Triple-Doubles Aren't Easy (feat. Alyssa Thomas)
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$45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes. See details. There's a reason why triple doubles didn't come around so easily for a long time. So the fact that, you know. No, no, and they still don't. They still don't come around that easily. This is Queens of the Court.

What's up everybody? Welcome to Queens of the Court, an Odyssey original podcast in partnership with the WNBA. And I'm your girl, Sheryl Swoops. And I'm Jordan Robinson. And court is in session. Yeah! Okay. Let's get it.

Court is in session on a holiday. We love that. Our hours work different than normal courts. Holiday? What is that? I'm excited. Okay, listen, first of all, before we dive into WNBA and basketball and everything that's going on, two quick seconds about football. I'm not a football girl like that, but

and what Colorado did on Saturday. I just got to tell you, I am a fan. I'm going to get my Colorado Buffs gear. Dion said, we coming. Nope, scratch that, we here. Seriously, I really don't get into football like that, but I was so into it on Saturday for a lot of different reasons, but it was like such an amazing game.

Mm-hmm. It is football season. And welcome to the Pac-12 fandom of Colorado football. Yeah. Well, I brought that up because then I was going to talk about you. Tailgating on the sideline. I saw you in your cute little outfit. I told you, I don't do football, but I do outfits. And that is the same for me. And your outfit. You were so cute. But tell the people. Tell the people.

Yeah, so I'm the new host for Pac-12 Tailgate. So I'm going around to all the Pac-12 schools this football season and I'm interviewing tailgaters. And let me tell you, those fans are diehard. I was at Oregon this past week.

They made me pancakes, some mimosas. They were playing games out there since 6 a.m. The game didn't start till noon. Like, they are super fans. And I'm the same as you. Like, my dad played football at UC Davis. And so whenever I watch a football game, I'm just asking him a billion questions. But these people take football so serious. Like, die hard.

Die hard. So yeah, it was football season has officially started, but it's an overlapping of the WNBA being in striking distance in the last season where, or the last week I should say of the season before a playoff start. And it's like this overlap of like all of the sports coming together this weekend. And,

It's exciting though, right? It's so exciting. This is the best time. Regular season ends September 10th. Playoffs start September 13th. And it's going day by day. We still don't officially know what the order is of the seeds, of the standings, because every game counts. We talked about last week how...

The Aces, the Liberty, Connecticut Sun have all clinched. But new people since last week, Dallas and Minnesota. Can we talk about Minnesota for like a half a second? Because we talked about it a little bit ago.

This here's the thing. The win over Phoenix was historic because it was Cheryl Reeves 300th career victory. But this is the second team in WNBA history to make the playoffs after starting the season with six or more consecutive losses. They are not supposed to be here. No. So you know what? So when you bring that up and you put it in that context, I want to go back to last week.

and give Cheryl Reeve my coach of the year. - Oh, really? - Yeah. - Okay, tell me why. - To your point, like nobody expected them to be here. Nobody did. And you just said it, to start the season off the way they did, it was like people mark them off. I know you and I in the very beginning were like, oh, Minnesota is gonna be at the bottom.

Right. Probably like a lot of other people. So to me, when you start, when you talk about coach of the year, I look at things like that. Yes. Stephanie White, I think should absolutely still be there. But Latricia Trammell, I do. But when I look at what Cheryl has done with Minnesota, given the roster and the change, just everything like that's impressive. It's real easy for a coach to,

to win games when he or she is loaded with talent, right? From top to bottom. And it's not to say that they shouldn't be in the conversation, but to me, it's more impressive when you have a coach who doesn't have all of those pieces and she still finds a way, he or she, they still find a way to get their team in the playoffs. And Cheryl has done that with Minnesota.

It's so interesting because she's one coach of the year multiple times, but I think she's been more in the position of like, I have Maya Moore, Simone. Like I have all these hall of famers on my team rather than the position that she's in right now. And I think that just goes to show the DNA of,

that she is a part of, of how great of a coach that she is, especially celebrating her 300th career victory was the one, you know, to kind of seal the deal, uh, to clinch them in. It is impressive. It really is. I was going to say, you know, we're kind of teasing you interviewed Alyssa Thomas. We're going to get to that later in the show, but I was going to say even more after hearing that interview, I'm more for Stephanie White. Yeah.

