PHOENIX — Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas has been under MVP consideration many times, and in 2025 she continues to try to push past that and play to a level worthy of an argument that she should be leading the race entirely.
She sure is doing her best to make that happen.
Thomas, in Tuesday’s 85-79 win over the Indiana Fever put up 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists on 9-of-17 shooting, her latest phenomenal performance in Phoenix’s push to close out the regular season strong for better playoff positioning.
Alyssa Thomas drops a near triple-double as the Mercury win their 5th in a row ??
23 PTS 9 REB 9 ASTpic.twitter.com/xRG7WaNDx9
— NBA (@NBA) September 3, 2025
Indiana had good energy early and was able to get points on the board but an initial flurry from Thomas of her scoring or assisting 15 of Phoenix’s 17 opening points had the Mercury up three when they easily could have been facing an early deficit. Those two other points came at the foul line.
A 17-5 run to end the first half that included 11 of those 17 once again involving Thomas pushed the Mercury up 15. Two bursts in one half just about did it against a shorthanded opponent.
That’s the type of patches within a game that are “MVP stuff” and Thomas exudes it each time you watch Phoenix.
“Every night you can count on her and count on her in a big way,” Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said postgame.
The playmaking load Thomas has on her shoulders is unprecedented. It is nearly impossible to look at what she is doing compared to what has been done in the past and suggest someone is more valuable to their team this season.
Thomas’ assist percentage coming into Tuesday was a preposterous 52.6%, easily the highest in league history, per Stathead. The previous record by a player in a full season was via Courtney Vandersloot, who from 2018-21 put up percentages ranging from 43.4% to 47% that were the best marks before Thomas’ tour de force this year.
And Thomas’ turnover percentage of 20% ranks lower than all of those Vandersloot campaigns except one, so this is efficient work by her, on top of improving her own number last year from Atlanta when it spiked all the way to 27.1%. Tuesday ironically was a six-turnover night for Thomas but she has been taking care of the ball more consistently.
“She’s seeing the space around her, she’s understanding where her teammates are and there’s a trust to that,” Tibbetts said pregame.
In the more easy-to-digest counting numbers, Thomas’ seven triple-doubles are as much as the collective seven from the rest of the league. That number is a new league record.
Thomas now has 560 points, 312 rebounds and 323 assists, putting her second entry into the 500-300-300 club she created in 2023 and is still alone in. Bump the qualifiers way down to 500-200-200 and it’s just Clark last year joining her, along with New York’s Sabrina Ionescu in 2022. Take scoring off the table completely to make it just 250-250 for rebounds and assists and it’s still just Thomas’ last three seasons.
Let’s switch it up again to just points and assists. Well, for double-doubles with at least 10 points and 10 assists, Thomas’ 13 are also the most ever.
Simply put, no one has ever been more well-rounded with their statistical production in the history of the WNBA.
Despite that, Thomas is seemingly on the outside looking in in the MVP race. The exceptional Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx is the overwhelming betting favorite as of Tuesday evening on FanDuel at -1100, while a stalwart in the conversation A’ja Wilson is making a late push at +650 with the Las Vegas Aces the hottest team in the league.
Thomas is +10000, in a rough spot with the best player in the league on the best team by far (Collier) and an all-timer putting in another outstanding season (Wilson).
But even though Thomas is alongside two All-Stars on her own team, it does not brush aside her impact. On/off court net rating numbers have Thomas’ difference at 13.6 points per 100 possessions, right by Collier’s 12.6 net rating but far off from Wilson’s difference of a 25.0.net rating difference when she’s on the floor as opposed to off it.
The reality is it’s truly three deserving winners and every argument should feature giving them all props. Thomas will get that, but the award will likely continue to elude her, setting the stage for her to pick it up where it matters most on a contender that could face both of those teams this postseason.
That’s where the more elusive first ring for Thomas could be in waiting, the hardware she cares about the most.
Mercury still need wins
While Phoenix (26-14) clinched a playoff berth a few days ago, it is a vital close to the regular season.
As it stands following Tuesday’s action with four games remaining, the Mercury remain in a top-four playoff position, meaning they would have homecourt in their first-round matchup. The New York Liberty (24-17) in fifth serve as the only realistic threat to take that from them. Crucially, Phoenix is now tied with the Atlanta Dream and Las Vegas for second at identical 26-14 records.
Minnesota (32-8) has been the class of the league thus far and will enter the postseason as favorites to take it all.
Dodging a hyper-talented New York squad in the first round would be helpful, as would dodging the Lynx until the Finals. The Mercury are doing their best, winning seven of their last eight.
Phoenix on Tuesday was up as many as 15, including a 10-point lead entering the fourth quarter. The Fever cut that to six midway through the final frame before Thomas made a free throw and got a bucket on her signature spin move that stabilized the Mercury to be able to be the victor from there.
Indiana has been ravaged by injuries this season, missing mega-star Caitlin Clark (groin/ankle) and have had three season-ending injuries for reserve guards Aari McDonald (broken foot) and Sydney Colson (torn ACL), as well as former Mercury wing Sophie Cunningham (torn MCL).
Clark has only played in 13 games this season and Tuesday was the 19th straight she’s missed.
She does not have an official timeline to return, with Indiana using the classic “that’s the hope” shtick on if she will return, all while the Fever (21-20) are attempting to hold off the 19-20 Los Angeles Sparks as the only team on the outside looking in that has not been eliminated from postseason contention. Clark did 5-on-0 work on Tuesday but still is not cleared for contact, per ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. With the playoffs set to begin a week from Sunday on Sept. 14, that puts Clark’s status in doubt even if the Fever get in.
The WNBA made changes to the playoff format for 2025, introducing a 1-1-1 travel schedule for the best-of-three first round that will now have the team holding homecourt host in Games 1 and 3 as opposed to previously hosting the initial two. There is also a new best-of-seven in the Finals, with the traditional 2-2-1-1-1 format. The semifinals remain a best-of-five in a 2-2-1 setup.
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