By Madie Chandler | FeverBasketball.com
DeWanna Bonner is officially a top-three scorer in WNBA history.
With her seventh point against the Chicago Sky on Saturday, she passed Tina Thompson on the all-time scoring list for third place. Bonner trails just Tina Charles and Diana Taurasi with her 7,489 career points and counting.
“I kind of got a little bit emotional,” Bonner said postgame, referencing the free throw that moved her into third place all-time. “To be at this moment, in front of a sold out crowd, in front of all this attention, and to have that moment is just pretty special to me… I’m trying to be as humble as I can, but being around [this] long, I kind of feel like I deserve that moment. And for it to happen right then and there, and in this time period in my career, I’m just so grateful.”
Bonner has been an elite scorer over her entire basketball career, beginning at Auburn University where she led her Tigers team in scoring as a freshman. She would go on to shatter Auburn’s scoring record – her 2,162 career points bettered the former record by 127 points. Bonner is one of just three Auburn players to record 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds, both skills that followed her into the WNBA.
Bonner’s career began with the Phoenix Mercury in 2009, sent her to the Connecticut Sun in 2020, and now lands her in Indiana during a pivotal Fever season.
“I don’t know if I, in 15 years, have been on a team where we had this much firepower throughout the whole roster,” Bonner said during Fever training camp. “…We can just go any way any given night, and just be unpredictable.”
She’s a big part of that attack as she brings her six All-Star selections, two All-WNBA first team appointments, and two WNBA titles to the mix of talent on Indiana’s roster. Bonner has never recorded a season average of less than 10.4 points per game (2014), and showed she’s still an elite force on offense as she moves into the third all-time position on the WNBA’s scoring leaders list.
Bonner recorded 24 total points in Indiana’s three preseason contests, but connected the Fever offense as a threat to score on all three levels.
“We’re giving them a lot of freedom on the offensive end,’ coach Stephanie White said. “And sometimes with freedom comes responsibility for the ball to not get stuck, to start to learn how to read one another’s strengths and weaknesses in action.”
After playing for White in Connecticut and competing for championships with the Sun, Bonner is a vital piece of Indiana’s offensive puzzle. She’s familiar with White’s system in a way that allows her to lead the charge from the wing, and gives defenses a different look at a challenging mix of potent scorers to be wary of when facing down the Fever.
Now the WNBA’s third-best career scorer, Bonner chases down Tina Charles for the second spot on that list. Charles has 7,696 points and counting as she’s active on the Connecticut Sun roster, but for Bonner, simply winning is enough.
“I’ve been around for a while,” Bonner said. “There’s nothing that I haven’t accomplished that I want but to win another championship.”