I'm like doubling down on my coach of the year prediction. And I'm not going to give anything away, but. My thing is like, I agree with you. Cause I still want to keep Steph there, but Cheryl should get a mention. It's like the MVP race, you know, Cheryl, Cheryl should absolutely get a mention. On the other end though, the fever were eliminated from the playoffs for the seven straight season. But the,

should they be hopeful for the future? Last year, 5-31. This year so far, 12-25. Just beat Dallas in an overtime win where both Nelissa Smith and Kelsey Plum Kelsey Plum

Kelsey Mitchell. For both Melissa Smith and Kelsey Mitchell scored 30 points each. First pair of fever teammates to drop 30 plus in a game. Are you excited kind of going into next year? No doubt. I am. But I

Yeah. Like, first of all, most teams, when they get to that point, like this part of the season where they know they're not going to make the playoffs, they just don't play. Right. They're like, whatever. But, and my mindset, I would be just the opposite. Cause I'd be like, I want to be a spoiler. Like, since we're not going to make it, I'm sure you don't make it. Right. But,

But even though Dallas was already in, but for them to come out and play the way they did and to beat Dallas and like really impressive numbers by Melissa and Kelsey. The thing for me that excites me is that they're a young team and like a big difference, their record from last year to this year. But when I look at the pieces they have, you know, we talked about Aaliyah Boston being rookie of the year. She's coming back. Melissa Smith,

Like I think Melissa Smith is a hell of talent. Like just watching her play in AU this past summer or this past season, I really became a fan and really appreciated her game. Kelsey Mitchell, love her. But all the other pieces that they have, I think their future is very bright. I will say this, and I think I said this on another podcast. I do think they need to go find a couple of vets.

Yeah. You need the NECA Agumakaze on the team. And I'm just saying shout out because JC really showed NECA some love in her interview. But NECA is that vet that

you need on your team. Like she's going to play, she's going to play hard. She's going to be a leader players, respect her players, look up to her. And to me, that's what I think Indiana's missing to get them over the hump. They like, I don't think people can appreciate what it means to have real true vets on your squad. Even, even if those are vets who aren't playing as much, um,

But having vets on your team makes a very big difference when you're trying to win games down the stretch and you're trying to make the playoffs. Having a vet that's been there, done that, could absolutely get the fever over the top, I think. Yeah. Yeah. And they have to be proud of the progress. Even just, I think I read in the same Sports Illustrated article, it was just talking about...

the fever, this was their third overtime game this season. They lost the other two, but this one they were able to grind it out and gut it out. And that was because of the experience from the other two. So just think about next season and maybe it won't happen next season, but the season after that, they are going, we've talked about it so many times. They're going to be scaring about three seasons, especially if they add those pieces and,

So, yeah, they're eliminated for the seventh straight season. But the future is bright. If you're a Fever fan, you got the rookie of the year. Leah Boston started in every game. Yeah. You're going to be you're going to be OK. Yeah. That doesn't that doesn't happen very often. Not at all. They're going to be good.

The rest of the standings, though, 6th, 7th, 8th, and even 9th. Chicago Sky is sitting at 9th, but they're not out yet.

It's the Dream at 6, Washington Mystics at 7, Sparks at 8, and Sky at 9. That is, I feel like, whew, just a couple games in between. This last week really matters. And the Sparks just beat the Mystics yesterday. And that was really big playoff implications for the Sparks. But...

Washington, they just had a tough go. In yesterday's game, Chrissy Tolliver suffered a non-contact right knee injury during that first quarter game.

This was only, I think, like her second game back or so from having plantar fasciitis, which sidelined her most of the season. And it just seemed like the Mystics team was gutted. Like they were crying on the sideline. They were visibly upset.

Because one, it's Christy Tolliver, who is a 14-year vet, has won a championship with the Mystics, has won a championship with the Sparks. She's doing this on the floor in LA. You mentioned Nneka. She went over to the huddle, too, to make sure that Christy was okay. Yeah. You hate to see this, but especially for this Mystics team, which just seems like they couldn't ever have everyone healthy at the same time. Goodness. Yeah.

You know, when the season started, we, you and I both had picked the Mystics to be in the playoffs, to be up top, possibly win the whole thing. But there was a caveat of if they're healthy. And we said if EDD is healthy, right? And Elena's been in and out, in and out. But never did we, probably like everyone else, factor in, and I know injuries are part of sport, but

I mean, they have been hit by the injury bug and it's like, not again. Right. So I can understand being deflated from the players to the coaches, to the fans. And you know what? Even, even other players to your point, NECA going over to make sure Christie's okay. Cause they were teammates. But like when you see stuff like that, it just crushes you. And not just because it's Christie, but to your point, you had EDD out, um,

