Over the next week, SB Nation will be profiling each of the 12 members of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Basketball Team.
What you need to know Alyssa Thomasone of the best all-around players in the league.
Fast Facts
team: Connecticut Sun (18-6)
2024 Regular Season Statistics: 11.2 points (50.3% FG), 9.2 rebounds, 7.7 assists
position: Forward
Draft Class: 2014, 4th place
All-Star Selection: 5 people (2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024)
Past Olympic Games: Not applicable
College: University of Maryland
Alyssa Thomas holds the record for most triple-doubles in WNBA history
Thomas recorded her 10th regular-season triple-double, the most ever by a WNBA player, in a win over the Minnesota Lynx earlier this month.
Including triple-doubles in the playoffs, Thomas has recorded 13 total triple-doubles.
Known as “The Engine,” Thomas is known for doing it all and always being in position to score a triple-double. She’s come up just one rebound short on multiple occasions this season and has been a key part of one of the winningest teams in recent WNBA history.
Last year, Thomas received the most votes for the league’s MVP award.
Liberty’s Breanna Stewart won MVP last year, Most 1st place votesThomas averaged 15.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.8 steals last season.
The Suns posted a 27-13 record despite losing All-Star center Breonna Jones for the season with a torn Achilles, thanks in large part to Thomas’s ability to excel on both ends of the court (she’s also an elite defender).
“You have to make a case for what you’re doing,” Thomas told Yahoo Sports. “It’s not normal. It’s unprecedented. I’ve never seen anything like it in this league, and I don’t think I’ll ever see it again. So I feel like I have to keep saying these things so people know that what I’ve done is not normal.”
Thomas is engaged to Suns teammate DeWanna Bonner.
Last year, Alyssa Thomas married her fiancee and Sun teammate. Dewanna BonnerBonner is the fifth all-time scorer in WNBA history and is the Suns’ leading scorer, while Thomas leads the Suns in nearly every other category.
Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
The couple have been dating for the past few years, with Thomas proposing to Bonner during All-Star Weekend last season, and Bonner is heading to Paris, leaving their children behind in the United States, to cheer on Thomas at the Olympics.
“They really are the heart and soul of this franchise,” head coach Stephanie White said. He told the Associated Press.
Alyssa Thomas plays with two torn labrums
If you’ve ever watched Alyssa Thomas shoot, you’ve probably noticed her form is a little different. That’s because Thomas has long-overdue surgery to repair labrum injuries in both shoulders.
In 2018, “It’s been a tough journey,” Thomas told Women’s Hoops World. She will definitely have to have surgery in the future.
“With an injury like your shoulder, most people wouldn’t be able to play,” she said, “but I’m lucky I have a lot of muscles that help me maintain stability. But at some point, you have to let it heal and not put it off.”
Thomas, who will be playing overseas in the offseason, reportedly doesn’t want to miss seven months of basketball, but her shoulder injury is not something she’s been talking about much.
Six years later, Thomas still hasn’t had surgery and can’t shoot from outside, but he continues to dominate games.
