Playing for Team USA is a full-circle moment for basketball star Alyssa Thomas
In 2021, Alyssa Thomas spent much of the year rehabbing an Achilles injury she suffered early in the year. She missed 30 games with the Connecticut Sun, and had to take herself out of consideration for making Team USA for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. She knew she would make it back to the basketball court, but the Olympic Games? Thomas pushed that dream to the side.
A call from Cheryl Reeve, the U.S. women’s basketball team coach, changed Thomas’ mind.
“Coach Reeve called me a few years ago, when I was overseas, and asked me why I was away from USA Basketball. I explained that I rather just have my breaks during those down times. She touched base on what he was looking for in this team and she said she would be honest with me if it wasn't going to work out. But, she was very adamant about me being on this team and trying out. I trusted what she had to say and the goal of this team. I think early on in worlds, you could see that, defense is an emphasis and I can impact in that way,” Thomas said.
Thomas returned to USA Basketball, and helped her nation win the 2022 FIBA World Cup. She was on the team that went 3-0 at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Antwerp earlier this year. But the pool for the American team is deep, and few players could be sure of their spot on the Olympic team until the roster was set.
On 5 June, Thomas got the news she was hoping for. Jenn Rizzotti, chair of the selection committee – and the president of the Connecticut Sun – presented her with the jersey she will get to wear at Paris 2024.
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
What Alyssa Thomas will bring to Team USA
Thomas is one of just three members of the U.S. women's basketball team who will be a first-time Olympian, but it would be wrong to call her inexperienced. Her Sun teams have gone deep into the WNBA playoffs, including to the WNBA Finals in 2019 and 2021. She also played for USK Praha in the EuroLeague for five years as well as playing seasons in the Republic of Korea and Turkiye.
“I've been playing for a long time. I've played a lot of international basketball. So, I’m familiar with a lot of players on these other teams. Nothing changes for me. I just go in and play my game and try to bring my defensive presence,” Thomas said.
Her defensive presence is formidable, but her game is more well-rounded than she gives herself credit for. Thomas is the WNBA’s career leader in triple-doubles. Her 9.8 rebounds per game have her ranked fifth in the league. Even with an unorthodox shooting style thanks to torn labrums in her shoulder, Thomas is a reliable scorer in the paint.
But Sun coach Stephanie White points out that Thomas does so much that doesn’t show up in a box score.
“It’s hard because you look at what she does from a stat sheet perspective, and she pretty much does everything. But it's also the little things that she does. I mean, she makes winning plays. Whether that's getting one one-on-one defensive stops, getting a critical rebound at a big moment, making an extra pass, initiating offense setting. For us, she just makes winning plays. And some of them show up in the stat sheet, and some of them don't. But I think she's going to be a really, critical glue piece for Team USA,” White said.
With players like A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart on the team, Thomas will fit in well as a tough presence in the paint. Though the team is full of players who already have Olympic medals, WNBA championships and even MVPs, they are focused on winning an eighth straight Olympic gold medal for the players who have come before them.
“I don't think there are any egos on Team USA. I think that's why they have a continued success of winning the gold. We have some of the top players in the world and that's scary for other teams when you have so much talent like that. You’re going against people who have been playing together since they were kids. We’re coming in and yes, we are top players on our teams. But we're going in with a common goal to win the gold, so there's no egos in it,” Thomas said.
DeWanna Bonner’s support of her fiancée and teammate
Thomas said one of her biggest sources of support as she started on the journey to the U.S. team is her fiancée and Sun teammate DeWanna Bonner. It’s Bonner who can be heard cheering as Rizzotti gave Thomas the good news, and Bonner who will cheer on Thomas in France.
“She's super excited about it. I think she's asked me every day if I've heard anything, whether or not I've made the team. She's been pushing me the whole way. Last time there was an Olympics, I had just had Achilles surgery, and I was working back from that. So, it's cool to come full circle and, just happy to be able to share it with her,” Thomas said.
Bonnar won’t be alone in cheering on Thomas. For these Olympic Games, Thomas said her family will be a big part of it.
“I grew up watching the Olympics as a family thing. So, I know they're looking forward to going to Paris, and, I'm sure they're going to be all over the place there,” she said.