Before last week's matchups, the Phoenix Mercury had lost their previous two — seemingly hitting a slump after winning eight straight. One of their losses came from the Dallas Wings, with a final score of 98-89, in the first of two back-to-back games. After that unexpected loss, Phoenix was able to bounce back, winning their second game against Dallas 102-72.
Seemingly getting a bit of confidence back against the Wings, they defeated the Minnesota Lynx on Wednesday. The Lynx are currently leading the league, looking like the team to beat in the WNBA. Phoenix handing them a loss ended up breaking their five-game win streak.
Phoenix won these two games without their star forward, Satou Sabally, who is averaging 19.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season. She is a force for this Mercury squad, and her absence was felt- but forced players to step up in her place.
WNBA Player of the Week pick
That brings me to my Player of the Week pick — Alyssa Thomas. Thomas is having an incredible season since coming over to Phoenix from Connecticut via trade this past offseason. She was named a 2025 All-Star and leads the league in assists. She was also named at No. 3 on ESPN's list of their top 25 WNBA players heading into the All-Star break. But this week, she turned it up to another level.
Starting the week off with that win against Dallas, Thomas recorded her sixteenth career triple-double, and her first in a Mercury uniform. She was the only player to do so this week. She put up 15 points, 10 rebounds and a whopping 15 assists against the Wings.
Let's do a @WNBA triple double check in:
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) July 8, 2025
Alyssa Thomas - 1️⃣6️⃣
The rest of the league combined.. 2️⃣9️⃣ pic.twitter.com/k1yl2cu60f
In her second game this week, she claimed a new career high in scoring with 29 points. She also recorded 8 rebounds and 5 assists in that win. Putting up a big number like 29 against the top-ranked defense in the league makes her week even more impressive.
AT really gave us 29 points, with only 1 free throw.
— Phoenix Mercury (@PhoenixMercury) July 10, 2025
Let's make sure that doesn't get overlooked. pic.twitter.com/OjeJbBm3Kx
She came second in points per game this week to none other than her teammate, Sami Whitcomb, who put up big numbers in Dallas, with 36 points. It should be noted that Thomas led the league this week in average assists per game.
Alyssa Thomas has yet to be recognized as the WNBA Player of the Week this season. Her last time being given the accolade was Week 1 of the 2024 season, but given her last two performances, the Western Conference honors should absolutely be hers.