History intersected when Shey Peddy, Mystics met

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The last time Phoenix Mercury guard Shey Peddy faced off against the Washington Mystics, she ended their 2020 season, knocking down a buzzer-beating three in the first round of the 2020 playoffs. 

Peddy still hears about the shot from opposing teams and sees notifications every time the shot has been retweeted or used as a gif again. 

“It is something I don’t think it’s ever going to leave me. I try not to think about it too much,” Peddy said on a Zoom with reporters earlier this week, ahead of facing the Mystics on Tuesday night. “Obviously, it was a great moment. I love when it happened, where it happened and who it happened against.”

Her return to DC came with 16 minutes played, three points, five rebounds, six assists and two steals against her former team. Phoenix won, 91-70, so no last-second heroics were necessary.

Peddy is focused on the new season ahead of her, not the shot she hit.

“I kind of just let it go, but I get the same reaction, the same type of questions—‘How does it feel, XYZ’—and my answer doesn’t change. It still feels surreal. I still can’t believe it to this day.” 

This trip to Entertainment & Sports Arena was her first since Oct. 10, 2019, when she was a part of the Mystics’ 2019 WNBA championship, serving as the team’s video and analytics assistant.

Peddy’s journey to the WNBA and a championship was a winding one. After being cut in training camp in 2012, 2013 and 2019, she finally made the Mystics roster as a 30-year-old rookie. Though she was cut later in the season, she was brought back as a coach for the team’s championship run. 

After several players opted out of the 2020 season, Washington re-signed Peddy on Jun. 29, 2020. The team would go on to cut her on Aug. 17, 2020. But her 2020 season was put on hold for only a moment, with the Phoenix Mercury signing her just two days later. 

“It’s definitely a lot of emotions, because the last time I was in this building, I was with them celebrating the championship,” Peddy said. “And the last time I played against them, I hit the shot, so it’s definitely a lot of emotions, a roller coaster of emotions going on.”

Her primary emotion, though, was excitement. Excitement to be there. Excitement to play the game. 

“Just shoot like any other game, trying to get the victory, and try to just soak it all in … Obviously I want to win, I want to beat them again, but it’s just being back here just reliving the championship moment and the celebration, it’s a good feeling,” she said. 

More than eight months after her now-infamous shot, the results were the same, but the margin of victory was much larger.

Her next matchup against the Mystics, on Aug. 19, will have significance as well—it’ll be exactly one year after the Mercury picked her up.