There wasn’t a section in the arena that you could look at without seeing Thomas fans. Thomas merchandise and signs spread throughout the arena. Fans eagerly waited by the arena tunnel during warmups to get autographs and take pictures with the Sun legend, shouting “Alyssa” over and over again.
During warm-ups, she shared many hugs pregame with Sun staff members and her only remaining former teammates, guard Marina Mabrey and center Olivia Nelson-Ododa.
Thomas is loved and adored by Sun fans after spending most of her career in Connecticut, which was evident as their support filled the air of Mohegan Sun Arena. Philadelphia 76ers center Andre Drummond was even sitting courtside to take in all the action.
However, this time, she was not representing the Sun. She was instead suiting up for the Phoenix Mercury, where she was traded in the offseason.
Your business can reach over 3 million women’s sports fans every single month!
Here at The Next and The IX, our audience is a collection of the smartest, most passionate women’s sports fans in the world. If your business has a mission to serve these fans, reach out to our team at editors@thenexthoops.com to discuss ways to work together.
Thomas reminisces
Prior to the game, Thomas looked back on her career in Connecticut and reflected.
In all the time Thomas spent in there, she formed a lot of relationships, even though she knew it wasn’t going to last forever. She has expressed that the organization is important to her and her career because they “took a chance” on her.
“Like I said, [I spent] a lot of years, 11 years here, I started here, [I got a] lot of wins, [formed] a lot of friendships. [The franchise] means a lot [to me]. But I knew it was my time to move on, and now it’s my next chapter,” Thomas told reporters.
Thomas’ homecoming brought up a lot of emotion for her as she got to reunite with people she had been around for more than a decade.
“[I’m] excited to see everybody…I know, they’re excited to see me, just catching up on everything. We’re used to seeing each other all summer so it’s been an adjustment,” Thomas said.
Some of her favorite memories with the Sun involved success, which isn’t surprising for a player as competitive as Thomas is. She praised the fans for their support throughout the years, but she now will have to adjust to them cheering against her for the first time in her career.
“Being on the other side of it, you can see why it’s a tough environment, but it’s a lot of great memories,” Thomas said.
“We were able to take a team out to Mystic so they’re able to see something other than the casino because you know everyone thinks Mohegan is just this casino,” Thomas said with a smile.
Soon, the clock counted down and the horn sounded. The Mercury’s starting lineup was announced with “…Alyssa Thomas.” The crowd erupted with so much noise and energy that you could feel the vibration.
Order ‘Rare Gems’ and save 30%
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The Next and The IX, released his latest book on May 7, 2024. This deeply reported story follows four connected generations of women’s basketball pioneers, from Elvera “Peps” Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.
If you enjoy his coverage of women’s basketball every Wednesday at The IX, you will love “Rare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.” Click the link below to order and enter MEGDAL30 at checkout.
Bonds formed
Massive offseason turnover left the Sun with only two of Thomas’ former teammates in Mabrey and Nelson-Ododa. Both players have built strong bonds with Thomas, especially Mabrey.
Mabrey and Thomas joked around playfully pushing one another by the scorer’s table before the game. Mabrey also jumped on top of Thomas while stretching to embrace her with a hug.
Mabrey and Thomas have had respect for one another as competitors over the years, but they weren’t always friends, competing in the WNBA and overseas.
“I think my rookie year, when she realized I wasn’t a punk, then all of a sudden she started being nicer to me,” Mabrey said. “And overseas, at first she had beat us by like 40 and was talking crazy to me, but I kind of liked it. I was pissed but I kind of liked it. Then, just as the years went on, we kind of developed a relationship.
“[In] the short period of time that we had to play together, we developed a great relationship, but now, to this day, we will be friends forever. I’m definitely getting a shove in today though,” Mabrey joked and told The Next with a laugh.
Nelson-Ododa was able to learn from Thomas, especially during her adjustment to the WNBA as a rookie. Thomas greeted Nelson-Ododa with a hug at halfcourt prior to tipoff.
“Her will to win, she’s just super passionate and competitive, and she goes so intense with everything that she does,” Nelson-Ododa told The Next. “I think she just led a great example by just the way she plays, like I said, that intensity that she brought every single game. It was great to watch, great to learn under. And so, it was a huge experience for me, just being able to see that up close and personal, and learn off of it.”
