Reading The Floor With Alyssa Thomas: Exclusive Film Session On Her MVP Playmaking

Forbes

3 days ago

During any random moment of a Phoenix Mercury game, chances are, you'll catch Alyssa Thomas with a smile on her face.
The beauty of it?
You won't exactly know why.
As a veteran superstar habitually forcing her way into MVP races, Thomas has plenty of reasons to smile. After all, watching her teammates succeed – mostly by empowering them and boosting their point totals – gives her the ultimate satisfaction.
Perhaps it's the joy of watching her four rookies thrive in an offense centered on sharing the rock. Or, maybe they are evil smiles because she's already deciphered the opponent's gameplan and knows Phoenix is about to have an easy night.
Only she knows the answer. But we can try to get a small glimpse into her basketball mind.
Even after 12 years in the league, Thomas is showing a level of improvement that nearly all 33-year-olds would struggle to achieve. This is currently the most efficient she's ever been on the floor, averaging 1.14 points per scoring attempt. And that's without earning a ton of free throws, or being a 3-point threat.
However, in order to win, she knows where the bread is buttered: Her elite court vision.
I recently sat down with Thomas, as she was generous enough to pull back the curtain on her playmaking genius. In these next six videos, Thomas walks me through how she analyzes defenses in real time, manipulates space, and transforms the game into her own playground.
Turn up your audio as she takes you inside each possession, breaking down what she saw.
Alyssa Thomas on leveraging the open space certain defenders give her, and why it actually plays into her strengths:
She doesn't always need to be the one setting the table, or facilitating from the top of the key. Among her best attributes is making high-impact decisions after screening for her guards, and rolling downhill to make the defense panic.
Alyssa Thomas on playing in the pocket, and making decisions out of pick-and-roll action:
Other times, like the play below, she doesn't require a ball-screen at all. Just give her the ball and watch her deliver the goods.
Alyssa Thomas on using her patience and basketball IQ to anticipate when help defenders are coming, and how to capitalize on those moments:
It's because of Thomas' expert-level manipulation and the team's improved spacing under Nate Tibbetts that Phoenix has a healthier shot diet. They are creating more threes and rim opportunities than last year, sitting fourth in the league with a 65.9% combined frequency (also known as Morey Rate).
With her next assist on a 3-pointer, Thomas will break the WNBA record for the most in a single season. She is currently tied with Courtney Vandersloot, who helped create 121 threes during the 2023 campaign.
Vandersloot played 39 games that year while Thomas has only appeared in 26 … with 13 remaining.
Alyssa Thomas demonstrates her unselfish, pass-first mentality on this post-up late in the shot clock:Alyssa Thomas explains how she pinpoints mismatches early in the shot clock, not letting any opponent off the hook:
The Mercury desperately needed an uptick in pace. With major roster turnover and four new rookies on board, it only made sense to push the tempo to simplify everyone's job.
Thomas is the engine behind that movement. She's the catalyst that ignites everyone after a turnover. Immediately after Phoenix collects a loose ball, Thomas is sprinting up the floor, directing her teammates to fill the gaps and gain every advantage.
This year, the Mercury have climbed to third in 'average seconds until a shot attempt' after finishing ninth last season with an older group.
While getting younger definitely helped, this new pace has AT's fingerprints all over it.
If her shooters make themselves available, they will reap the benefits.
Alyssa Thomas on Phoenix's shooters embracing her love for fastbreaks and organized chaos in transition:
'I think, just throughout my career, when I get in transition, everyone runs hard," she said. "I think they see it's an opportunity. If they're open, I'm going to get them a shot. Transition is the easiest way to get points.'
If you would like to watch the full uninterrupted session, look no further:
Diving Into The Numbers
As the saying goes – film never lies.
But, if somehow it did, the statistical achievements would certify Thomas as the most skilled (and prolific) passer in the league.
Before this year, only two players in WNBA history finished a season with an assist rate above 40 percent while maintaining a turnover rate under 20 percent. Those were Sue Bird in 2018 and Courtney Vandersloot in 2020. For Vandersloot, it was a shortened season due to the pandemic. Bird, of course, went on to capture her third championship with the Storm.
Thomas is searching to become the third member of this club, while also setting the WNBA record for highest assist percentage. For the first time ever, we're seeing a player facilitate over half of her teammates' field goals while on the floor:
Fun fact for the NBA junkies out there – only six players have ever been a passing force to that degree in the regular season. They are all historical point guards: Chris Paul, John Stockton, Steve Nash, James Harden, Rajon Rondo, and Russell Westbrook.
That's what makes Thomas different. She's a unicorn in her own right, serving as the Mercury's point-forward and disrupting conventional playing styles.
Through a broad lens, Thomas is producing more for her team as a playmaking hub than any player in the league. One glance at her volume in Assist Points Generated is enough to paint the picture – she's in a class of her own.
Annihilating the competition. Lapping the field. Insert your favorite expression that applies to legends across every sport.
With 589 points created by her assists in only 26 games, Thomas is averaging 35% more than second-place Courtney Williams. The gap between first and second is 119 points, and it's nearly equivalent to the margin between second and eighth:
Looking at raw totals, her 234 assists are the second most by any WNBA player through their first 26 games of a season. It's behind only – you guessed it – Vandersloot, who dished six more during the 2021 campaign: You don't have to travel too far in the pantheon of Valley basketball to find Thomas' early inspiration.
Just like her, it was the leader of a dynamic Phoenix offense that magically found a way to marry halfcourt principles with an aggressive run-and-gun style.
'I always grew up and loved watching Steve Nash,' Thomas told Forbes. 'I was a big Nash fan, just the way he was able to get his teammates easy shots. I'm also a huge fan of watching [Nikola] Jokic. The way he's able to manipulate the game and take advantage of what the game is giving him. I just enjoy watching people do that.'
It's no surprise Thomas holds Jokic in such high regard, either. They are cut from the same cloth. Both genuinely find greater joy in their teammates having career years, or helping them carve their own path, than anything they accomplish individually.
Thomas will be the last one to ask for any credit. She will continually downplay her importance, shying away from any MVP promotion every step of the way.
It's that selfless demeanor that makes fans wonder … how does she do it? How does she remain so impactful?
DeWanna Bonner knows the secret. She's witnessed it for years.
Bonner did spend over 200 games playing alongside Thomas in Connecticut, watching her operate in every scenario possible – through the regular season and intense playoff battles.
'Every single day, whether it's practice, media or the game, she leads," Bonner said. 'She's always the first one at the gym and always one of the last to leave. She takes care of her body and works really, really hard. So it just motivates everybody else. Like 'okay, we got to be on our s**t too, you know? She sets the standard for our team and we try to follow.'
Every play Thomas makes on the floor is a reflection of her sharpness, but also her decade-plus of time spent memorizing coverages and player tendencies.
However, if we listen to Bonner, those traits are intertwined with AT's leadership and practice habits. Those remain the foundation as she chases her first WNBA title.