“I’ve been chasing a championship for a long time, and I think this is our time,” said Alyssa Thomas after her team’s overtime win in Game 2 of the Mercury-Lynx series. Despite having played in the WNBA for 11 years, Alyssa Thomas has yet to secure a championship title. She came really close back in 2019 and 2022, when the Connecticut Sun made it to the Finals, but weren’t able to go far. Now, after 39 regular-season games and 7 playoff matchups with the Phoenix Mercury, the veteran is back at the Finals stage. It is an opportunity that she will look to make the most out of.

Alyssa Thomas, along with Satou Sabally and Dewanna Bonner, participated in a presser after the Game 4 win. During the same time, Thomas highlighted that she sought a fresh start with the Phoenix Mercury. With this franchise, she hoped to play with the people who held the same mindset as her and add a championship title to its name. In light of these remarks, a reporter highlighted how she and DB (DeWanna Bonner) spent a considerable amount of time pursuing a championship, with Thomas reaching the closest to it back in 2022. The memory of that Finals continues to push Thomas.

“I’ve been saying it since training camp. For me, it was a Finals year. It’s disappointing to get to the Finals and lose. It’s even extremely harder to get back to the Finals” said Thomas. “So, yeah, just for her to be back here (indicating towards Bonner) back playing together, it’s super exciting. Just, exciting for Satou to get her first Finals as well. Um, it’s just a great group. We’re excited, we believe in each other, and Finals bound, and one more to go”.

During the 2022 WNBA season, Alyssa Thomas averaged 13.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 6.1 assists over the course of 36 games. She helped the Sun secure a 25–11 win record to finish 3rd on the Points table. The Mercury beat the Dallas Wings in the First Round to make the Semifinals, and then narrowly beat the Chicago Sky in five games to reach the WNBA Finals for the second time in four seasons.

During Games 3 and 4, Alyssa Thomas created history by recording back-to-back triple-doubles against the No. 1-seeded Las Vegas Aces. That feat made her the first player to ever record a triple-double in a Finals game, the first player to record two triple-doubles in back-to-back games (regular season or playoffs), and the first player to record four triple-doubles in a single season in WNBA history.

Unfortunately, her individual prowess wasn’t enough to save the Sun. After all, the Aces narrowly won Game 1 (67–64), then won Game 2 by a 14-point margin. The Sun scored 105 points in Game 3 back home, but the 78–71 Game 4 matchup in A’ja Wilson and her team’s favor gave them the championship.

3 years later, Alyssa Thomas can experience Déjà vu in more than one way. After all, the Las Vegas Aces is just one win away from making it to the Finals again. However, so is the Indiana Fever, aka DeWanna Bonner’s former team. Well, whoever the rival is, Thomas just gave them a warning. It wasn’t the first one, either.

Alyssa Thomas Claims She’s “Ready For This Moment” Alongside Wife DeWanna Bonner

In the aftermath of the win, ESPN was able to get an exclusive interview with several of the Mercury players, including Alyssa Thomas and DeWanna Bonner. When asked what it was like to get the win, especially a 2nd win in this series where the team was down 14 plus points, Thomas replied, “It took everybody, everybody on this team. Um, we’re hungry. We’re ready for this moment. I’m just super proud of how we fought today.”

Meanwhile, Thomas’ wife, DeWanna Bonner, expressed her happiness at being back with the Mercury by stating, “Coming in midseason, I’m just so happy they accepted me. I love them so very much. I was at a low point in my career, and they just picked me up and loved me with open arms. I’m just happy to be home and to be with this group.”

When Alyssa Thomas had recorded 21 points, 9 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks during Game 3, she had become the “only player with multiple playoff games of 20+ points, 5+ rebounds, 5+ assists, and 5+ steals”. Additionally, the Phoenix Mercury star also passed Sue Bird for the second-most assists (367 as of Game 3 of the semifinals) in WNBA playoff history through the score he accumulated. That feat got overshadowed by the whole Napheesa Collier fiasco. However, she was able to maintain that scoring prowess for Game 4 as well, during which she recorded 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Alyssa Thomas is locked in for the Finals. The question is, will she have the support of her teammates this time around? Only the future will tell us that.