Despite battling injury, Shey Peddy is already making plans for next season

In her fourth season with the Phoenix Mercury, Shey Peddy looks at the Mercury’s season through rose-colored lenses despite their 9-31 record and battles with injuries.

“We could have folded easy,” Peddy said. “We have heard we’re allegedly rebuilding or tanking but in that locker room you couldn’t tell, we were all fighting for each other.”

Peddy was drafted out of Temple University by the Chicago Sky in the second round of the 2012 draft. After being waived by the Washington Mystics in 2020, she was signed to a seven-day contract with the Mercury that eventually turned into a long-term contract.

The 34-year-old appeared in just 18 games for the Mercury this season and averaged 11.9 points, two steals, 4.2 assists and four rebounds off the bench. She shot 80% from he free throw line and 37% from the field.

On Aug. 6 of 2023, Peddy went down just before half time in a game against the Seattle Storm with what appeared to be serious injury. Peddy was carted off of the court after taking taking a scary hit to the side of the head that would bench her for the rest of the season with a concussion.

Peddy also had a season-ending foot injury during the Mercury’s 2022 season.

“It’s frustrating,” Peddy said about her season-ending injury. “This is not the way that I wanted the season to go… It was s***ty, it was a s***ty year for me but I just got to let it go.”

With Peddy’s past two seasons resulting in anything but smooth sailing, she has no choice but to look ahead to the offseason and do all that she can to turn the 2024 season around for herself and her team.

“(Goals) personally for me is to be 100%,” Peddy said. “Get stronger in the weight room, be able to knock down shots consistently and just be a leader out there.”

Peddy enters the offseason as a free agent but “would love” to return to the court in a Mercury jersey. She already has plans on helping the team get more than ten wins, get above a .500 and get back into the playoffs while making a run for the title.