Fiery competitiveness
This game for Thomas was no different than any other that she played in Mohegan Sun Arena, with her strength and physicality very much present. She never seemed to stop smiling during the game.
Every time the Sun were able to cut the lead to single digits, Thomas helped her team find a way to punch back and respond.
Thomas is known across the league for being not only skilled but extremely competitive. Her competitive nature always seems to be around to the point that she even made a competition out of game warmups when she was on the Sun.
“I was just talking about it right now,” Nelson-Ododa’s face lit up with a smile. “We used to do, like a little drill, a competition drill, in warm-ups every game. So [what I miss] is the little things like that, just competing against her… going against her. Talking, mess with her. Those are, like the fun things [that I miss].”
Thomas’ competitiveness lived up to expectations for her Connecticut homecoming as she bickered back and forth with Mabrey throughout the game. The two shared many smiles but still battled each possession, as two of the most competitive WNBA players.
In the second half, Mabrey showed some frustration with the referees, and Thomas seemed to calm her down, just like old times. Because of the relationship they have, Mabrey attributes her added confidence to Thomas’ leadership on the team last year.
“I just miss that competitive fiery [personality] like, she would never back down or never let up. Her mentality and how she is, how she makes everybody else around her better and instills confidence, I was probably playing my most confident basketball playing with AT, so now I’m trying to carry that over into this year,” Mabrey said.
Thomas won over Sun fans by always staying true to herself and never caring what others think or have thought about her. When she steps on the court her focus is the present possession, even with the high emotions that come with returning back to your previous home and playing your former team.
“I’m just focused on the game plan, the game at hand and I’m just going to come out here and be myself. That’s what I’ve done my whole career, my whole 11 years here. I’ve just been myself and this fan base [was] just behind me,” Thomas said.
Your business can reach over 3 million women’s sports fans every single month!
Here at The Next and The IX, our audience is a collection of the smartest, most passionate women’s sports fans in the world. If your business has a mission to serve these fans, reach out to our team at editors@thenexthoops.com to discuss ways to work together.
Thomas finds ways to take control of the game and did just that tonight, leading the Mercury to victory over her former team. In Connecticut, she earned the nickname “the engine” for her ability to run and get downhill to finish strong in the paint.
“I think I just keep going back to how intense she plays and how much she brings to the game. There’s not a possession that she takes off when she’s playing, and that’s so evident. And I think the fans here appreciated that, the energy she brought. They appreciated that so much. And so she built something special here… that the fans obviously love coming to watch and see,” Nelson-Ododa said.
With nearly three minutes left in the game, the Sun cut the Mercury’s lead to just seven points with a strong drive by rookie forward Aneesah Morrow, forcing Phoenix to call a timeout.
Out of the timeout Thomas creates for her team, finding guard Kahleah Copper for the outlet pass at the three-point line. The ball rattles into the basket, adding to her assist total.
With the ball in her hands, Thomas knows how to make something happen offensively, directing her teammates where to go, like moving chess pieces on a chess board, as she did during her time in Connecticut, too.
Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (25) drives towards the basket in a game at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, on June 18, 2025. (Photo credit: Chris Poss | The Next)
It wouldn’t be a Thomas return without her performing the way she did tonight, with a near triple-double, a stat line that is familiar, but difficult to accomplish as she holds the league record with 15. No other WNBA player in history has had more than four. The triple-double machine finished the game with 14 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.
After the game, she talked about how her first game back in Connecticut, wearing a different uniform and representing a different city, was emotional for her.
“Definitely emotional, I gave this organization everything I had and the fan base was always behind me, supporting whether we were winning or losing, so [I’m] just super grateful for them…,” Thomas said during the postgame press conference.
Thomas also moved into 17th on the WNBA all-time rebounds list and reached 4,000 career points. Thomas’ legacy will continue to live on through the fans’ support and the lasting impact she left on the organization, a place where she will always be welcomed and loved.
“She had Connecticut in the top of the standings for 10 straight years. Like that’s ridiculous and that’s really, really hard to do. I just try to take everything I can from her and try to apply it to my game and this team. Her ability to do that night in and night out for so long and be somebody that’s in the MVP competition every year, you just got to give AT her flowers,” Mabrey said with a smile.
