ESPN: Mercury’s Satou Sabally, Alyssa Thomas ranked as top-10 WNBA players near All-Star break

Phoenix Mercury All-Stars Satou Sabally and Alyssa Thomas were named in the top 10 of ESPN’s list of the 25 best WNBA players ahead of the league’s All-Star break.

ESPN’s Kendra Andrews listed Thomas as the third best player while Alexa Philippou named Sabally as the seventh-best player at the break.

Philippou noted Thomas’ presence on the court has been a big factor in the Mercury (15-6) having the second-best record in the league behind the Minnesota Lynx.

Thomas is flourishing more than ever in Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts’ system, where she’s given loads of space to operate and is surrounded by shooters. The result? A dazzling year for the Terps legend who is leading the league in assists while shooting a career-best 53.8% from the field. The Mercury average more 3-point makes per game than any other team, boast the third-best defensive rating and have been one of the WNBA’s most pleasant surprises — and it’s in large part due to Thomas’ brilliance.

Andrews said Sabally and Thomas have been a great pairing on the court and that Sabally is having a bounce back season after a shortened 2024 season.

How well have Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally played so far this season?

Thomas made the All-Star game as a reserve in her first season with the Mercury despite missing five games due to a calf injury. Thomas has averaged 15.4 points, 9.6 assists, 7.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game.

Sabally has shined in her first season with the Mercury as well, averaging 19.1 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.4 steals per game this season. For her efforts, she was named a WNBA All-Star game starter.

Sabally and Thomas will be playing against each other on Saturday in Indianapolis as Sabally will be playing for Team Clark while Thomas will play for Team Collier in the All-Star game.

Before the All-Star break, the Mercury play one more game as they head to Minnesota to face the Lynx on Wednesday as Phoenix looks to extend its winning streak to four games. Tip-off is 10 a.m. MST.

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