Ariel Atkins, Shakira Austin, Tasha Clout. Then, I think you said Queen Egbo after that. Then Queen hurt her ankle. It's just one of those things where you want to stop and ask yourself, what

is it something in the water or right clearly we're not living right or it's something that they just they just can't seem to get over the injury bug and to talk about Christy Tollerer who has been such a phenomenal player in person in this league and has done so much for the Sparks for the Mystics like

no one's saying this is her last season, but if it is like, you just hate to see any player go down like that. And, and I hope that the, you know, anytime it's a non-contact injury like that and the need you, you know,

you just hope for the best and whatever it is, I hope she's okay. And I hope she comes back from this stronger than ever, but just breaks my heart. Like it breaks my heart for her because Christy is another one of those vets, like a NECA that is such a great voice to have and such a great leader. And there's no doubt in my mind, whether she plays anymore or not, there's no doubt in my mind that she is going to be a already, already has, but a great contributor to,

this league, this league or the NBA. Yeah. Oh yeah. We're still waiting on the MRI results. We're recording this on Monday. So we'll see what, what comes back. But I know head coach Eric Tebow is like, it's,

It's not looking good. And then EDD said after the game, you know, you try to rally for her, but we were sick. What she's been through with her foot, how much she's worked to get back and she's feeling good. She's talking about even next year and all those things to see something like that happen at this point in her career just sucks. She's a goat and she's such a great person. So it's brutal. So we are,

sending good vibes just to the Mystics locker room. I think they still have a chance to make the playoffs. With all of this going on this season, they could still make the playoffs. How cool would that be if they get a couple wins in the playoffs despite this season that they've had with injuries? If you get Shakira Austin back, if you get Ariel Atkins back, they could make some noise. It just is

is really unfortunate that this had to go down like that but yeah just sending good vibes putting them out there good vibes yes put them out put them out sprinkle sprinkle on some good vibes um but the i mean cheryl we're in the last stretch home stretch of this season i i feel like we say i'm excited every week but i truly am excited well i get more i get more and more excited every week

It's like, okay, let's go, let's go, let's go. Because to me, playoffs is just a different season. And I know you've got the Liberty, you've got the Aces, everybody's talking about them. But playoffs, it's a different season. It's 0-0. What happened in preseason, regular season doesn't matter because all it takes is for you to have a great game or get lucky. Luck helps. Talent is great. Luck helps.

Just get a little lucky on those days when you're playing those quote super teams. Telling you anything can happen. Anything could happen. When you think of those kind of middle teams, like a Dallas, like a Minnesota, who is your kind of sneaky team that could maybe upset a higher seed? Dallas. If you could make a prediction. Dallas, no doubt. And here's why I say Dallas. Dallas has...

i mean they got talent but arique is a nightmare for anybody to guard right and then the way satu is playing right now her size her position like she is just getting it done then you throw in natasha howard you have like they're they're bench players but you got tiara mcgowan who is phenomenal

Kalani Brown, like I just feel like they have the pieces that it takes to be able to match up with anybody and get it done in the playoffs. On top of all of that, I think they also have the confidence.

that they know they could be that team yes like they they know that they can match up with anybody on any given day and I think that's almost scarier than having all of those pieces and knowing like stat wise we match up but having that confidence when they play the aces or when they play the Liberty to be like come on we we can run with y'all too and that is

Any top team's nightmare going into the playoffs. You hope that your record or that your intimidation factor works when it comes to the playoffs, but I don't think it's working against Dallas. Well, even like when I look at like the aces with the matchup, like that's Dallas is a matchup problem for the aces. Yep. They already got them once. Like who guards Tiara McGowan?

Because Asia has to guard Natasha Howard. And then I know Kia Stokes starts out on her. But when you go to the bench, who are you bringing in to guard her? I don't know. That's why Becky Hammond's getting paid the big bucks. She'll have to figure it out. All right. We'll see. We'll see.

We're doing our little happy dance. Okay, we're going to take a quick break. But when we come back, Cheryl interviewed Alyssa Thomas. Stick around. And now a word from our sponsors at Betterment.

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This episode is brought to you by Honda. When you test drive the all-new Prologue EV, there's a lot that can impress you about it. There's the class-leading passenger space, the clean, thoughtful design, and the intuitive technology. But out of everything, what you'll really love most is that it's a Honda. Visit Honda.com slash EV to see offers. Welcome back to Queens of the Court. I am so excited for you guys to listen to Cheryl's interview with MVP candidate...

Alyssa Thomas, just a quick list of everything that she's done. Four-time WNBA All-Star, 10-year WNBA vet, all with the Connecticut Sun. Which is impressive. Very impressive.

