Sug Sutton finds sweet spot with Phoenix Mercury

Phoenix Mercury guard Sug Sutton (l.) guards Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum in a WNBA game on May 14, 2024.

PHOTO: Ethan Miller/Getty Images, via Las Vegas Aces

By W.G. RAMIREZ

LAS VEGAS -- Finding your sweet spot in the WNBA can take time.

For Alecia Kaorie Sutton, it's taken both time and patience.

To set the scene, Sutton was a spectator inside Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena, attending a Las Vegas Aces game with her girlfriend, Jae Royal, in 2022.

Sutton had previously spent some time in the WNBA, a cup of coffee if you will, with the Washington Mystics in 2020 during the pandemic. She averaged 9.4 minutes per game in the bubble, playing in 12 of Washington's 22 games.

But with invites to training camp being limited, and it becoming extremely difficult to make a WNBA roster - even for first-round draft picks - it appeared Washington's 2020 third-round choice might be relegated to a professional career overseas.

Nevertheless, upon being introduced to a reporter that night at Mandalay Bay, Sutton vowed she was putting in the work and one day he'd be writing about her journey back to the WNBA.

So she continued to trust the process and believed the hard work she was putting in would pay off. She continued to fend off any negative mindset, assuring herself she'd be back in the W.

"There were a lot of rough moments, even when I didn't get a call to go to training camp," Sutton told WGRamirez.com during a recent visit back in Las Vegas. "And there was (a) year I didn't get a call. I had those low moments and I thought I wasn't ever going to get into the W again. I just continued to work hard and continued to stay in the gym. Even my dad, he didn't know if I would get back into the W, just because of how much talent comes in and out. And I didn't know when my opportunity would come.

"I just doubled down on myself and started to believe that if I'm able to get there one time, I can get there another. So I just continued to believe in myself and tried to crawl myself back into the W and just get that opportunity again."

That opportunity came in 2023, when the Phoenix Mercury needed to sweeten the pot with fresh talent who could fill specific roles and decided to bring in a spark plug affectionately known as "Sug," short for Sugar.

VETERAN SUPPORT

Invited to training camp last year, Sutton said showed up roughly two weeks before it started so she could begin working out with players who were already in town, and to get reps in during pickup games.

It helped make her feel comfortable immediately at the start of camp.

"I kind of found my spot, kind of found my flow within the offense," Sutton said. "DT (Diana Taurasi) (and) BG (Brittney Griner) were welcoming as soon as I got there. I already knew Sophie (Cunningham), so she was very welcoming. And so they just made me feel at home. And from the day I got there, I felt like I was at home.

"Since then, I kind of found my flow. We had a lot of coaching changes last year, so it was tough, it was an up-and-down thing. But the belief we had in each other, regardless of what we did last season and how bad it was, we still believed in each other and we still tried to do everything that we could. I think that helped me a lot."

That, she said, and the belief Taurasi, Griner and Cunningham continued to show in her, helped boost Sutton's confidence.

"As soon as I stepped foot on the court and I played pickup, I remember BG coming up to me and telling me, 'Are you in a playoff game right now?'" said Sutton, who was out to prove she could compete among the world's best players. "Since then we kind of had that relationship where she could just come up to me and be like, 'It's all good Sug.' Or, DT always coming up to me and giving me words of encouragement.

"I'm really thankful to be able to learn under them and continue to follow in their footsteps because I want to be where they are."

And she did her best to prove it, as the 5-foot-8 spark plug became an instant hit in Phoenix last season, appearing in all 40 games, starting in 12 of them and averaging 26.3 minutes while scoring 8.2 points and 4.8 assists per game.

BLOWN AWAY

Phoenix Mercury guard made an immediate impact at training camp, impressing first-year coach Nate Tibbetts with her business-like approach, and hard-nosed work ethic.

PHOTO: Courtesy Phoenix Mercury

For first-year Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts, it's one thing to be hired to lead a team that features veterans like Taurasi, Griner and Cunningham. But you add in offseason acquisitions Natasha Cloud, Kahleah Copper and Rebecca Allen, and he knew there was something special brewing in The Valley.

From there, "I didn't know what to expect coming into camp," he said.

Neither did Sutton, who was signed to a training camp contract and was seemingly back to square one, once again having to prove herself.

Then she hit the court.

