Alyssa Thomas, forward for the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, will rep Team USA in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Check out five facts about Thomas and her standout basketball career:
She didn’t want to play basketball at first
As a child, Thomas was more interested in playing soccer and her mother convinced her to play basketball. She said she had a tantrum after finding out that her mother signed her up for the sport. After a while, she warmed up to the sport, proving mothers do know best after all!
She’s the heart and soul of her team – literally
Thomas is quite literally the engine which her nickname that her teammates refer to her as. Anytime she would score at the home arena the sound of a revving engine would play over the loudspeaker. Thomas is the engine that propels and fuels the Sun forward.
She’s a world traveler
Thomas’ resume far extends the geographical boundaries of the U.S. She competed professionally in South Korea, Prague and Turkey in the offseason. She was notable for assisting in leading the 2022-2021 Prague team to the EuroLeague quarter finals.
If she wasn’t playing basketball, she’d be cleaning teeth
You read that right: One of the most formidable players in the WNBA would be a dentist if she wasn’t a basketball player.
She does not play about her UNO game
Outside of the court, the Connecticut Sun began playing UNO in the WNBA bubble during COVID to pass time. Thomas self-proclaimed herself as the best UNO player on the team, however her teammates disagree.