Very impressive. A.T. is leading the league with 9.8 rebounds per game. She's second in assists per game with 7.8 and third in steals, averaging 1.8 per game. It's just insane. She's also averaging almost 16 points a game. It's ridiculous, Cheryl. And she also leads the league in triple doubles and double doubles.

Sorry. I just had to put that out there. That's impressive to me. That's impressive to me. Impressive. You guys had a great conversation about it. You guys talked about all that and more. I'm so excited for you guys to listen. Here's that interview. You got a big old smile. I'm glad you're smiling. Yeah. I got a lot to smile about. Yes, you do. We never see you smile. People tell me when I'm on the

Exactly. All right. So we're going to get into it. First of all, I told you this before we started recording. So Jordan, I say my partner in crime, my other half, she's traveling so she can't be here for this interview. So you're stuck with me and I'm so super excited. So Alyssa Thomas, AT, you got any other nicknames?

It's a lot. Did you care to share? No, no, we're good. Those are the ones I like. We're going to go A to B. Okay. Thank you so much for being on here with us. And I am so excited for this interview. I have a lot of questions. Jordan sent in questions. Our producer, Alex, has a few questions. So if there's something I don't ask,

that you want to talk about it, feel free. This is a safe, free zone. This is all about AT today. So that's why I'm super excited. But before we get into the hoops part, first of all, because if I don't do it, Dawana is going to be so upset with me. So I just got to say congrats on the engagement. Thank you so much. Thank you.

like what was it what was it when you were like okay today's the day now's the time oh I mean

I had been waiting for a while. Most people didn't know that, but she had a wrist surgery in the offseason. So that kind of pushed things back. Plus the fact that she was telling me my hands not ready, my hands not ready. So yeah, yeah, clearly. But yeah. And then when it came that we both made All-Star, our families, of course, were both there. So I just felt it was it was the perfect timing.

That's awesome. Congratulations. Thank you. Like y'all are such a beautiful couple. Thank you. But that leads me to some of my questions that I have. Okay. How is it? How is it playing? Because it's a different playing with your girlfriend slash teammate versus your fiance slash teammate.

No, it's still the same. She would say I get on her nerves. We're both competitors. On the court. Absolutely, yeah. We go at it all the time. We're both competitors. I have to know when to leave her alone, but she definitely gets mad at me out there sometimes as she throws a fist as she walks by. Tell her to come say hi. You can't just throw up and say hi. Right.

Thanks for saying hello. So like when you guys are playing, do you like, do you motivate her? Does she motivate you? Y'all motivate each other?

I think, I mean, we both want to win. I think, like I said, we're both super competitive. And, you know, I think the competitor in us just fuels us. And each and every night we go out there, we just want to win the game. And so that, I'm glad you said that, because that leads me into, like, my first basketball question. So the beginning of the season,

Not many people, and I am so guilty, I'm going to say myself and Jordan included, like didn't talk about the Connecticut Sun much. It was all about, you know, the quote super teams, New York, Vegas, and even Washington. And nobody was really talking about the Connecticut Sun. Like when you hear that and when you know that, like what goes through your mind? Is it disrespect? Is it, you know?

It's funny to me. You know, I think so many times we talk about all the things that we lose. And, you know, we have somebody that's top six in scoring. Myself, we had Bree Jones, you know, all star level players. And, you know, I think that got overlooked. And I love when it happens like that, because when we come out and play the way that we do, then everyone is surprised that we're up in those standings.

And so do you think when that happens, people are like, oh, yeah, I knew all along they were going to be good. I think people try to try to claim that. But, you know, we see the standings. We see what people think about us. And, yeah, we lost things. Yeah, we had a change in coaching staff, but our core is super talented. And, you know, I had no doubt we would be where we are in the standings.

And, A.T., I respect that just from one competitor to another. But at the same time, when you look at the pieces y'all lost, for a lot of people, a coaching change, it can be good, but it also can be like, oh, my goodness, we lost our coach. How is that going to affect us? So you lose your coach. You lose your starting point guard in Jazz. You lose John Quayle. And then halfway through the season, or not even halfway, you lose Bree, right?

So when that happens, I think at the beginning, people are like, well, new coach, new system, loss, two key players. How was it that the team was able to adjust so quickly to the new system?

I think that's the thing about Connecticut. You know, you know, the one and I had this conversation because the change was was overwhelming for her. But I think when you play in a market like Connecticut, it's hard to keep players as long as we did. I mean, we kept that team together for for seven years, you know, so yeah.

