Thompson thriving during debut WNBL season

She has dominated the NBL1 scene with Albury-Wodonga and Mackay for years and now Unique Thompson is making her presence felt during her debut WNBL season with the Sydney Flames.

The US import, who went to the University of Auburn before being drafted by WNBA franchise Indiana, is averaging 12.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and two steals per game through the first four games of the 2025-26 campaign.

"Honestly, my transition from NBL1 to the WNBL has been smooth, with the biggest adjustments being figuring out how to break habits, both on offence and defence, I've had throughout my basketball journey," Thompson said.

"Guy [Molloy] has the way he likes to play the game, and he's been very reassuring in pushing me outside my comfort zone to fit that system.

"He believes in me, and I feel like I've reciprocated with some solid performances.

"Being the type of person I am, I can be hard on myself and know I can do more, which I've tried to carry into each following game."

The 26-year-old's next chance to give more on the court comes on Thursday night when the Flames host the UC Capitals at Quaycentre.

"It's just really locking in and focusing on ourselves because we've been playing good basketball, but it's only been like maybe a half or maybe three quarters," she said.

"So we need to find a way to just push ourselves to play a full 40 minutes of basketball because we know that we're capable of doing so.

"We believe in each other and have that confidence after producing great practices, so it's just about converting them into the game."

A big part of that will be on the offensive end, with only WNBL24 MVP runner-up Lauren Nicholson (24 points) and Thompson (12.5) averaging double-digit points per game this season.

"We’re trying different ways to balance that scoring and just also getting everybody else on the team involved in spots to where they're comfortable," Thompson said.

"It's just trying to find that chemistry and gel and play off of each other, to be in the right spots to benefit the team."

As well as scoring, Thompson, who won the 2025 NBL1 North MVP, has other elements to her game she wants to focus on moving forward.

"I definitely want to crash the boards more because that's been the biggest thing for me in my career," said Thompson, who is Auburn's all-time rebound leader.

"I'm like, oh my gosh, I've only had that for one game in double digits and that's just so out of character. Then just playing hard, because I want everybody who watches me to leave to be like, damn, Unique Thompson played hard tonight."

The Round 4 fixture tips off at 7pm AEDT, live on ESPN2 and 9Now.

Tickets to the clash are still available here.