Alyssa Thomas etched her name in the WNBA record books on Sunday afternoon by putting up 14 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in the Connecticut Sun's 96-72 win over the Chicago Sky, making her the league's all-time triple-double leader.
This was the second triple-double for Thomas this season and the fourth of her career, moving her past Sabrina Ionescu and Candace Parker on the all-time leaderboard. It's important to note that this is just for regular season triple-doubles; Thomas also has two playoff triple-doubles and last season became the first player in league history to record one in the Finals.
Triple-doubles were exceedingly rare for much of the league's history, but they have become more frequent in recent years. Of the 18 recorded, nine have come since the start of last season. Even those, though, have largely been by the trio of Thomas, Ionescu and Parker; they are still the only players with multiple triple-doubles.
| Player | Triple-doubles |
|---|---|
Alyssa Thomas | 4 |
Sabrina Ionescu | 3 |
Candace Parker | 3 |
Eight players | 1 |
Just as she was on Sunday, Thomas has been a one-woman show for the Sun this season. After the departure of former MVP Jonquel Jones in the offseason, Thomas had to take on even more responsibility and has been shouldering it without fail. She's now averaging 14.8 points, 10.5 rebounds, 7.9 assists and two steals per game; those marks are good for 25th, second, second and third in the league, respectively.
Thanks to Thomas' brilliance, the Sun have picked up right where they left off last season, when they made it to the Finals before losing to the Las Vegas Aces. The Sun sit in second place at 12-3, which is second only to the Aces, and have a plus-7.6 net rating that is good for third in the league.