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The Phoenix Mercury are down 2-0 in the WNBA Finals against the Las Vegas Aces, but if there is a player who can lead her team to a comeback in the league's first ever best-of-seven series, it is Alyssa Thomas. 

Thomas is versatile, physical and a strong playmaker. She is averaging 18.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 1.8 steals in these playoffs, and is often referred to as a "point forward" due to her unique skills and 6-foot-2 frame. However, what might help Phoenix the most in its comeback quest is her competitive spirit. 

"She's the ultimate competitor," Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said. "I don't know if I've ever been around anyone quite like her in my whole (life), and I grew up in the gym. My dad was a high school coach, right? I've been around a lot of players, and I've never seen anyone that wants to win as bad as she does. I'm just absolutely blown away by her toughness and grit."

The Mercury have been overlooked all season and have also been considered the underdogs through the playoffs. And yet they've continued to prove people wrong with Thomas as their confident leader. There has been some controversy regarding her style of play, but Tibbetts embraces it fully.

"There is no holding back AT. She is who she is," he said. "That's why we love her. That's why she's the player that she is. The thing that I just get disappointed in is hearing our officials say that she's hard to officiate because she plays so physical. Yeah, AT is going to be AT. We want her to be AT because she's a helluva player. We want her playing with that downhill force."

Here are some examples of what makes her so dangerous.

No opponent is too big

Thomas does not back down against any opponent, and even the top players in the league get excited to compete against her.

"It's always fun competing against AT because she is a, I don't even want to call her post player, but she's a player that could facilitate the game," Aces' four-time MVP and Thomas' Finals opponent A'ja Wilson said. "She could pick the game apart. And I don't get to guard that every single day. And so she allows me -- or doesn't allow me -- I try my best to make things very difficult, but the way that she sees the game, her vision, the way that she gets her teammates open, it's something that she adds and brings to this game and to that into that position that I don't see every single night."

Thomas stays confident no matter the opponent. In the semifinals against the Minnesota Lynx, she was asked about having to guard Napheesa Collier. 

"She gotta guard me too," Thomas said.

Triple-double machine

Thomas helps her team in multiple areas, and the proof is in the stat sheet. Through her career, Thomas has registered 24 triple-doubles (and counting), which is 41% of the 58 WNBA triple-doubles ever recorded in both the regular season and playoffs.

Thomas has five postseason triple-doubles, with the most recent one happening when Phoenix eliminated the defending champions New York Liberty in the first round. She is the only player in league history with multiple triple-doubles in the playoffs, and also the only one to achieve one with 20+ points. Sheryl Swoopes and Courtney Vandersloot are the only two other players in WNBA playoffs history to get a triple-double.

She adjusts despite physical limitations

Thomas has played with a torn labrum in each shoulder for most of her WNBA career. She tore the right one in 2015 and the left one in 2017. Because of this, Thomas can't shoot 3-pointers (2 for 26 in her career), and even free throws (she's a career 65.1% FT shooter) are challenging because of her limited range of motion. 

She has not gotten the surgery to avoid a lengthy rehabilitation, and instead has chosen to change her playing style -- including becoming a right-handed shooter despite growing up using her left hand. These injuries even cost her sleep, because sleeping on her shoulders is not very comfortable.

Thomas will eventually get surgery, but not yet. She said she was told the surgery and recovery take more time than an Achilles injury. She knows that experience too well because she tore her Achilles in January 2022 and spent the next eight months doing rehab.

"I always joke with AT that she's a superhuman, or she's somehow bionic," said the Connecticut Sun strength and conditioning coach Annalisse Rios when Thomas was part of the team. "She has all these stabilizer muscles that take over the job of the labrums."

Comparisons to NBA greats

Before taking over the Mercury, Tibbetts spent time as an assistant in the NBA. He interacted with some of the top players in the league, and said he strongly believes Thomas is on a level by herself when it comes to being competitive.

"I was lucky enough to be around Damian Lillard for eight years," Tibbets said. "As far as daily leadership and stuff like that, Dame is as good as it gets. From a competitive standpoint, wanting to win and everything, AT is on a level by herself."

The closest he encountered, he said, was the now-retired Kevin Garnett, who is considered one of the greatest power forwards of all time.

"When I was a young coach I was lucky enough to go to a couple of Minnesota Timberwolves training camps and saw Kevin Garnett compete. That was pretty cool. That provided me a lot of like AT's approach.

"I didn't get to coach KG but I saw him for a couple training camps and that's kind of what I would compare AT to, just as far as like, it didn't matter the drill. Offense or defense, she wanted to win, whatever it took. She wanted to win in warmups. He did too. So I think it's just part of what makes her special."

Biggest trash talker title

In an anonymous poll by The Athletic released earlier this season, 13 out of 33 players voted Thomas the biggest trash talker in the league – an honor Diana Taurasi held before her retirement. She won by a landslide as the second-place trash talker was Minnesota's Courtney Williams with five votes.

"She smiles and talks shit, that's the crazy part, it's psycho stuff, she's crazy, man," said one of the unidentified players.

Thomas happily accepted the honor.

"I'll keep that title proud," Thomas told The Athletic during All-Star weekend. "I definitely would say I'm at the top for sure. I spare nobody. Fans, players, coaches, no one's spared in these moments." 

It's nothing new

Thomas' competitive spirit has been there long before she joined the WNBA and even before playing for the Maryland Terrapins.

"It started with my parents as a kid," Thomas said. "You know, any win that we had, whether it was Trouble, Candyland, we had to earn our win. So for me, when I would get a win against them, it was exciting. But this is what it's all about. We play the whole season for playoffs and moments like this. It's definitely a moment that we'll never forget. For me, I want to win. I've been chasing the championship for a long time. I think this is our time."

Thomas is still very much competitive when it comes to board games. Recently, Kahleah Cooper said she was going to challenge her Phoenix teammates to UNO while they were on the plane, and added she was glad Thomas hardly ever goes on her X account.

But Thomas logged in just to make sure the world knew that she is the best UNO player on the team, not Copper. They also addressed it during a press conference.