How Alyssa Thomas is following in Diana Taurasi’s trash-talking footsteps

Alyssa Thomas of the Phoenix Mercury is being compared to her teammate Diana Taurasi as the heir apparent in trash-talking within the WNBA, despite playing different positions, due to their shared intense and ferocious on-court demeanor that gets under opponents' skin.

This recognition stems from an anonymous poll conducted by The Athletic and reported by Sabreena Merchant and Ben Pickman, where WNBA players voted Thomas as the league's top trash-talker with 13 votes, significantly ahead of Courtney Williams in second place with 5 votes, Marina Mabrey with 4 votes, and Skylar Diggins-Smith with 2 votes.

Anonymous player quotes highlighted Thomas's distinctive and pervasive trash-talking style, describing her as smiling while engaging in "psycho stuff," with one noting her reputation is well-known across the league and another emphasizing she talks trash even to players not directly guarding her, always having "something" to say.