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Mercury acquire 5-time WNBA All-Star Alyssa Thomas in trade with Sun, per reports
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- Mercury acquire 5-time WNBA All-Star Alyssa Thomas in trade with Sun, per reports
Things are heating up in Phoenix.
The Phoenix Mercury have reportedly acquired five-time All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas in a trade with the Connecticut Sun , multiple outlets, including ESPN and The Athletic , reported Tuesday. The Mercury will send guards Natasha Cloud and Rebecca Allen as well as the 12th overall pick in the 2025 WNBA draft to the Sun, in exchange for Thomas and Ty Harris .
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Thomas averaged 10.6 points, 8.4 rebounds and 7.9 assists last season, while shooting 50.9% from the field. Thomas led the Sun to a playoff berth in 2024, marking Connecticut's eight consecutive postseason appearance, the longest active streak in the WNBA. The Sun defeated the Indiana Fever 2-0 in the best-of-three first round series, before losing to the Minnesota Lynx 3-2 in the best-of-five semifinal series.
In addition to earning All-Star and All-WNBA First Team nods in 2024, Thomas won an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. women's basketball team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Forward Alyssa Thomas warms up before a WNBA playoff game between the Connecticut Sun and Minnesota Lynx on Oct 6, 2024.
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Thomas was drafted No. 4 overall out of Maryland by the New York Liberty and was instantly shipped to Connecticut in a draft-day trade. In 11 seasons with the Sun, Thomas has earned five All-Star nods, three All-WNBA Team nods and six All-Defensive Teams honors. Thomas led the Sun to the WNBA Finals in 2019 and 2022 and was the runner-up for the Most Valuable Player award in 2023.
She leaves the Sun as the franchise's career leader in games played (319), assists (1,463), steals (494), rebounds (2,396), field goals made (1,502) and free throws made (884). She also the WNBA's all-time triple-double leader with 15, including the regular season and playoffs.
Thomas is set to join a Mercury team that is in flux. All-star center Brittney Griner and All-star guard Diana Taurasi , who led the Mercury to a WNBA Championship in 2014, are both unrestricted free agents . After finishing last in the league in 2023 with a 9-31 record, the Mercury finished in seventh place in 2024 with a 19-21 record. The team advanced to the postseason, before being swept in the first round by the Lynx.
Thomas is engaged to former Connecticut teammate DeWanna Bonner, who is also an unrestricted free agent. Bonner played 10 seasons in Phoenix after the Mercury selected her with the No. 5 overall pick in the 2009 WNBA draft before she was traded to the Sun in 2020.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alyssa Thomas traded to Phoenix Mercury in deal with Connecticut Sun