The fact that I've been here through change, so it wasn't overwhelming to me. And I understand how that looks, but at the same time, with the pieces that we do have, I have so much faith in what we had that I knew there wasn't gonna be any letdown. And yeah, I get what people were thinking, but there was no surprise to me that we were gonna be where we were. And how is it playing for Steph?

Before you answer that, let me say this, because I am a proponent of hiring former players, whether that's a head coach, assistant coach, because I think there are things that a former player can teach you and show you that another type of coach can't. And that's no disrespect to any other coach. But as a player, as a coach who was a former player, you've been there, done that.

Is it different playing for her than it was playing for Kurt? Yeah, it's night and day. You know, somebody like you said, it's completely different temperament, personality, offense. You know, just the fact that she's a female that's been through what we've done, you know, to play in this league. Like, she understands the grind in the WNBA, the overseas part of it. So, yeah.

You know, and just the way that she came in and, you know, just implemented what she wanted. For me, I said this, I've said it several times in my interviews that, you know, it was a very refreshing change for me to be a part of. You know, it had been a while since I've had this much fun playing in Connecticut. And I've just really enjoyed this season more than I have in the past. Wow.

That's saying a lot. You've been with Connecticut 10 years? 10 years, yes. I won't ask the question because I know what you're going to say. I am going to ask. Has there ever been a point where you were like, because you guys have been there, right? You've been so close and you can't get over the hump. Has there ever been a part of you that's been like, you know what? It's time for me to go find somewhere else to play because it's not going to happen here.

Yeah, honestly, after last season, you know, I went from playing in the finals to the next day being on a plane to Australia to play in Worlds. And, you know, I was super overwhelmed, didn't get to process the loss in finals, which, you know, it was tough to make it that far. And, you know, I just felt like,

I was stuck in a cycle of doing the same thing over and over again for seven years. And I definitely I definitely was was thinking about it. And then, of course, you know, we had coaching changes and changes like that. So, yeah, I felt that I owed it another year to see how how it was going to be. Wow. Yeah. What what has in that coaching change and everything? What has been the toughest challenge for you?

I mean, we have a lot of, you know, first time WNBA coaches in our assistant coaches. So at times it's, you know, teaching them as well and bringing them along and, you know, showing them like, you know, what the different.

things about teams and just, you know, the ins and outs of things that you pick up over the years. But for me, it's just it's been a lot of fun. Like I said, it's been extremely refreshing. And I love our offense. I love the energy that they bring in. Yeah, I love this team that we have right now.

You guys look like you have a lot of fun playing with each other. So let's talk about AT a little bit. Oh, my favorite time. These are going to be good, I hope. Yeah. And because your play, like your style is very different from any other player in the league today. And to be honest with you, maybe ever. Right. And that's not a bad thing.

So in knowing that, was there someone you looked up to growing up that you like patterned your game after or even just saw something in a player and you were like, I like this, I like that, I could do this, I could do that?

Yeah, I mean, since a young age. So my mom coached me pretty much all the way up to high school. And, you know, she always taught me to play every position and to, you know, share the ball. Of course, growing up when you're younger, you know, not everybody's into basketball. You're not playing with the best players. But she always taught me, you know, if they're open, you have to pass it to them. I don't care if they're going to probably miss the shot. If they're open, you pass. And...

You know, and I think that's something at first I was like, you know, I didn't understand it, but, you know, she told me to do it. So, you know, I did it. And as I grew and started to watch basketball more, I loved watching Steve Nash, Manu Ginobili. I loved watching LeBron and now Giannis. You know, I just love players that are versatile, hard nose and do the dirty work. So,

Because there wasn't a WNBA, right? Growing up. But as the league grew and you watched, was there a player that you looked at and patterned your game after a little? Or at least, you know, not even patterned your game after, but wanted to do some of the things that that player did in her game.

I think I love the energy that Tamika Catchings brought. I love the fact that she played hard on both ends. I don't think so much offensively or defensively. I just love the fact that she didn't take plays off. And I think that's one thing for me is I don't like to take plays off. I want to play with the same energy and effort that I start the game with, and I want to finish like that. And I felt that's how Catch was.

that's not a bad one I I would take that I would take that all right listen so we're gonna get into it okay because people people ask me and I've given them my thoughts and opinions so now it's my time to ask you okay we're gonna get into the MVP conversation but before I do that who is 80 tell tell the people who 80 is on the court who's 80 off the court

On the court? I mean, I would say I have an alter ego. When I'm on the court, I'm super intense, you know, talking, emotional, really, really into the game. And off the court, I'm real laid back, chill, just go with the flow. You know, just when I have an off day, I'm chilling, watching some movies, sitting outside, relaxing on the beach. But it's not too much to me, really. Does your alter ego have a name?

