After three years, Natasha Mack is back in the WNBA. And she’s making a difference for the Phoenix Mercury.
The 6-foot-4 post player with a 6-foot-11 wingspan is averaging 1.9 blocks per game. Back in 2021 at Oklahoma State, she averaged four blocks a game, establishing herself as the best shot blocker in the country as she won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors.
That production contributed to the Chicago Sky selecting her with the No. 16 pick in the 2021 WNBA Draft. She didn’t play much in Chicago, nor with the Minnesota Lynx, the franchise she briefly joined when she was cut by the Sky. After four games and just 18 total minutes, her WNBA dream seemed to be over.
Instead of giving up, Mack moved abroad, where she continued to play. As she told The Next earlier this season:
Honestly, I thought I was gonna be done with it. So I just went overseas, developed my game, played with different teams and just got better. And my agent got the phone call, like, ‘Hey, you wanna go to training camp for Phoenix?’ I said, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’
After three years, she’s back in the W. Asked by Swish Appeal about how it feels to be back, she shared:
It feels good. It feels like I belong. I just have to keep working hard and not give up on myself.
When she last spoke to us, Mack said that she’ll never lose her love for basketball, especially after taking a gap year between high school and college, when she almost gave up on the game. Even before returning to the W, she got to play in Australia, Poland and Turkey, and suited up for the Montenegro national team. Despite that experience, she felt stressed when entering the Mercury training camp, explaining:
More stress than anything. WNBA is the hardest pro league to make a team. I just went in not expecting anything and just kept working hard. The coaches told me to “just be me and do what I do best.”
Mack not only made the roster, but, when Britney Griner fractured her left toe during preseason, she earned a spot in the starting lineup; her official return to the WNBA court was the first start of her WNBA career. All the while, Griner continued to support her younger teammate. As Mack noted:
BG is very consistent. I was constantly getting feedback and motivation.
Mack started the first 10 games of the season for the Mercury, with averages of 4.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks in more than 22 minutes per start. Understandably, Griner immediately rejoined the starting lineup upon her return to full health. Mack’s minutes, in turn, have been cut in half. But that’s not an issue. She’s happy to be playing for the Mercury, emphasizing:
It does feel like home. My goal is just to remain on the team and keep getting better daily. Hope to keep averaging a lot of rebounds.