Alyssa Thomas is a forward that has continued to impress me throughout her career and I’m excited that she gets the opportunity to display her talents in Unrivaled. Alyssa Thomas comes from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and has established herself as one of the most versatile players in all of the sport. Thomas excelled in basketball early on in her career at Central Dauphin High School, where she set school records for scoring and earned numerous accolades, including Pennsylvania Player of the Year honors. Thomas decided to take her talents and attend the University of Maryland, where she became one of the program’s most decorated players ever.
In college, she was a three-time ACC Player of the Year (2012-2014). Alyssa consistently dominated at this level with her natural all-around scoring, rebounding, and playmaking ability. She led the Terrapins to the Final Four in 2014 during her senior season with averages of 19.0 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game. She even remains Maryland’s all-time leader in scoring and rebounding, while also being named to the All-American team three different times. After her illustrious college career, Thomas would be selected fourth overall by the New York Liberty in the 2014 WNBA Draft, but was immediately traded to the Connecticut Sun, where she has spent her entire career.
Since being traded for in the 2014 WNBA draft, Thomas has been a cornerstone of the Sun’s success. She’s a five-time WNBA All-Star, multiple All-Defensive Team selection, 1-time Olympic Gold Medalist, and a 2-time member of the All-WNBA team. Her accolades don’t just stop there. In 2023, she set a league record with six triple-doubles in a single season and became the first WNBA player to record 20 plus triple-doubles in her career. Her 2023 season was one of the most statistically dominant in league history, averaging 15.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 7.9 assists per game, earning her MVP runner-up honors. This is why I’m so high on her game because she literally fills up all areas of the stat sheet consistently. Frequently producing triple-doubles is no small feat because it shows that she’s involved in every play on both ends. Whether it’s rebounding, distributing, shooting, finishing, or defending, she’s always active.
During the 2024 season, she averaged close to a triple-double with 10.6 points, 8.4 boards, and 7.9 assists. At 6’2”, she can also play multiple positions, excelling as a forward and a point-forward. All of these different tools that she possesses will be incredibly useful for any team that has her in the Unrivaled. Even though she’s not a shooter from distance because of her shoulder injury that limits her shooting range, Thomas has developed an elite mid-range game that is so hard to contest. Couple those skills with her ability to run the show and facilitate with her fearless defensive tenacity, rebounding prowess, she will make a strong impact.
