford, and in that time, her best season was in 2006. She averaged 17.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists. While she finished her college career with Stanford, she spent a year with Duke before transferring.

After her successful college years, Smith was drafted in the 2007 WNBA Draft. That was the year that the Mercury had the first pick of the draft, and after drafting Lindsey Harding, they traded her to the Lynx for Tangela Smith. The former Stanford player was drafted by Minnesota later on, and she did not play for them as she was waived later that month.

Smith signed a deal with the Connecticut Sun a few days later, but she was waived by them as well. So, she did not play in the 2007 season, but eventually, she made her way to Phoenix. In her first year with the team, Smith averaged 4.1 points and 3.6 rebounds. Then, she averaged 1.7 rebounds and a point in the year that the Mercury won their second championship.

With the Mercury winning it all, Smith accomplished something special. While she played limited minutes, she was a part of a talented group. The 2009 Mercury made history, and they beat the San Antonio Silver Stars, the Los Angeles Sparks and the Indiana Fever to make it happen.

Smith spent a bit more time with the Mercury, as she played 16 games in 2010. She also had her best game that year, as she had 10 points, four rebounds and three blocks against the Seattle Storm. Smith signed a training camp contract with the Mercury in 2011, but she was waived. Regardless, she is a part of Mercury history, and they had an exceptional year when she was there.

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