The Phoenix Mercury have been fighting hard to climb out of an early season hole. Now they might have to do it without one of their toughest players. Alyssa Thomas exited Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Sky with a lower left leg injury and the scene inside Mortgage Matchup Center was grim.
Thomas went up for a post move in the restricted area and landed awkwardly on her left leg. She went down immediately, grabbing at the spot and clearly in pain. The Mercury called a timeout as a hush fell over the arena. Within seconds she got up and sprinted toward the locker room. That kind of urgency from a player known for playing through just about anything is never a good sign.
The team has not confirmed the specifics of the injury. But Thomas is one of the league’s premier playmakers and defenders, and watching her race off the court like that has fans and teammates bracing for the worst. She had been a stabilizing force for a Phoenix squad that started the season rocky but had won three straight games heading into Tuesday.
The Mercury are already without Natasha Mack and Sami Whitcomb, two players who could have started. Adding Thomas to that list would test the depth of a roster that’s still trying to find its identity. Phoenix will need Kahleah Copper, Valériane Ayayi, and Noémie Brochant to step up in a big way if Thomas is out for any extended period.
Injuries Keep Piling Up for Phoenix
If there’s one thing that’s been a constant for the Mercury this season it’s health issues. They’ve had a rough go of it. Losing the top playmaker and one of the best defenders in the WNBA would be a gut punch no matter when it happened, but right now it feels especially brutal. They had just started building some real momentum.
Thomas has built a reputation as one of the toughest players in the league. She plays through contact, logs heavy minutes, and rarely misses time. So seeing her go down and not waste a second heading to the locker room made people take notice. It’s too early to know how long she’ll be out, but the urgency of her exit says a lot.
As the game continued, the Mercury had to adjust on the fly. That’s become a recurring theme for this team. They’ll need to dig deep and find contributions from everyone on the floor if they want to keep this recent run of wins alive. The next few days will tell us a lot about how this group handles adversity.
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