No, not at all. I think people will probably describe it as the Hulk. It's like a flip of the switch type thing for me. So I'm glad you said that. Because when I watch you play, your demeanor is very different from when you're not playing. And I understand that as an athlete. But I think for an average fan who watches a game or whatever,

doesn't really truly understand the competitiveness of it. They may look at you and say, gosh, she's so mean. She's so dirty because you've been labeled as a dirty player at times. Do you agree or disagree? I agree. I don't think you're a dirty player.

There's a difference between dirty. I'm not out there punching people in their stomach and doing plays. Everything I do is legal basketball stuff. But, you know, people like to talk. So do you think, listen, let's just go right into it. Well, when you hear the MVP talk, right, it's you hear Stewie, Asia, and rightfully so. Whether you know this or not, I am a big AT fan.

OK, so I have to make sure I put a T in that conversation. But rightfully so, because your body of work, not just this year, even last year. But let's just focus on this year. Your body of work alone should absolutely have you in that conversation. And I think it's starting to pick up. But when you hear the MVP talk, the MVP conversation and your name is not being brought up as much as it should be. How does that make you feel?

You know, I'm always that type of person that's continued to do my job no matter what. But at the same time, I think it depends on what your definition of MVP is. You know, I think right now we're in an era of basketball where people are so impressed by the number of points that you can put on the board. But there's a reason why triple doubles didn't come around so easily for a long time. So the fact that, you know. No, no, and they still don't.

They still don't come around that easily. Definitely. Definitely not. And I think people don't realize what it takes to get one of those on a nightly basis. And the fact that almost every night I'm close to having one. Yeah, I don't think people understand what it takes to have that kind of stat line. So I'm glad you brought up triple double because that was one of my questions I had.

You're you're almost averaging a triple double 80 like that is bananas, like unheard of. It just doesn't happen. And you you make it look so easy. Like, how is that? I was fortunate enough to have a couple in my career. But you have five in a season.

I think you broke the double-double record. Yes. And there's so many things that impress me with what you're doing and how you're doing it. But how is it that you make it look so effortless? You're almost averaging a triple-double. Right. Let me repeat that.

And I think people forget, you know, the NBA, it's, it's, everyone seems it's so simple in there, but you know, they have eight more minutes than we do. So imagine if we had eight more minutes to our game, you know? But for me, you know, I think the biggest thing is just my IQ and the offense that Steph brought in allows me to read the game in, in the way that I read it in each and every night, you know, I have the ball in my hands, uh,

a lot but it's just about directing traffic and just making the right pass to the open teammate and not forcing anything. I pride myself on being an all-around player and that's how I go out each and every night is to go out there and impact the game as much as I can.

And you do that in every aspect of the game, offensively, defensively. It's crazy to me when I think about, and I said this on our podcast with Jordan,

first of all I think you're undersized at your quote air quote position right I'm playing the five this year as well I'm playing the center now well you play you play one through five so having to play the five since Bree went down you're playing the five you're having to get more rebounds you're having to defend the other team's bigger player and you still manage

to have it such a huge impact both offensively and defensively. It just is crazy to me. And so what I brought up is the numbers themselves, they speak for themselves. The assists, the steals, the scoring, the rebounding, the triple doubles, the double doubles, like all that speaks for itself. But to me,

And maybe it's because it didn't happen to me. I don't know. You're, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're doing all these things on two torn labor. Am I correct? Yes. Yes. I've changed. I had to change. I used to be a left-handed shooter and I changed a few years back to shooting right-handed and, you know, just finding a style to where I could get it up at the rim. It might not be pretty, but I definitely know how to get it there and get it to go in the hoop.

A.T., it's not pretty. Not at all. You said it might not be, so I'm like, no, it ain't that cute. There's a lot of things about basketball that ain't cute. How about that? It worked for me, though. No, it does. But I just sit here, and I like to think that I know a little bit about the game and watching the game and just competition because I just enjoy watching good basketball. And so when you said it depends on...

what MVP means to you. I totally agree. For most people, when they look at it and they think the MVP should come from the first place team or the second place team, or it should be a player who is putting up 30, 40 points a night, that's their MVP. Now, I will say this because I'm a big Asia fan. I'm a Stewie fan. I think they absolutely deserve to be in that conversation. The part that frustrates me and annoys me is when you're not in that same conversation.

