‘The Comeback’: Connecticut Sun roll out the red carpet for documentary on Alyssa Thomas’ recovery from a torn Achilles

Alyssa Thomas wasn’t expecting such a big spectacle. The red carpet was rolled out in a swanky setting at Novelle at Mohegan Sun on Thursday night, complete with Connecticut Sun players, coaches and team personnel all dressed in formal attire.

Thomas was a bit camera shy as she posed for photos and walked the red carpet, not one to flaunt down the runway like some of her teammates. The two-time WNBA All-Star forward doesn’t like being the center of attention, but the premiere of “The Comeback,” a short documentary produced by the team’s content department, was all about Thomas — as it should be. Thomas’ improbably short recovery from a torn Achilles tendon in nine months was something to be celebrated, and that’s exactly what the Sun did at the special event.

“For them to do this for me is a huge honor,” Thomas said. “It speaks volumes to what this organization is about. I’m just happy for my teammates and coaches to be a part of this.”

“The Comeback” was directed by Grant Livingston, the Sun’s director of content. The film, which will eventually be released to the public, gives a behind the scenes look at Thomas’ rehab process, from when she tore her Achilles on Jan. 11, 2021 while overseas in the Czech Republic to her return to WNBA action on Sept. 15, 2021.

The documentary features insight from Sun head athletic trainer Nicole Alexander and strength and conditioning coach Analisse Rios, who worked with Thomas, along with Thomas’ parents, teammates, head coach Curt Miller and other players around the league, including former UConn star and Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart, who also suffered a torn Achilles injury.

Livingston and various members of the Sun’s content and media team spent nearly a year working on the project. The idea formed a couple of weeks after Thomas returned to training camp in 2021, about two months after the injury occurred. After talking with Thomas and hearing her story, Livingston knew he wanted to do something.

“You could tell that [Thomas] was going to come back,” Livingston said. “She just had it in her eyes, as you can probably see in the documentary. Just wanted to capture that and give everyone a kind of behind-the-scenes look at what we get to see every day but not everyone really gets to see.”

Livingston didn’t want to take credit for the idea, saying that the documentary came to be through a series of different meetings across the organization. The Sun hadn’t done a long-form project like this before, and the content team spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best way to present Thomas’ story. They began filming Thomas on a regular basis, not knowing at that point when the rehab process would end or what might take shape.

“We just had so much [footage] and so then they just got this idea of like, ‘‘Let’s reach out to other athletes, like Stewie and Kelsey Plum that tore their Achilles, and let’s reach out to her parents,” Sun president Jen Rizzotti told the Hartford Courant. “Really try and make this more than just a comeback, like also get an inside peek of who she is as a person. Because even though this is a basketball story, it really is about Alyssa as a person.

“And that’s what our mission was, we want to support our players as women and individuals, not just as basketball players — we want to be able to do both. And we thought this [documentary] was a great opportunity to showcase that.”

Toward the beginning of the documentary, Thomas, her parents and girlfriend/teammate DeWanna Bonner discuss how dark of a space Thomas was in right after her injury. She didn’t leave her room for several days. As dark as that period was, Thomas wanted be vulnerable and share that journey through the film.

“A lot of people have injuries — some like this — and it is a hard process,” Thomas said. “You are at your lowest point, which you will see in this video. I definitely talk about being at a low point and, you know, it’s there are brighter days and it’s important for people to know that you just got to ride out the wave and have a great team behind you.”

Alexander and Thomas didn’t know each other before the surgery, as Alexander was recently hired, so they had to quickly establish trust. Alexander said she saw Thomas’ determination right away, which allowed her to turn a typical one-year recovery time for an Achilles tear into just nine months.

“What’s unique about AT is that same determination that she uses on the court she brought to rehab every day,” Alexander said. “So when I challenged her with something and she didn’t get it right the first day, she went home she tried it until it got better. So it’s just the way she was able to keep that perseverance is really impressive.”

The documentary shows what those workouts looked like, even giving a glimpse of the first time Thomas was able to jump and run again. The moment when Thomas steps back onto the court for the first time was chilling.

Once the film, Thomas was invited say a few words. The emotion was evident in her voice.

“I’m up her crying again because JJ [Jonquel Jones] and Courtney [Williams] balling,” Thomas said. “... I’m not wanting to have this spotlight on me like this, but I appreciate each and every one of you, you’re all part of my recovery ... especially my teammates.”