WNBA: Alyssa Thomas’ MVP-caliber play powering Phoenix Mercury

When it comes to WNBA players who define their respective teams’ success, few are more impactful than the Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas. The Mercury went through significant roster upheaval last offseason in an effort to bring Thomas aboard, committing to a new foundational trio of players that also included Kahleah Copper and Satou Sabally, and though the team’s supporting cast initially looked to be patchwork at best, they hoped Thomas’ talents would be enough to hold it all together and get the best out of everyone involved.

Two and a half months into the 2025 season, Phoenix’s strategy seems have worked. The Mercury are now 18-11 and remain No. 4 in the WNBA standings, despite a series of nagging injuries that have limited how often their best players have shared the court. They rank near the top of the league in defensive rating (99.7 points allowed per 100 possessions) and opponent’s turnover percentage (20.3 percent), and the lesser-known players on their roster have largely exceeded expectations.

These results have Thomas’ fingerprints all over them. For years, she was the focal point of Connecticut Sun teams that were stout defensively and effective (albeit a bit unorthodox) offensively, and they often overcame opponents who seemed more talented on paper through pure hard work and determination, usually exemplified by their best player.

The 2025 Mercury are showing similar traits, while Thomas herself is having arguably the best season of her career. The 6-foot-2 forward has long been known as a stat-sheet stuffer, but her current production exceeds even her own lofty standards: She’s averaging 15.8 points and 9.1 assists per game—both personal bests—to go along with 8.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals, and she’s shooting the ball at a career-high 52.7 percent from the field.

Thomas’ all-around brilliance yielded a triple-double last Sunday against the Chicago Sky, and days later, she did it again against the Connecticut Sun. It was the third time in her career she’s recorded a triple-double in back-to-back games—she remains the only player in WNBA history to do so—and she now has 14 of them to her name, 18 if you include the playoffs.

For context, Sabrina Ionescu has the second-most triple-doubles in WNBA history with four. Candace Parker and Caitlin Clark are tied for third with three apiece.

“Nothing surprises me anymore,” said Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts after Thomas’ latest accomplishment. “She’s a high-level player. Every night she’s super consistent in her approach … She’s a great, great player and the ultimate competitor.”

“She’s literally writing history,” added Sabally, showing admiration both for her teammate’s individual play and leadership. “We’re just in awe. It’s amazing to see someone like that continue to push the ball hard, be relentless in the pursuit of the game and really inspire people to do the same.”

Could this, finally, be the season Thomas wins MVP?

Records aside, the level at which Thomas is playing will almost certainly earn her some regular-season hardware. The question is how much.

In her 12-year WNBA career, Thomas has been named an All-Star six times, and she’s garnered All-WNBA honors after each of the last three seasons. Most notably, in 2023, Thomas was named to the All-WNBA First Team and All-Defense First Team, and finished second in voting for Most Valuable Player (which went to New York’s Breanna Stewart) and Defensive Player of the Year (which went to Las Vegas’ A’ja Wilson).

If Thomas keeps putting up the numbers she has been through early August, would that be enough to finally earn her an MVP award? Maybe, but she’d probably need a couple other things to go in her favor.

Most of the WNBA’s major end-of-season awards aren’t determined solely by individual statistics. There’s usually some kind of narrative, such as “best player on the best team” or “best defender on the best defensive team” that goes along with the numbers. Thus far in 2025, the Minnesota Lynx’s Napheesa Collier has had these types of arguments on her side; not only has Collier been stellar, averaging 23.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game, but the Lynx have been the class of the league at 25-5. It would be hard for award voters to look past Collier’s impact on winning basketball.

Depending on one’s definition of “value,” though, Thomas has a solid argument of her own. It’s the same hypothetical that nearly won her MVP back in 2023. Remove her from the Mercury’s lineup and how good are they? Copper and Sabally are All-Stars, too, but the Mercury depend heavily upon Thomas to fuel them on both ends of the court. She’s incredibly valuable in every sense of the word.

To be fair, there’s still a lot of basketball left to be played, and we don’t know which way the voters as a group will be leaning. And between MVP and the one other major accomplishment that Thomas is missing—a WNBA championship—it’s easy to guess which one she’d prefer, if given the choice. In her first season with the Mercury, she’s playing harder than ever to earn it.