{"id":296822,"date":"2025-11-17T09:55:24","date_gmt":"2025-11-17T09:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/296822\/"},"modified":"2025-11-17T09:55:24","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T09:55:24","slug":"shell-do-whatever-it-takes-alyssa-thomas-competitive-fire-drives-championship-quest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/296822\/","title":{"rendered":"‘She’ll do whatever it takes’: Alyssa Thomas’ competitive fire drives championship quest"},"content":{"rendered":"

Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas<\/a> would appreciate it if you stopped talking about her shoulders.<\/p>\n

In recent years, Thomas\u2019 shoulder injuries became almost synonymous with her on-court play. She couldn\u2019t take the court or score a bucket without fans or media eagerly awaiting the opportunity to point out Thomas\u2019 cartilage deficit. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, I mean, it\u2019s been about 10 years since it\u2019s even happened,\u201d said Thomas, who originally injured<\/a> her right shoulder in 2015 while playing with the Connecticut Sun, and her left shoulder in 2017 while playing overseas in South Korea. Thomas opted to decline surgery<\/a> on both due to the rehabilitation required. <\/p>\n

The injuries have become a definitive part of Thomas\u2019 career in a way that mildly tires her; she doesn\u2019t want them to be a qualifier to what she has accomplished or how she plays.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot more to me and my game. Yeah, my shooting style is different. The ball goes in the hoop just like it goes in for any other player that shoots the ball \u2013 normal,\u201d said Thomas, who also sustained an Achilles tear in 2021<\/a>. \u201cIt is what it is. I\u2019ve never made excuses about it. And I still go out there and compete at the highest level.\u201d <\/p>\n

That\u2019s been the tale of Thomas\u2019 career: a player who has run into a number of personal and team roadblocks over the course of her career but has never wanted to make excuses for its various outcomes. Instead, Thomas adapts, modifies and adjusts \u2013 whether that\u2019s through retooling her shooting form and shot selection or changing teams like she did this past offseason, when she was traded from the Sun after 11 seasons<\/a> to the Mercury. <\/p>\n

\"\"Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas controls the ball during a game against the Dallas Wings at College Park Center on Sept. 11, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. She finished the regular season averaging<\/a> 15.4 points, 9.2 assists and 8.8 rebounds.<\/p>\n

Sam Hodde \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

The same could be said for Game 1 of the Mercury\u2019s first-round series in the WNBA playoffs when Thomas had an opportunity to convert a game-winning layup with under a second left to play in regulation. She narrowly missed off the front rim, and the Mercury lost<\/a> to the New York Liberty in overtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust an unfortunate roll,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI\u2019ve made that shot thousands of times. For me, it\u2019s no big deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

This year, Thomas has constructed an MVP-caliber season for a Phoenix team looking to make a postseason run at a championship. A title would be Thomas\u2019 first in her 12-season WNBA career, during which the pinnacle has, at times, seemed elusive to reach.<\/p>\n

The playoffs are her favorite time of the year. It\u2019s an opportunity for the best of the best to separate themselves and for Thomas to meet the moment. Now facing elimination down a game to the Liberty, the climb for Thomas and the Mercury will be uphill. However, that\u2019s not stopping her from chasing her ultimate goal.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wants to win. She wants to win the championship bad,\u201d said DeWanna Bonner<\/a>, Thomas\u2019 Mercury teammate and fianc\u00e9e. \u201cShe\u2019ll do whatever it takes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

To watch Thomas on the court is to watch her play with equal parts intensity and joy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For someone as competitively wired as Thomas is touted to be \u2013 every former and current teammate will say she\u2019s among the top if not the most competitive teammate they\u2019ve ever had \u2013 Thomas usually displays a smile on the floor. Oftentimes, those smirks are seemingly derived from competition. <\/p>\n

