New role, same grit: How Alyssa Thomas is having her best season -- in Year 12

Phoenix Mercury prima Alyssa Thomas lowered her close enarthrosis and banged into Napheesa Collier to backmost the Minnesota Lynx guardant down person to the hoop. One effort wasn't rather capable for Thomas to get wherever she wanted to go, truthful she did it again.

Collier grabbed 1 of Thomas' arms to forestall her from getting a changeable up, and arsenic the 2 got tangled, they stood thorax to chest. Thomas -- regarded arsenic 1 of the champion trash talkers successful the WNBA -- gave Collier an earful.

"She's the eventual competitor. I don't cognize if I've ever been astir anyone rather similar her successful my full life," Mercury manager Nate Tibbetts said aft his squad rallied to triumph Game 2 and adjacent the WNBA semifinal bid 1-1 against the Lynx connected Tuesday. "I've been astir a batch of players, and I've ne'er seen anyone privation to triumph arsenic severely arsenic she does."

Thomas' grit has been portion of her individuality since she was a kid playing games specified arsenic Trouble and Candy Land with her parents. Thinking 3 steps up was a must. Trash speech was encouraged. Losing was not an option.

"We had to gain our wins," Thomas told ESPN. "For me, erstwhile I got a triumph against [my parents], it was everything."

Now, Thomas' unrelenting volition to triumph manifests arsenic a sinister grin connected the court, a sarcastic pout erstwhile she gets called for a technical, oregon arsenic a fist pump erstwhile determination is thing to celebrate.

In her 12th play successful the league, Thomas' determination to beryllium the champion is arsenic beardown arsenic ever. A caller level of her crippled has been unlocked arsenic a full-time facilitator for the archetypal clip successful her WNBA career, thriving successful Tibbetts' free-flowing discourtesy that doesn't trust connected acceptable playcalls. She has been a perennial MVP campaigner for astir of her career, but present arsenic she reaches adjacent greater heights successful her performance, she is looking to adhd a rubric to her résumé.

"This is what it's each about," Thomas said. "We play the full play for playoffs and moments similar this. I privation to win. I've been chasing a title for a agelong time, and I deliberation this is our time."

Tibbets had spent the past season, his archetypal arsenic a WNBA caput coach, scouting for Thomas erstwhile his squad played the Connecticut Sun. While she consistently played good against the Mercury -- she and the Sun swept the regular-season bid 4-0 -- Tibbetts hadn't taken a heavy dive connected Thomas' playing prowess until a four-team trade sent her and Satou Sabally to Phoenix.

"If I were being honest, I astir apt didn't cognize that she was this good," Tibbetts said. "I should person realized the greatness of her due to the fact that they conscionable kicked our butt each clip we played them."

Thomas wasn't rather acquainted with Tibbetts' game, either. He spent astir of his nonrecreational vocation coaching successful the NBA. But during an offseason meeting, she rapidly learned helium was bringing the aforesaid benignant to Phoenix that helium implemented arsenic an NBA adjunct with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic.

"There are conscionable antithetic wrinkles and plays that you whitethorn person ne'er thought of," Thomas told ESPN. "I ticker truthful overmuch of the NBA game, and present to recognize what I'm watching, oregon cognize the words they are using, is breathtaking for me."

An Olympic golden medalist who has had occurrence astatine each level -- she led the ACC successful scoring successful 3 of her 4 seasons astatine Maryland -- portion playing each implicit the world, Thomas doesn't person galore untapped areas of her crippled remaining. But the par...