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Audio By Carbonatix
DeWanna Bonner made me eat my words. The 37-year-old WNBA veteran is not the washed-up has-been I made her out to be when she joined the Phoenix Mercury after a failed stint wit the Indiana Fever.
I am willing to admit that I was wrong but I am not willing to go any further.
Bonner was drafted into the WNBA with the No. 5 overall pick in 2009. She spent a full decade with the Phoenix Mercury, five years with the Connecticut Sun and nine games with the Fever. The six-time All-Star and two-time league champion joined Indiana during the offseason as an important role player off of the bench, good for about 20 minutes per game. Things did not go according to plan.
It was ugly.
Not only did DeWanna Bonner shoot a disappointing 19-of-55 (34%) from the field over that nine-game stretch, she suddenly abandoned her team right in the middle of the regular season. Nobody knew what exactly was going on behind the scenes. Neither side offered any additional clarity on the situation.
And then she was gone.
DeWanna Bonner bailed on the Fever.
Bonner left the team to sign with the Mercury and to play alongside her fiancée, Alyssa Thomas. And in that moment, I wrote the following headline: Phoenix Mercury Cut Rookie Player So Washed-Up Quitter Can Finish Career Alongside Fiancée. Vicious!
I stand by some of what I said. It was unfortunate to see a young player lose her job in such a manner. DeWanna Bonner looked completely washed-up during the first nine games of the season. I still don’t think she is the player she once was.
She proved the haters wrong.
With all of that being said, Bonner played extremely well off of the bench against the Golden State Valkyries in her second game with the Mercury. The 6-foot-4 forward scored 22 points on 87.5% shooting with 11 rebounds, two assists and a steal. Phoenix won the game 78-77.
For DeWanna Bonner to record the 60th double-double of her WNBA career just a few days after I called her a washed-up quitter is enough reason for me to eat my words. I was wrong. I can admit it.
However, she also went 2-of-6 in her official return to the Mercury last week so this was a one-off thing. I’ll back all of the way off of my opinion toward Bonner’s dramatic disappearance and subsequent signing if the 37-year-old can replicate this kind of performance on more than one occasion. Until then, I am willing to admit that she is still a hooper. Just not as good as she once was.