The Phoenix Mercury will be without forward Alyssa Thomas (calf) on Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Sparks.
Thomas, who was named All-WNBA first-team in each of the last two seasons, did not travel with the team, reports Desert Wave Media.
Thomas’ aggressiveness and steadiness will be heavily missed by the Mercury, who fell to 4-2 on Friday night against the Minnesota Lynx, 74-71. Nate Tibbetts did not have an update on the 33-year-old power forward before Sunday’s game:
Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts did not provide an update on Alyssa Thomas’ left calf injury.
Thomas is out Sunday against the Los Angeles Sparks. #WNBA pic.twitter.com/8t1pYowLHf
— Desert Wave Media (@DesertWaveCo) June 1, 2025
Without Thomas, the Mercury are now without two members of the Big 3: Thomas, and Kahleah Copper. Copper will be out for a few more weeks with a knee injury. Sound familiar, Suns fans?
Phoenix’s poise and competitiveness with three rookies (Monique Akoa Makani, Kitija Laksa, and Kathryn Westbeld) impressed some WNBA fans against the defending WNBA runner-ups, the Lynx, but will it be enough to pull out a win against the Sparks?
Thomas’ absence leads to first hardship addition
The Mercury will be without Thomas and possibly, three other players versus the Sparks. Guard Lexi Held (left quad), who is averaging 1.8 steals and has been active on some of the top ball-handlers in the league, could miss the contest.
The thinning Mercury decided to add Haley Jones to their roster via a hardship contract. Jones appeared in 40 games (she started 34 of them) with the Atlanta Dream, averaging 3.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 17.8 minutes per game.
Desert Wave Media’s David Veenstra asked Tibbetts about Jones:
“She’s a player that we’ve liked the last couple of years,” Tibbetts said. “We just thought it’d be a good opportunity to get her around our group. We’ll see if she gets in tonight. She just met us last night and some of us this morning.”
Satou Sabally is the leading scorer for the Mercury and will be counted on to deliver while Thomas and Copper are out. Also, forward Natasha Mack, who is one of two returning players from the 2024 roster, is yet to play in 2025.
Sabally, who is nicknamed “the Unicorn” for her rare skill set at her listed height at 6-foot-4, is averaging 20.8 points per game this season. She spoke at a recent practice on how she has been tested by Tibbetts, via Desert Wave Media:
“I would really say that this is the first time that I’ve really been coached and pushed to my limits in every single position,” she said. “I’m really grateful for that.”
Sparks’ Kelsey Plum leads the charge for the opponents
Phoenix’s defense will have to key in on two-time WNBA champion Kelsey Plum, who is No. 2 in the league in points per game (24.0). Plum has had to be special thus far for the Sparks, who against the Mercury will be without Cameron Brink and Rickea Jackson, two of the top-four picks in the 2024 WNBA Draft.
Plum scored 25 points versus the Mercury in their meeting on May 21. She struggled to find her teammates, however, and had a season-high eight turnovers.
Prediction
The Mercury face a similar situation that our beloved Phoenix Suns encountered with Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, in that they do not have two of their stars available.
That being said, the Sparks have not been at full strength, either. The Mercury played a close game against the undefeated Lynx, and I’m not betting against this team to fall short of a challenge.
Mercury 71, Sparks 67
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