She will smile if she converts in transition off a spin move through the lane. Thomas, a six-time<\/a> WNBA All-Defensive Team selection, will smirk in amusement if a ball handler she views as inferior dares to take her off the dribble. The same is true for when she is backing down a weaker defender while bullying her way into the paint. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think you still have to have fun with it,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cAs hard as it is and as competitive as it can get, basketball is supposed to be fun. I don\u2019t want to lose sight of that. I feel like when I\u2019m not having fun anymore, then it\u2019s probably that time for me to move on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aces\u2019 Kierstan Bell rediscovered her zeal for life, basketball after a tough start to the seasonRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

Statistically, this has been one of the best seasons of Thomas\u2019 career. She finished the regular season averaging<\/a> 15.4 points, 9.2 assists and 8.8 rebounds. <\/p>\n

This season, Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts<\/a> has placed an emphasis on creating more opportunities to get downhill as a ball handler. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, when you\u2019re a great player, you\u2019d like to expand your game. You can do different stuff,\u201d Tibbetts said. \u201cThat\u2019s been a lot of fun for me trying to put [Alyssa] in those situations.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to ESPN Stats and Information, Thomas ran 384 picks as the ball handler this season (9.8 per game) compared with 256 picks last season (6.6 per game) when she was with Connecticut.<\/p>\n

With the front office equipping the Phoenix perimeter with a bevy of 3-point shooters, it put Thomas in the ultimate playmaking driver\u2019s seat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPhoenix is able to get her in her positions to be successful,\u201d said Liberty center Jonquel Jones<\/a>, who played with Thomas in Connecticut for six seasons. \u201cI think in the past it was a little bit easier to kind of hone in on her and kind of stop some of the things that she liked to do but \u2026 they kind of keep you guessing a little bit while also making sure that she\u2019s able to get downhill and facilitate.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Thomas set the WNBA single-season record<\/a> for assists, totaling 357<\/a> on the year, while posting the second-highest assist-per-game average in WNBA history<\/a> (9.15).<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s basically a guard when she has the ball,\u201d Washington Mystics center Shakira Austin<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

When Thomas has the ball in her hands, she surveys the court with an almost Dr. Strange-like accuracy, weighing the handful of scenarios she can pursue until she finds the one that yields points on the board for the Mercury. <\/p>\n

Thomas ended the regular season having scored or assisted on 38.2 points per game, the most in a single season in league history, according to ESPN Stats and Information. Thomas also scored or assisted on 45.7% of Phoenix\u2019s field goals this season, which was the most in the WNBA this season and fourth-most in league history.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe just sees the game at another level,\u201d Tibbetts said on Sept. 4 during a pregame news conference. \u201cObviously we see the things that she can do physically, but her mind is \u2013 she\u2019s a coach. \u2026 She sees a lot of things that some others don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cHopefully we can get [a championship] for her this year,\u201d said Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner (from left), Alyssa Thomas\u2019 teammate and fianc\u00e9e. \u201cBut if not, [Alyssa is] going to continue to be the same that she\u2019s been and just keep going after it. But I hear the ins and outs of it on the court, off the court.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khoi Ton \/ NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019 eight triple-doubles<\/a> this season are a career-high and give her 19 for her career. No other WNBA player has more than four<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s an incredible playmaker, always makes the right decisions,\u201d Mercury guard Kahleah Copper<\/a> said. \u201cShe makes it easier for me to be able to play off the ball and get everyone else involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Minnesota Lynx forward Jessica Shepard<\/a> broke Thomas\u2019 record for the fastest triple-double<\/a> in WNBA history on Aug. 22, it took Thomas just over two weeks to reclaim that accolade. Against the Los Angeles Sparks on Sept. 9, Thomas recorded a triple-double<\/a> in just 21 minutes and 52 seconds, five seconds faster than Shepard<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the way she can impact the game as well, rebounding, assists, scoring, her leadership,\u201d Mercury guard Sami Whitcomb<\/a> said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen her change a game so quickly by just literally, like, getting a stop defensively, then snatching the rebound, then pushing it the length of the court, finding the right person, scoring when we need her to score, getting the rebound [we need her] to get. It\u2019s been really special to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas said she hasn\u2019t given much thought to the records that she seemed to be either setting or breaking every other week during the regular season. She\u2019ll save that admiration for when she\u2019s done playing and can look back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the moment, I\u2019m just trying to compete and get a championship,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n

