Growing up in South Central Pennsylvania, Connecticut Sun forward and Maryland women’s basketball legend Alyssa Thomas loved watching the Summer Olympics. But it never crossed her mind that one day she could have the chance to represent her country on the international stage.
“It really wasn’t something that I ever thought was a possibility,” Thomas said on Glenn Clark Radio June 17.
Now a four-time WNBA All-Star, Thomas will fulfill that once-unimaginable dream in a little more than a month as a member of Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
“Now that I have the opportunity to go out and represent for a sport that I’ve loved playing for so long, I’m super excited,” Thomas said. “What better way to kick it off than in Paris?”
Thomas — Maryland basketball’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, for both the men and women — is the only member of the Sun on Team USA. Six WNBA squads will be represented in Paris. Despite Team USA’s talent advantage, its lack of practice-built chemistry puts them at a disadvantage given international basketball’s prevalence in Europe.
“A lot of [other teams] have been playing for a long time together and have time to practice,” Thomas said. “A lot of teams are practicing now when … we have the WNBA season. So yeah, we don’t get to practice as much as we would like to. When we do have a chance to practice those practices mean even more than people realize. Our practice time is not as much as other teams, so our attention to detail is even higher.”
Despite the plethora of all-world talent on Team USA, much of the conversation surrounding the team focuses on a player not on the team. Caitlin Clark is the center of the women’s basketball world — games she plays in average about double the attendance of all other WNBA games — but she’s a rookie in a league filled with established superstars.
That discourse is nothing but outside noise to Thomas. She and her future teammates will focus on blocking out distractions and taking home a gold medal.
“I’m sure we can talk for days about players that have been left off of teams in the past, but that’s just the nature of it,” Thomas said. “You don’t know what goes into it. We’re talking about a three-year process to be selected for a team like this. So yeah, regardless of what everyone is talking about, we’re going out to try to win a gold. And that’s our main focus.”
Traveling to Paris means stepping away from a Connecticut Sun team that is putting the basketball world on notice. They are 13-1 thus far — the league’s best record — and tout a loaded roster headlined by the frontcourt duo of Thomas and Brionna Jones, as well as a seasoned scoring threat in DeWanna Bonner. A 6-foot-2 forward, Thomas is averaging 12.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 8.1 assists so far this year.
Thomas and Jones share a particularly special bond. They were teammates at Maryland during the 2013-14 season, when Thomas was a senior and Jones was a freshman. They have anchored the Sun frontcourt since 2017.
“She gained a lot of respect on my end her freshman year, me being a senior,” Thomas said. “… Our connection on the court is unmatched. I think we’ve been playing together for so long, we know what each other is thinking without even having to say anything. [I’m] just super proud of her and how she’s continuing to grow over her career and has made herself a top player in this league.”
For more from Thomas, listen to the full interview here:
See Also:
• Glenn Clark: Alyssa Thomas, Women’s Olympic Basketball Team Is Worthy Of Your Attention
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Getty Images
