Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas suffered a lower leg injury while playing overseas for USK Praha in the Czech Republic and will return to the United States for further medical evaluation, sources have told Winsidr’s Rachel Galligan.
Selected 4th overall in the 2014 WNBA Draft by the New York Liberty, Thomas immediately was traded to Connecticut, where she has spent her entire WNBA career.
The 6-foot-2 forward has started 194 of the 201 games she has appeared in. In the 2020 regular season, Thomas – known for her defensive excellence – set career-highs in points per game (15.5), rebounds per game (9), and assists per game (4.8). After the Sun lost to Washington in the 2019 WNBA Finals, Thomas returned with a vengeance in the “Wubble,” willing her team to Game Five of the 2020 Semifinals by scoring 15 or more points in six of Connecticut’s seven playoff games. The Sun fell to Las Vegas in the semis, falling just short of making back-to-back WNBA Finals appearances.
Players getting injured while playing overseas is nothing new to the WNBA. Most notably, Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart tore her Achilles in April of 2019, forcing her to miss the 2019 WNBA season. Stewart was paid to be a WNBA ambassador that year, although the requirements and duties of that position are still unknown.
