Alyssa Thomas is known as The Engine for good reason. The Phoenix Mercury entered the 2025 season without a lot of high hopes — at least on paper. However, the addition of Thomas, who can run both sides of the ball easily, has meant that all of a sudden the team has found itself in second place in the WNBA standings.
The Mercury have cracked the code on how to build a team around Thomas, and as a result, the team is positioning her as a likely candidate for MVP this season.
Alyssa Thomas' MVP Case
To be MVP you have to check three general boxes: stats, standings, and storyline. The Mercury has the standings where they need to be, thanks in part to the fact the Liberty is contending with injuries, which has allowed Phoenix to jump into that second slot.
Stats is where it gets super interesting when making a case for Alyssa Thomas, and this isn't the first time she's come close to the award. In 2023 Alyssa Thomas placed second for MVP, right behind the Liberty's Breanna Stewart (A'ja Wilson not far behind the two). During the 2023 season, outside of Thomas were putting the points up, but Thomas was on triple-double watch nearly every night.
Phoenix was the right move for Alyssa Thomas
In Phoenix, Thomas is currently averaging 14.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 9.5 assists so far this season. Those 9.5 assists per game are easily her highest assists averaged over her career, her next highest being 7.9 in both 2023 and 2024. Thomas even tied the Mercury's single game assist record with 15 assists. Twice.
The rise in assists is directly connected to the team the Mercury have built around Thomas along the perimeter. Last year in Connecticut, where Thomas was for her entire career before the Phoenix move this offseason, the Sun shot 18 threes per game, converting on 32.7% of the shots. In Phoenix, that rate is up to 30.3 threes per game at 34.4%
Alyssa Thomas has never had this much room to work with in her entire career as she barrels into the paint, drawing the defense in with her immense offensive gravity as soon as she gets below the free throw line. With that spacing, she is having her most successful offensive season yet.
Thomas is far from the biggest personality in the WNBA, but her storyline is compelling. The Alyssa Thomas case is the case that can be made for the Mercury as a whole. They were not expected to do much and yet here they are: underdogs near the top of the WNBA food chain.