9 months ago
9
Associated Press
Jul 26, 2025, 06:28 AM ET
NEW YORK -- DeWanna Bonner is blessed to beryllium backmost location successful Phoenix.
The seasoned spent the archetypal 10 years of her vocation with the Mercury earlier leaving for the Connecticut Sun for 5 years and past a little stint with the Indiana Fever to commencement the 2025 season. When that didn't enactment out, she signed with Phoenix earlier this month.
"I wouldn't bash thing differently. I deliberation my travel is my journey, and I'm going to judge that," Bonner said. "It carried maine to wherever I americium present successful Phoenix, and it happened that mode for a reason."
The 37-year-old helping was focused connected her aboriginal with Phoenix much than dwelling connected the past oregon what went incorrect successful Indiana that ended with the squad releasing her.
She did find the communicative that she was disgruntled to travel disconnected the seat amusing aft starting the archetypal fewer games for the Fever. In the opener, she moved into 3rd connected the WNBA vocation scoring list.
"That wasn't ever the issue. That's ne'er been me," said Bonner, who has won the WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year grant 3 times. "I person nary problems coming disconnected the bench. I person ne'er been that player. I don't consciousness similar I person that reputation."
Phoenix began a five-game roadworthy travel successful New York connected Friday nighttime and lost 89-76. Bonner had 9 points.
"DB is simply a truly bully summation for us. She tin play the 2, the 3 and 4 and possibly adjacent immoderate 5, depending connected antithetic lineups that, we'll look astatine starting here, moving forward," Phoenix manager Nate Tibbetts said. "She's won championships. You know, her 2nd crippled with us, we spell connected to Golden State, person immoderate injuries and she goes for 22 and 11. You know, we're not winning that crippled without her, truthful she's been a immense pickup for us."
The Mercury volition caput to Indiana connected Wednesday, and Bonner said she wasn't definite what the absorption volition beryllium from the fans.
"I'm conscionable going to spell retired and bash my job," she said. "They person each close to spell retired and bash what they privation to do. I'm conscionable going to spell retired and vie with my team."
It wasn't each atrocious successful Indiana for Bonner, who was lone a four-hour thrust from her duplicate daughters, who crook 8 soon.
Bonner hopes to assistance the Mercury to different championship. She helped the franchise triumph 2 aft getting drafted 5th by the squad successful 2009.
"Getting backmost to Phoenix aft truthful long, the emotion and the invited that I had was precise overmuch needed and appreciated," Bonner said. "Coming backmost to radical that I know."
The biggest alteration she has seen successful her clip distant has been successful the gathering that the squad plays in.
"I locomotion into the arena for crippled time and I had nary thought wherever I was going, and it was brainsick due to the fact that I was determination for 10 years each day," Bonner said. "Everything is different, but the fans are inactive the same, a mates radical successful the beforehand bureau are the same."
