Surging Alyssa Thomas and Olivia Miles ready to meet in Phoenix

Field Level Media|published: Mon 11th May, 21:32 2026

May 9, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles (5) works around Atlanta Dream guard Te-Hina Paopao (2) during the second half at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

The Phoenix Mercury's Alyssa Thomas had a near triple-double Sunday, and Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles scored 21 points in her debut Saturday heading into Tuesday's home opener for Phoenix.

Thomas had 19 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds but committed six of the 17 turnovers for the Mercury, who completed a road back-to-back with a 95-79 loss against the Golden State Valkryies.

They routed the defending champion Las Vegas Aces 99-66 on Saturday with Natasha Mack grabbing 15 rebounds in the largest road win in franchise history and a rematch of the 2025 WNBA Finals. Mack had only two rebounds Sunday.

Thomas is drawing more from the win over Las Vegas as the Mercury's identity than the loss to Golden State.

"We're already starting miles ahead of where we were last year with the group that's back," Thomas said. "I am just seeing them play together. There's a feel or a vibe that we didn't have earlier in the year last season."

Miles, the No. 2 overall selection in the WNBA draft, had 21 points, eight assists, two steals, and two blocked shots in her WNBA debut, a 91-90 loss against the visiting Atlanta Dream on Saturday.

She stayed out of foul trouble and hit all eight of her free throw attempts.

Miles became just the fifth player in league history to score 20 or more points with five or more assists in their debut, joining Cynthia Cooper, Tonya Edwards, Candace Parker and Dawn Staley.

"It's pretty cool," Miles said about what it meant to be in elite company after one game. "It's a testament to my hard work and my mindset coming into the game.

"My team trusts me and they need me to do that. So just staying aggressive and the outcome will be the outcome, but it's definitely cool to be in that group for sure."

Miles may often be matched against Phoenix veteran guard Kahleah Copper.

Copper is becoming more of a facilitator than a scorer, averaging 3 assists after posting 1.5 a game last year.

She averaged 15.6 points a game last year and is at 12 points per game through two games.

The emergence of rookie Jovana Nogic (17.5 points per game) has taken over a significant portion of Copper's scoring presence on the perimeter.

--Field Level Media

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