Jack Baer | Ysports
In the span of one year, Alyssa Thomas has become the unquestionable WNBA triple-double queen.
The Connecticut Sun star already had the most triple-doubles in WNBA history with four entering Tuesday, despite not having a single one at this time last year. She was already one of three players to record multiple triple-doubles in a single season, alongside Candace Parker and Sabrina Ionescu. She was already the first person to ever record a triple-double in the WNBA Finals, doing so last year.
Thomas added to that legacy Tuesday with another triple-double in an 89-81 loss to the New York Liberty, giving her unprecedented back-to-back triple-doubles after accomplishing the feat Sunday. She also became the first player to post three triple-doubles in a season, and all of them came within a week’s time.
She finished the game with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, plus four steals, one block and only one turnover.
It took 24 points from Breanna Stewart, a double-double from Jonquel Jones and nine assists from Courtney Vandersloot to get the win for the Liberty, who are starting to look like the super-team they were expected to be before the season.
In regards to Thomas, let’s put it this way. Counting the playoffs, there have been 23 triple-doubles in the 25-year history of the WNBA. Thomas has posted the last seven, a figure that represents more than 30% of the total.
Add that to a level of defense that made her a Defensive Player of the Year finalist last season, and you have the arguable favorite for WNBA MVP this season.