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WNBA Star Gets MVP Praise Before Fever-Mercury Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Parker Johnson | Last updated Sep 2, 2025 6:00 PM ET

The Phoenix Mercury are hosting the Indiana Fever on Tuesday night in a potential WNBA playoff preview.

With Caitlin Clark ruled out once again due to her right groin injury, the battle for the title of "best player on the floor" at PHX Arena comes down to two 2025 WNBA MVP candidates — Phoenix's Alyssa Thomas and Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell.

Mitchell's career-high 20.3 points per game ranks third in the WNBA, keeping the Fever in the playoff hunt without Clark for the majority of the season. They came into Tuesday as the No. 7 seed, with a 94.8 percent chance to make the playoffs according to ESPN's Basketball Power Index.

Meanwhile, Thomas averages 15.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and a league-leading 9.2 assists per game for the fourth-seeded Mercury. On Tuesday, she took home Western Conference Player of the Week honors — but her teammates campaigned for a bigger award.

Following the announcement, the entire team showered Thomas with MVP chants at the Mercury facility ahead of the game against the Fever. Phoenix wing Satou Sabally posted a video of the scene, naming Thomas "Player of the week and highkey szn."

Inside the Phoenix Mercury's practice facility, teammates and coaches are celebrating Alyssa Thomas' Player of the Week award following "MVP" chants. #WNBA pic.twitter.com/1B2pgFjQhK
— Aya Abdeen (@ayabdeen) September 2, 2025

Per ESPN BET , Thomas is a longshot to win the MVP award. She currently has +10000 odds to win, trailing Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson (+450) and overwhelming favorite Napheesa Collier (-800) of the Minnesota Lynx.

Mitchell's odds are not listed, despite an MVP campaign last month by her Fever teammates similar to the one Thomas got from her squad.

Thomas, 33, could see her MVP odds improve with a strong showing against the Fever considering the game will be televised on NBA TV at 10 p.m. ET against one of the most-watched teams in the WNBA.

"I love the AT for MVP conversation, I think she deserves it," Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts said on Sunday. "The (expletive) part for her is she’s been overlooked probably her whole career. It's important for us to keep winning to keep that alive in my opinion because she deserves all the credit that she’s getting.”

The last time Thomas faced Indiana, she put up 18 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in just 30 minutes, becoming the first player in WNBA history to record three consecutive triple-doubles.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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