Phoenix Mercury All-Star Alyssa Thomas set WNBA records for assists in a single season and triple-doubles to garner MVP buzz in her first campaign in the Valley.

Thomas has led a revamped Mercury roster to the playoffs as the No. 4 seed, and Phoenix will host the defending-champion New York Liberty in Game 1 on Sunday at 2 p.m. MST.

The veteran has already made the Associated Press All-WNBA First Team after coming over in an offseason trade from the Connecticut Sun.

“I’ve spent a lot of years in basketball, both the NBA and the WNBA, and I cannot think of hardly any players that lead to winning like she does,” Mercury general manager Nick U’Ren told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo on Thursday.

“If you look at her career, she just doesn’t lose. She wills you to victory and she controls the game. There’s so few players that raise their level to when the competition ratchets up to such a degree. She’s such a competitor. She makes others better. … Whether she gets a league MVP or not, she’s absolutely deserving of it and being in the conversation.”

Thomas, A’ja Wilson of Las Vegas and Minnesota’s Napheesa Collier are considered the frontrunners for MVP, with Wilson having won the AP Player of the Year.

With the regular season wrapped up, here are the numbers that stand out when looking back on Thomas’ historic season in Phoenix.

By the numbers: Alyssa Thomas
Triple-double machine

Thomas became the first player in WNBA history to record eight triple-doubles in a season — breaking her own record — which was more than the rest of the league combined in 2025. Las Vegas’ Jackie Young was the only other player with multiple triple-doubles (two).

Thomas was not too far off from averaging a triple-double with 15.4 points, 8.8 rebounds and 9.2 assists.

Additionally, Thomas became the first player in league history to record at least 10 points, 15 assists and 15 rebounds in a single game (12 points, 15 assists, 16 rebounds) against the Los Angeles Sparks.

She also tied Chicago’s Angel Reese for the most double-doubles with 23.

Assists leader

Thomas tallied 357 assists this season, beating out Caitlin Clark’s previous record of 337. The WNBA has gradually increased its number of games over the years, but even using assists per game, Thomas is right near the top.

Only Courtney Vandersloot (9.95) averaged more assists per game than Thomas’ 9.15 this year, and she did so in 22 games during the shortened 2020 campaign.

Thomas recorded at least nine assists in 22 of 39 games played, and she finished with at least 15 five times.

She is seventh on the WNBA’s all-time career assists leaderboard with 1,819.

Top 10 in rebounds, shooting

Thomas came in third with 8.8 rebounds per game, trailing Reese (12.6) and Wilson (10.2).

She set a career high by shooting 53.2% from the floor, which was ninth among players with at least 20 games played. She is the only player to make at least half of her shots and average four or more assists.

Leading to wins

To U’Ren’s point, the Mercury went 25-14 when Thomas started games this season and 2-3 without her (other injuries being a factor).

The Sun won at least one playoff series in five of the previous six playoffs, reaching the finals in 2019 and 2022. Thomas was an All-Star in both seasons.

MVP finishes

Thomas has not won the MVP in her illustrious career, but she’s come close.

Thomas has finished top 10 in the voting four times, including a second-place finish in 2023 behind Breanna Stewart. In 2023, Thomas received the most first-place votes but lost out as Stewart secured more points in the ranked voting.

Diana Taurasi has won the lone MVP award for the Mercury, doing so in 2009. Taurasi finished second twice, and Brittney Griner finished second in 2019 and 2021.