"I've been completely blown away by the professional she is," Tibbetts said. "She is the same person every day. As a coach, that gives you comfort, that makes you feel good, the way she walks in, the way she comes to work. She's undersized, but she's got a big heart. She competes, she's doing a lot better job on the ball, and give her credit, this is a tough league."

And it's not as if Tibbetts didn't know her backstory, which he said made her efforts even more impressive.

"You get cut sometimes, you think it's done, you stop working, and she stayed with it," he added. "I'm really excited for Sug to be in our rotation, I'm excited to see Sug grow this year, and she's got great veteran leaders around her that will hopefully help her make another step."

Taurasi, who has been known to take younger guards under her watch and mentor them while instilling confidence and guidance, was nothing short of complimentary about Sutton on opening night in Las Vegas.

"Sug's amazing," Taurasi said. "Amazing teammate, amazing person. If you think about the work ethic that you have to have to be able to come and watch and tell yourself you're gonna do it, and she does all the hard work.

“She's done all the hard things, plays overseas, to get better. And, she's just made a name for herself. She's one of the best guards in the league."

THE SPARK

Phoenix guard Sug Sutton (front) and veteran center Brittney Griner have forged a bond the past two seasons. The bond has helped Sutton settle into her role on the team.

PHOTO: Courtesy Phoenix Mercury

When Griner's book "Coming Home" was released just before the start of the season, Sutton was taken aback when the person she'd been watching for years signed the inside cover with the message "to my number one.”

While Griner stands more than a foot taller than Sutton, their bond is as close as they come.

"Sug is amazing," Griner said. "On or off the court, she's a great kid. She put in the work. A lot of players, they're not willing to put in the work to be in the league, to do what it takes, especially when it doesn't go the way you want it to go right off the bat.

“She's a testament to never letting 'no' be the closed door. She kept going. Suggy is amazing and I'm glad she's one of my teammates."

As is the rest of the team.

Through Phoenix’s first 14 games this season, Sutton is averaging 3.7 points, 2.9 assists and 1.5 assists per game. Yes, the numbers are lower than last season and her minutes are down by 10 minutes, but it's been the quality of play she's put in while on the court.

Just ask Cunningham, who's had a natural bond with Sutton because, as she put it earlier this season wearing a big smile: "She's a Missourian, of course, she's awesome."

Cunningham was born in Columbia, Missouri while Sutton hails from St. Louis. They attended high schools less than two hours apart, and they both attended what once were Big 12 schools, with Cunningham playing for Missouri and Sutton playing at Texas.

"I've known Sug for a really long time (and) I just think she's a heck of an athlete," Cunningham said earlier this season. "She's an even better human. She puts her head down. She works every day. She's getting in extra reps. She treats people with the utmost respect. And I think when you're a good human and you do good things, then good things tend to happen to you. And I think Sug is a great example of that.

"She's quick, her ability to score is phenomenal. I think she's getting better, especially going overseas. She's just been able to kind of get in her bag a little bit more. I think she's gonna be a huge spark for us this year."

Those last words became prophetic when the Mercury beat the Liberty last Tuesday, bringing an end to New York's eight-game win streak. It was Sutton whom Cunningham credited for sparking the team with energy off the bench, including big fourth-quarter shots that ignited the team.

BACK TO THE VOW

Sutton's biggest career moment came against defending champion Las Vegas in the 2023 home finale when she registered the franchise's first-ever triple-double. The immediate reaction for many was disbelief - not because Sutton wasn't capable of an 18-point, 11-rebound, 11-assist performance - but more so that Taurasi hadn't already accomplished the feat.

After all, if there were anyone who'd be the answer to that specific Jeopardy question, it'd be the "White Mamba."

Instead, Sutton is now forever etched in franchise history, not to mention the hearts of the "X-Factor," the Mercury's beloved and energetic home crowd inside Footprint Center.

So, when she returned to Las Vegas for the 2023 regular-season finale, one game after her triple-double, Sutton and the reporter were reunited in the postgame press conference, with Griner sitting by her side.

The reporter didn't hesitate to remind Sutton of her vow to return to the league.

"You just reminded me about that," Sutton replied, fighting back tears and emotions. "It's kind of crazy to know that I was in Vegas and I told you that, and I have my biggest games against them. I'm just thankful to be in this moment.

"The journey to get back here wasn't easy at all. I'm just really thankful. I thank God to be in this position. It was not easy at all, but to look back and see how far I've (come), it's crazy. I'm speechless, just to see how much I've accomplished and was able to get back to where I said that I was going to be."

In the WNBA.