The WNBA is back in action with an exciting opening day of action. The day kicked off with a matchup between the defending champion New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces, and was followed up with a rivalry matchup between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky. To conclude the night, Alyssa Thomas and the Phoenix Mercury host the Seattle Storm with this contest tipping off at 10:00 p.m. ET.
The Mercury have deeper playoff aspirations this season after losing in the first round of the playoffs last year. Thomas will be at the heart of this effort, with the organization going out and trading for the five-time All-Star after she spent the first 11 years of her career with the Connecticut Sun.
At age 33, Thomas is still performing at a high level. She is coming off a season in which she was an All-Star and First Team All-WNBA. Throughout her career, she has averaged 12.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.
The Storm are five-point favorites and hold -192 odds on the Moneyline on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Mercury hold +160 odds of pulling off the upset with the game total set at 156 points.
Here is my favorite Alyssa Thomas prop bet for Saturday’s Mercury vs. Storm season opener.
Best Alyssa Thomas Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Alyssa Thomas to Record 8+ Assists (-135)
The well-rounded skillset of Alyssa Thomas is a fit on any basketball team. She can impact the game in a variety of ways, but I like her chances of stepping in as a playmaker on this Mercury team. This has been an area of growth throughout Thomas’ career, with her coming a season in which she tied her career-high with 7.9 assists per game.
There are plenty of options to play through on this Mercury team, headlined by Khaleah Copper and the 21.1 points she averaged last year. Satou Sabally also came over this offseason and provides valuable floor spacing with her 17.9 points per game and the 45.2% rate she connected on three-pointers last year.
Look for Thomas to step in and set the table for this Mercury offense. Even with her impressive resume of accolades, Thomas is a team-first player who can play with anyone on the court. Expect her to integrate herself with her new teammates with a playmaking approach tonight, with this set to be a position of need within the flow of offense.
While this is a new team and new teammates, Thomas tallied eight or more assists in 20 of the 40 games last season. She logged as many as 14 assists in a matchup and reached this number three times last year. Count on Thomas to get her Mercury career off to a strong start and tally at least eight assists tonight with DraftKings offering -135 odds for this prop.
