Sam Thomas (born June 14, 1999) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. She was undrafted in the 2022 WNBA Draft, but made the

Phoenix Mercury The Phoenix Mercury are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona, playing in the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The team was founded before the league ...

roster in 2022. She played college basketball at

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

College career

Thomas committed to Arizona career after being ranked 92nd overall by ESPN HoopGurlz for the 2017 Class. She was the highest rated Wildcat recruit coming in from the class. During her freshman season, Thomas started all 30 games for the Wildcats and scored the 10th most points in Arizona history by a freshman with 306. Thomas earned the Pac-12 All-Freshman team for her year. Her sophomore season, Thomas began to standout more for her defensive efforts. She led the Wildcat team in blocks and was second in steals. She again started every single game, scored 9.1 points, and was very consistent with the ball - only having 29 turnovers for the entire year. During her junior season, Thomas earned Honorable Mention All-Pac-12 and was named to the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team. Thomas scored a career-high 31 points, including going 13-for-13 from the free line on February 21, 2020, against Utah. During her senior season, Thomas helped the Wildcats earn a trip to the

Women's Final Four The NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 women's college basketball teams from the Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic ...

. While at the Final Four, Thomas was awarded the Elite 90 Award - the player with the best GPA of any student-athlete at the Final Four. She led the team in blocks and was second on the team in steals. Thomas came back for her extra-COVID year and helped guide the Wildcats back to the NCAA Tournament. She became the first player in program history to repeat as a CoSIDA Academic All-American. She made the Pac-12 All-Defensive again for the third straight year and was a Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection.

College statistics

Professional career

Phoenix Mercury

Thomas went undrafted in the 2022 WNBA draft, but signed a training camp contract with the

. Sam made the Opening Night roster for the 2022 season with the Mercury. Thomas went through training camp with the Mercury for the 2023 season, but was ultimately waived at the end of camp and did not make the Opening Night roster. Thomas returned to the Mercury on June 21, 2023, when she signed a Hardship Contract with them. Thomas was released from the Hardship Contract a few days later.

WNBA career statistics

Regular season

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2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

, align="left" , Phoenix , 1 , , 0 , , 11.0 , , .000 , , — , , — , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 2 years, 1 team , 25 , , 0 , , 5.2 , , .190 , , .067 , , 1.000 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.2 , , 0.1 , , 0.2 , , 0.4

Playoffs

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, align="left" , Phoenix , 2 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .500 , , .500 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.5 , - , align="left" , Career , align="left" , 1 year, 1 team , 2 , , 0 , , 7.0 , , .500 , , .500 , , .000 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 0.5 , , 0.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.5

References

External links

WNBA bioArizona Wildcats bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Sam 1999 births Living people American women's basketball players Guards (basketball) Forwards (basketball) Arizona Wildcats women's basketball players Phoenix Mercury players Basketball players from Las Vegas Undrafted Women's National Basketball Association players