Alyssa Thomas

Alyssa Thomas hit an impressive milestone for the Phoenix Mercury in Monday’s game at Indiana, finishing with a strong 19 points, five rebounds, and nine assists.

She reached 500 assists in a Mercury uniform, officially making her the fastest player in WNBA history to hit that mark for any franchise. It only took her 56 games, dating back to last season when she arrived in the Valley. She eclipsed Caitlin Clark, who reached 500 assists for the Indiana Fever in her first 60 games.

Thomas would be the first to deflect any individual achievements. With her competitive fire being so high, it’s hard to devote any attention to stats while she’s focused on guiding her team through a difficult stretch.

At the same time, it’s worth contextualizing AT’s historical pace and celebrating one of the most talented players in women’s basketball history.

She is already seventh on the Mercury’s all-time leaderboard in assists, on pace to jump three more spots if she plays 40 games this season at her current average. She’s only 49 behind fifth place, held by Hall-of-Fame point guard Michele Timms, despite playing half the number of games.

This season, Thomas is once again proving to be The Engine for Phoenix’s offense. In her first 17 games, she has helped generate 352 points off her assists, which leads the WNBA:

Alyssa Thomas

Even with the slight reduction from her league-record 22.9 points per game created last year, AT is still topping the list.

Earlier this month, she passed Sue Bird for the third-most games in WNBA history with at least 10 assists. With 47 such games, she’s now trailing only Ticha Penicheiro (64) and Courtney Vandersloot (90).

Factoring in Thomas’ own production, she has scored or assisted on 592 of the Mercury’s 1,401 points in the games she’s been active for. That’s more than 42% of the team’s offense.

Her passing has always set the tone for any team she’s a part of. And it trickles down the roster – if your leader trusts the pass every time, that means it’s everyone’s job to give up good shots for great ones.

Thomas is the head of the snake, creating advantages for her teammates and letting everyone feast in different ways. Whether it’s off backdoor cuts, giving her shooters space with dribble handoffs, or thriving off the inverted pick-and-rolls she loves running with her guards, AT makes the right play.

Unselfishness and empowerment have become the fabric of the Mercury culture, evidenced by the third consecutive year of Phoenix owning a top-five assist rate, which measures the percentage of your buckets coming directly off a pass.

Since Nate Tibbetts took over as head coach in 2024, they have prioritized ball movement.

“When you share it and move it, you’re connected,” Tibbetts said. “Offensively, we’ve had some struggles, just continuity stuff to where we haven’t gotten into a rhythm on that end. I think our staff does a good job with drills that we do every day, just letting our players see the drive-and-kick type of situations.”

Thomas is a major force in driving those on-court principles and creating an environment where everyone is confident to let it fly once they catch the ball. She has assisted on 66 three-pointers in her 17 games this season, also leading the WNBA.

“Obviously having AT – she’s the playmaker,” Tibbetts said. “She wants to make players around her better.”

Even if June hasn’t been the smoothest month for the Mercury, all of AT’s teammates would agree. Her leadership and presence give them a chance in every matchup.

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