Thomas remembers the first championship she ever won. She was in the eighth grade, playing Catholic Youth Organization basketball in Pennsylvania. That year her team won the state championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere, it\u2019s a pretty big deal,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cAll the hard work that we went through the whole season, and that early on in your career to win on the biggest stage \u2013 it\u2019s something I definitely still remember to this day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas has won at the international level in overseas play and as a member of USA Basketball, winning a World Cup in 2022<\/a> and an Olympic gold medal in 2024<\/a>. However, she\u2019s still chasing a WNBA championship.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year marks the ninth straight playoff appearance<\/a> for Thomas. In her last six seasons<\/a>, all with the Sun, Connecticut made it to the WNBA semifinals four times and the Finals twice, coming short of a championship in 2019 and 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been chasing it for a while,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI\u2019ve made it to a lot of semis, two finals, and still haven\u2019t, you know, had the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to ESPN Stats and Information, Thomas\u2019 47 playoff games are the fourth-most games played without a championship and the second-most among active players.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully we can get [a championship] for her this year,\u201d Bonner said. \u201cBut if not, [Alyssa is] going to continue to be the same that she\u2019s been and just keep going after it. But I hear the ins and outs of it on the court, off the court.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whether as a player, or photographer, Naz Hillmon wants to take the perfect shotRead now<\/a><\/p>\n

Thomas, though, said she can\u2019t be frustrated by her championship shortcomings to date, firmly believing that if it\u2019s not her time, then her time will come.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, I can\u2019t be disappointed,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI approach it as giving everything I have to this game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019 pursuit of a championship is akin to her having the ball in her hands as she\u2019s driving down the lane at full speed, relentless,\u00a0bolstered by an indelible hunger to win.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cShe takes complete pride in winning, and it burns her up when you lose,\u201d Tibbetts said in July<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Every answer Thomas gives about the game circles back to winning. She doesn\u2019t care much for participating in team social videos or social media at all for that matter, as well as the ever-popular player tunnel fit entrances.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to go out there and play basketball,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On the floor, Thomas is quick to call out or correct something she sees wrong, aware that every little change can tip the scales of winning or make a mound of difference for a team with goals of a deep playoff push.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whitcomb, in particular, called out Thomas\u2019 eye for tinkering with defense, from coverages and missed assignments to energy and activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost always defensively,\u201d Whitcomb said. \u201cIf we\u2019re not winning or if we\u2019re not playing the way we want to play, it\u2019s probably because we\u2019re not doing what we need to do effortwise and focuswise defensively, so that\u2019s where she\u2019s calling attention to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas is widely known to be one of the biggest trash talkers in the league. Her game is physical and her demeanor is intense, at times even brash \u2013 traits of an \u201cultimate competitor<\/a>.\u201d That heightened competitive fire levels off once Thomas takes off the jersey. Off the court, Thomas is softer spoken and reserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople see this perception of how I play on the court and they assume that\u2019s the person I am off of it,\u201d Thomas said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jones said that couldn\u2019t be further from the truth.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes as a competitor \u2026 she\u2019s really tough and to other people she can seem very imposing, but to get to know her as a friend, as a person, she has a really good heart,\u201d Jones said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s her injuries or her character, Thomas knows she can only do so much to control public perception.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, you know, it\u2019s about the people in my circle, the people that, you know, I go to work with each and every day \u2026 that\u2019s all that matters,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before Thomas can set her sights on the final series of the season, the Mercury will first have to find a way to steal a road win in New York against the Liberty on Wednesday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sitting on the dais after her team\u2019s overtime loss in Game 1, Thomas said confidently: \u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of basketball to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sean Hurd is a senior writer for Andscape who primarily covers women\u2019s basketball. His athletic peak came at the age of 10 when he was named camper of the week at a Josh Childress basketball camp.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas would appreciate it if you stopped talking about her shoulders. In recent years,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296823,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":{"0":"post-296822","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-wnba"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296822\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}