“New Beginnings,” Alyssa Thomas wrote on Instagram after playing her first game with Phoenix. And when she said that, fans everywhere probably crossed their fingers so hard they risked injuries themselves. Sure, they were hoping for another amazing 2023-style season—where she casually maxed out the stats book and carried her team to the top playoff seed. But more than that, they were really hoping injuries would finally take the hint and leave her alone.
She was back hitting those left-handed floaters, and she finished the game with 19 points, 7 Assists, and 5 rebounds. And it’s not the first time Thomas has shown this kind of grit—after all, she’s played nine full seasons with torn labrums in both shoulders, barely able to lift her arms above her head.
So, as it seems, the basketball gods did not really listen to the fans and they were not surprised either—after all, they’ve been watching this same saga unfold for nine straight years. At this point, they probably know Alyssa’s medical history better than their own.
Fans left aghast after Alyssa Thomas’ injury
“is that bone????” asked one fan. And while even though those familiar with sports know that dislocations can sometimes be quickly popped back into place, it definitely looked scary at first glance. So, the disbelief in those four question marks is understandable. Yes, the bone appeared to be out of place, and for a moment, it seemed like her season was over. But when she returned just a minute later, fans probably collectively went—of course, there she is.
And a pretty fitting response to be honest. As Nate Tibbetts later said, “AT (Alyssa Thomas) cares about one thing and that’s winning“. Hence, no one questioned when an account posted on X, saying that AT dislocated her shoulder, then went to the locker room, pointed to the medical professional she could spot and told them to “locate it”.
Well, guess how you get used to black coffee, she has also gotten used to injuries. After all, she has navigating shoulder issues since 2015 and has not played a single season of her career without injuries. She first took a hit to her right shoulder, then injured the left one while she was overseas, then re-injured the right one in a matter of year, and then dislocated it during the league’s 2020 season in the “Wubble”. Through all this, which can seriously impact every aspect of an athlete’s game, she has managed to become one of the best players of the W.
How did Alyssa Thomas come back into the game after injuring her arm, different breed
@showcaseshabazz on X pic.twitter.com/2VsyjJfAGg
— WNBA Got Game (@wnbagotgame) May 22, 2025
“what the actual s*** they got her on the same painkillers alanna smith was taking in the postseason last year”, wrote one fan. Honestly, not a bad guess—because once a dislocated joint is popped back into place, it’s typically supposed to be immobilized to heal. But since Thomas insisted on returning to the court, painkillers—despite their intense side effects—were likely her only option.
The comparison to Smith isn’t far off. In Game 3 of the 2024 Finals, Alanna Smith suffered a painful muscular back injury but still pushed through the remaining games with a cocktail of painkillers, ice, heat therapy, and electrical stimulation. The Lynx eventually lost a nail-biter series 3-2 to the New York Liberty, but Smith’s grit was lauded by many. “I’ll let future me worry about my back, right now we have a chance at the championship,” Smith had said and it seems like the same words went through Thomas’ mind.
“Yo, AT is one of the toughest athletes in this league, if not the toughest. Hopes she’s okay.” Wrote another fan. True enough. It is only because of her toughness that she has gone above and beyond to remain on the court. She tore her labrum but never went for surgery, going against the norm. Instead, she insisted that she has adapted her game to fit this reality now and she is always beating down the odds of being beaten down the entire offseason. “A lot of strength training,” she has said, is key, along with consistent rehab. She focuses on strengthening “all the muscles around your shoulder — your biceps, your back muscles, all of that” to provide as much support as possible for her compromised joints. “I do a lot of activation drills and a lot of strength training, especially offseason,” she added. “That’s where I tend to lift heavier. When I come to the WNBA, it’s about maintaining and just being smart.”
Well, we hope she keeps playing smart. But you know, no one is born tough. All of Alyssa Thomas’ can actually be credited to her mother and how she raised her. “My mom was always tough. When we fell down, just ‘Get up’ and ‘You’re fine,’” Thomas told Insider. “So I think it really started there. And as I’ve gone on through my career, I know when I can go and I know when I can’t go.”
Alyssa Thomas shared in 2022 that after her Achilles injury, even the smallest tasks felt like major victories, the first big hurdle being simply getting out of bed. During the early stages of her rehab back home in Maryland, her parents stayed with her for about a month, but for the first couple of weeks, she barely left her room. “I don’t think I processed it as sadness or depression at the time. I can’t really explain it … but I couldn’t get myself up,” she had said. It wasn’t until DeWanna Bonner, her partner, arrived that she truly understood how low she had been. She still remembers that moment in a crystal clear manner. DeWanna walked into the house, came upstairs, and got her out of bed after weeks of isolation. Then the two of them got into DeWanna’s car and just drove.
So, yes, Alyssa Thomas has been through a lot. We can glorify hustle all we want, but it doesn’t change the enormous amounts of risks that come with it.
The post “Is That Bone?”: Alyssa Thomas’ Refusal to Exit Los Angeles Sparks Game After Apparent Broken Arm Shocks Fans appeared first on EssentiallySports.