I don't know how you can have the type of season you're having, putting up the numbers you're putting up, going through so many changes, a new coach, losing key players, middle of the season, losing Bree. And you guys are still there. So in this very moment, why is Alyssa Thomas the MVP?

I mean, like you said, I think about the start of the season and how everybody talked about everything that we lost. And now we talk about two super teams and all the all-stars that they have. And you look at Connecticut and people are still counting us out. But we have 24 wins on the season and

We're playing some of our best basketball right now, and it's not just because, you know, we're getting lucky or, you know, teams aren't good. But, yeah, I just think we have great players, and it's working for us. And, yeah, I'm giving everything I have. I'm playing hard.

40 minute games pretty much every single night. So yeah, I'm putting in the work. So I mean, I think this is the most it's ever been talked about. I appreciate that people are seeing what I'm doing and talking about it. And, you know, it doesn't change anything for me. I just continue to go out there the same way each and every night and play hard and try to get a win with my team.

We're going to take a quick break. More with AT after this.

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That's BlueNile.com. So I just have a couple more questions for you because people ask me this. Do you think you're not in that conversation as much because of the market you're playing in, the market smaller than New York, Vegas? Also, and I don't know, I also think a lot of it has to do with like fan interaction, right?

on social media right like Stewie is very active Asia's very active

even know if you're on social media. Are you on social media? I'm on social media, but I'm not that type of person that's on there posting all the time. You know, I just, yeah, that's nice. And I guess that's the era that we're in that everyone's on social media and posting about your life. But at the end of the day, we're here to play basketball. And that's what I'm doing. I don't think that should have any factor to

to you know whether or not that i should be in mvp talks or or not um i think that's the point of having media and and people covering the the stories and and things like that um we have to understand basketball and and know that this is i mean we've never seen this happen in the history of this league what the kind of stat line that that i'm putting up we haven't seen it we

We haven't seen it. And if we think that this is just something that's just happening out the blue, yeah, I think we should challenge more of the people in the media to know that this is unheard of. And it's easy to talk about scoring. I mean, people score all the time. But yeah, we haven't seen anything like this before. I know people are like, you don't have to toot your own horn and you shouldn't. But I needed to give you that space to do that.

I appreciate what you bring night in and night out being undersized too. I try to point out things that I don't think the average, I'm not media. I don't look at average and or media person doesn't see and can't respect because you're absolutely right. What you're doing night in and night out, what you're bringing to this game has never been done. And to me, it's,

there's something to be said about that. So last question or next to my last question, what is it going to take for the Connecticut Sun to finally get over that hump and bring home a championship this year? You know, I've been talking to Dawana a lot about this, you know,

It's at first it's all season long. I've been trying to get her to see the, my vision with it all. You know, I know that at times, you know, I'm, I'm an optimist, I'm optimistic about things, you know, and it doesn't matter who I'm playing with or, you know, I believe in everybody that I'm playing with. And, you know, even the one is having a crazy season that I don't feel like it's talking about.

It hasn't been talked about enough as well. And, you know, we go out there and do what we need to do each and every night. And it's just about, you know, making sure our teammates are confident and taking the open shots and doing what we need to do. And I think we showed the other night against New York what this team was about. And unfortunately, we didn't finish the game like we were supposed to. But just playing in that playoff atmosphere and having your teammates play

feel excited and know that, you know, this is, this is our quote unquote super team that, you know, we were up 20 points on and going into playoffs playing, playing with that, that confidence and that swagger and energy is what we're going to need each and every night. And right now we got to finish the season strong and continue to, to build on what we started in one playoff come time comes. We got to be at our best basketball each and every night. Well, AT listen,

I appreciate you for joining. Thank you just for giving us a little insight to who you are, what you bring. Good luck. Stay healthy. Good luck in the playoffs. And my last question, is there a wedding date? Not at all. Oh my goodness. So many people have asked, but there's so much stuff going on right now that we haven't even gotten that far yet. So definitely not, not yet.

All right. Don't lose my invite. I need my invite in the mail. I definitely will not. I will say, though, I do appreciate everything that you've been doing with keeping my name in the conversation. It means a lot. I definitely watched you growing up and loved how you played the game. And to have greats like you and Teaspoon to fight for me, it truly means a lot for me.

Hmm. You're welcome. Listen, I call it like I see it. I just call it like I see it. Keep doing what you're doing and a good luck. Tell, tell the one of the kiss those babies for me. I will definitely. I definitely will tell her. All right. Thank you. Thank you so much. You're welcome. That was so good. Oh, wow.

