DeWanna Bonner could be the WNBA Finals' biggest X-Factor -- and she took an unlikely path to the Dream — SkimNews
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- DeWanna Bonner was released by the Phoenix Mercury on Aug. 24 — two days after scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds against the very Dream she would soon join — and signed with Atlanta three days later on Aug. 27, just inside the playoff-eligibility window.
- Dream GM Dan Padover said Phoenix and Bonner worked out a deal to preserve her postseason eligibility, spawning a 'mini-free agency' in which multiple teams pursued the 17-year veteran before Atlanta landed her; Padover built Atlanta's entire starting lineup through five separate trades over four years (Jordin Canada, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Naz Hillmon, Angel Reese).
- Bonner's playoff resume is historically unmatched: 103 career postseason games — more than double the Dream rookie Isobel Borlase's 44 total career games — making her the only player in WNBA history to surpass 100 playoff appearances.
- Bonner's on-court impact was immediate, scoring 23 points in Game 1 of the semifinals against the New York Liberty after Gray went down with a hand injury, then stepping into the starting lineup and recording the 20th double-double of her playoff career in the series-clinching Game 3.
- Dream coach Karl Smesko said Bonner 'has everybody's attention' as both a player and a leader, while Angel Reese credited her with keeping the team 'humble' and 'grounded,' and Allisha Gray said simply: 'When DB speaks, you listen.'
- Bonner's advice to teammates centers on staying 'even keel' in the newly expanded best-of-seven Finals: 'You gotta manage yourself, you gotta manage your emotions, you gotta manage your body,' she said.
- Atlanta's prize is the franchise's first-ever WNBA championship; the Dream had not reached the Finals since 2013.
Why it matters: Padover spent four years trading to assemble a roster loaded with All-Stars and award-winners, yet Atlanta might not have reached the Finals without an aging veteran falling into their lap. Bonner's 103 playoff games dwarf the rest of Atlanta's roster, and her two championship rings give the Dream a decisive experience edge in a best-of-seven series they haven't played in over a decade.
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