Alyssa Thomas has been here before.
She’s made statements with huge upset wins and monster individual performances in the playoffs. Many times. Playoff AT is one of the most feared postseason competitors ever.
We can go through her exploits: pushing the Las Vegas Aces to five games in the 2020 semis after returning from a dislocated shoulder, defeating the Chicago Sky in the 2022 semis, stealing a game from the Aces in the 2022 Finals, stealing one from the superteam Liberty in the 2023 semis and forcing
five games against the Minnesota Lynx in the 2024 semis—all with her Connecticut Sun being major underdogs. Not to mention making a solid case to be named Finals MVP in 2019 before falling just shy of a championship.
Thomas’ heroics—both the incredible stat lines she put up and the way she inspired her team to put it all on the line—in these instances have added to her aura. Disrespected by the masses, yes. But to diehard WNBA fans, a playoff legend and, at this point, one of the best to ever do it, in the regular season AND postseason.
But her team only won one of those series where they were major underdogs. And never has she achieved two series upsets back-to-back en route to a title. She’s never won a championship, period, in the pros or college, and her lack of a ring is more notable because of her otherwise colossal playoff legacy. She does have an Olympic gold medal, which is just as significant as a WNBA or NCAA chip, but that won’t quell her drive to capture the W’s ultimate prize.
Which is why I stress: she’s been here before. She’s won playoff games that were huge upsets and in which she was phenomenal in leading her team. Winning this series against the Lynx would be that much sweeter to add to her 2022 series win over the Sky and avenge her semifinal loss to Minnesota last year. At least for AT fans, it would be that much sweeter. For her, it’s winning the whole thing or no satisfaction at all.
There’s a long way to go before any celebration.
But Sami Whitcomb’s game-tying 3 with 3.4 seconds remaining in regulation on Tuesday night sparked hopeful thoughts from the AT and Phoenix Mercury faithful. Basically it’s, “Here we go again” (in a good way, for now). Once again, Thomas, who had 19 points (including five huge free throws as part of seven overtime points), 13 assists and eight rebounds in the 89-83 series-evening Game 2 win, is defying prognostications and bringing her fans on that magical ride they hope will be capped with the fiercest competitor they know basking in long-awaited glory.
The hope is not at all unwarranted. Because on Tuesday, the Mercury proved that they are capable of winning it all this year.
Before the season, I was a Mercury non-believer, picking them to finish ninth because I didn’t think they had the pieces outside of Thomas, Satou Sabally and Kahleah Copper to get it done. Their supporting cast has proven me wrong all season long, and what has worked all came together in the perfect storm on Tuesday to help them erase a 20-point deficit and move within two wins of the Finals.
Let’s start with Whitcomb. Constantly moving without the ball and making difficult 3s with a lightning-quick release and youthful energy that belies her 37 years. In my initial power rankings, here’s what I said about her:
If you’re getting the 2021 version of Whitcomb, who was nearly an All-Star, then this roster looks a little better, but Whitcomb turns 37 on July 20 and wasn’t as much of a factor for Seattle last year.
Clearly, Whitcomb showed improvement from her 2024 season with the Seattle Storm, averaging 4.1 more points per game with 9.1 and shooting 0.69 percentage points better from 3 at 36.1 percent on 0.8 more makes per game with two. She even finished fourth in Sixth Player of the Year voting. She’s followed that up with 9.2 points per game through five playoff games. And how about 1.6 steals and three assists per contest, both of which would be regular-season career-highs? She’s playing like more than a 3-point specialist, much like she did in 2021. On Tuesday, she posted playoff career-highs in points (13, tying her total from Game 3 of this year’s first round), assists (six), steals (two), rebounds (four) and made triples (three).
Whitcomb brings veteran experience and leadership, having two championships to her credit. Though she missed the 2020 Finals because her wife was due to give birth, she participated in the 2018 Finals that her Storm won, making two 3s in the deciding Game 3. Phoenix is getting the best version of her now, when it matters most.
Then there’s rookie Monique Akoa Makani, who quickly made me look silly by becoming a legit WNBA sharpshooter right away. She finished the season shooting 39.5 percent from downtown—the highest efficiency on the Mercury—with 49 makes. She was sixth on the team with 7.7 points per game, and proved to be a strong defender as well. In Game 2, she was 1-for-2 from 3 with nine points, including a stretch of seven-straight that prevented things from getting even more out of hand in the first part of the third quarter—right before the big comeback began. She clearly is a worthy contributor for a championship-contending team, despite her lack of WNBA experience before this season.
Another WNBA unknown before this season began is Kathryn Westbeld. She’s also proven to be a threat from long range and averaged 18.4 minutes per game in the regular season with 24 starts. How about going 6-for-11 from 3 so far in the playoffs, including 2-for-3 on Tuesday with four steals in just 15 minutes?!
I foresaw Natasha Mack being a solid player; she got significant playing time last year and followed that up by being a good starter for the Mercury this year, averaging 18.3 minutes and 5.8 rebounds in the regular season. She was also fourth in the league with 1.5 blocks per contest, despite averaging far fewer minutes than the three players who swatted more shots per game. She had a block and five boards in 19 minutes on Tuesday.
DeWanna Bonner was quiet on Tuesday, but I think her addition could be what ends up putting Phoenix over the top in winning a title (and perhaps it will come against the team she left in the Indiana Fever). She’s 38, but still a legit star in my opinion, almost making the Mercury’s “Big 3” a “Big 4.”
As for that “Big 3,” Sabally joined Thomas in having a stellar performance on Tuesday with team highs of 24 points and nine rebounds. She’s been hot and cold from 3 over these playoffs (and over her career), but the high end of her efficiency has been really good. She shot a promising 5-for-11 on Tuesday. Copper had just eight points, but was a solid 2-for-5 from 3, including a huge clutch make in overtime.
Copper and Bonner didn’t need to have big games; in no game will all eight rotation players score 20 points, but the Mercury displayed how all of their pieces can work together as a team to defeat the best squad in the league on the road. The fact that they beat the Lynx in Minnesota and the way they did it—with a little bit of everything that’s brought them this far—proves they have what is needed to be crowned champions.
They did what our Eric Nemchock said they needed to do in his Game 2 preview:
The Mercury don’t need Bonner or any of their other reserves to supplant their stars in Game 2, but they do need them to be better complements. It’s a major part of what got the Mercury to this point: pairing Thomas’ playmaking with elite scorers in Copper and Sabally and surrounding them with low-volume, high-efficiency players who are aggressive on defense. Almost all of that was missing in Game 1, however, and if the Mercury are going to avoid an 0-2 hole, they’ll need to rediscover their collective identity.
Expect more monster performances from Thomas. It isn’t even difficult for her anymore; it just happens every game. She’s had at least 14 points, seven assists and six rebounds in all five playoff games, with averages of 17.2, 9.2 and 8.4.
The question is if she can find the heroism in her to dig even deeper than in the past and have the final say when Napheesa Collier and company punch back. And then, can she find it in one more series after that?