I had such a great time just talking to her and, you know, giving her honestly, giving her space to just introduce herself to those who may not know her. And yeah, there were so many great things she said and listening to her. And I was like, right on point. You know, I love the thing she said about she's here to play basketball. Right. And, and,

She's not going to live her life out on social media. She's here to play basketball, not impress people on social media and all of that. And like, I can appreciate that. And if that's the criteria and if people decide, well, we're not voting for you because we don't know that part of you, then shame on them because you should be voting for MVP based off of

and talent and what she's done, not just for herself, but for her team. And, you know, I just want to keep her in that conversation because I think she absolutely deserves it. And, hey,

AT, I just, I gained so much more respect for her than I already had just doing the interview with her, but so many great nuggets. And I don't know, I was excited to hear her talk about Stephanie White and the difference between her and Kurt and, you know, when they lost players and her saying, listen, talking to Dewana and, you know, playing with her fiance. It was just good. It was so good. So many pieces were a part of that. And I, I,

I didn't know that she thought about leaving the Connecticut Sun after last year with all those changes. And I don't think any of us would have been like, what? What are you doing? There were so many changes and she had been there for all of her career. So that was a great question by you because

I think everybody has that thought, especially when you're the, the franchise player. Sure. Like, all right, is it my time to go to, because everybody else is leaving me. Um,

But she stayed and then she talked about how Kurt Miller and Stephanie White are night and day in their coaching styles. And that's why I hinted at earlier in the show, it doubled down for me for coach of the year for Stephanie White, because she came in and she earned the trust of the team star player. And you put her in even somehow better positions for her to show off what Alyssa Thomas can do. And,

that's a part of the coaching. She was putting offensive sets in that says, you know what, we're going to make Alyssa Thomas a passer. You know, you get the rebound, you push the break, like things like that, that are part of their system now that I think allows AT to shine a little bit. And it was cool to have her kind of say that. And, and I would be curious if she had those

those same reactions at the start of the season. Like as soon as Stephanie White got the call, if she was like, yeah, I'm excited. Or now that it's kind of played out and they're still sitting at number three, she's like, yeah, this actually worked out. I'm really glad I stayed. I'm glad Stephanie White's my coach. It was great. 10 out of 10. Aw, thanks. You know, the last thing I want to add, because there's so much, we could continue to talk about this, but you know, when I talked to her about like how she makes

having getting a triple double look easy because she does like she's almost averaging a triple double. But what I really appreciated when we started talking about, you know, when I was like, why, why is AT the MVP?

And when she started talking about basically because of my body of work, like what I do, most people look at the stat sheet and they just see points. Right. And so in their mind, well, she or she or she should be MVP because of the points, what they're scoring, what they're averaging. And in her case, she's like, I'm doing it everywhere, everywhere, like everywhere.

what did you say lead the league in rebounds she is second in assists second jordan second at her position it's wild like third and steals i just i don't know i really enjoyed the interview a.t thank you thank you thank you for giving us some time and um we gonna be watching yeah i love that she gave you a

your flowers too for keeping her in the conversation. I think that was, that was really nice because yeah, we are, we are talking about it and we gave her that space to talk about it here on the podcast. And it was a great interview. I hope listeners, you enjoyed that interview just as much as I did listening back to it. Thank you AT for coming on Queens of the Court. Um,

I loved it. And we love to hear your questions, too. Feedback, listener emails. How did you respond to listening to A.T.'s interview? Email us at queensofthecourtatodyssey.com. Please continue to follow, rate, review the show. It's available on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah. And as always, you can find me and Jordan on social media. I'm at airsweeps22. And Jordan is at HeyJordana.

You know, I got to switch it up. I can't keep it the same. Okay, that cabbage bag, my back cracked. That's how old I am. My back just cracked trying to do the cabbage bag. Yikes. Oh my God. It's an Odyssey original created in partnership with the WNBA. The show is produced by Alex Ozzie. The executive producer is Lena Mos Glazer. Social media assistance from Isabella Ackerman.

Imaging from T-Storm Battle. And wait, we can't adjourn court yet. Why? I was ready. I know, I'm ready too, but I forgot to give somebody a shout out and I got to do it. It ain't basketball, but let's go, Cocoa. Oh, yes. There's tennis. There's US Open.

Oh my gosh. WNBA is about to get in the playoffs. It is the sports mania right now. Yeah, Coco. Let's do it. Now. Now we can adjourn court. Now. Court. Court. Is adjourned. Is adjourned. Oh, that was better. There we go.