DeWanna Bonner

American-Macedonian professional basketball player

Dewanna Bonner
Bonner in 2019
No. 24 – Connecticut Sun
PositionShooting guard / small forward
LeagueWNBA
Personal information
Born (1987-08-21) August 21, 1987 (age 36)
NationalityAmerican / Macedonian
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight143 lb (65 kg)
Career information
High schoolFairfield (Fairfield, Alabama)
CollegeAuburn (2005–2009)
WNBA draft2009: 1st round, 5th overall pick
Selected by the Phoenix Mercury
Playing career2009–present
Career history
2009–2019Phoenix Mercury
2009–2010Basketbalový Klub Brno
2010–2011Baloncesto Rivas
2011–2012Perfumerías Avenida
2012–2016Nadezhda Orenburg
2017–2018USK Praha
2018–2019Shandong Six Stars
2019–2020Dynamo Kursk
2020–presentConnecticut Sun
2021Elitzur Ramla
2021KSC Szekszárd
2021–presentÇukurova Basketbol
Career highlights and awards
Stats at WNBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

DeWanna Bonner (born August 21, 1987) is an American-Macedonian professional basketball player for the Connecticut Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA).[1] Bonner played college basketball for Auburn University.[2] After a successful college career at Auburn, she was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury with the fifth overall pick of the 2009 WNBA draft, and was traded to the Sun 11 years later.[3]

Personal life

Born on August 21, 1987, to LaShelle Bonner and Greg McCall. She has three siblings, sister Vin'Centia Dewberry, brother Justin McCall, and sister Erica McCall (whom she shares a birthday with). Bonner majored in Psychology at Auburn University.

In November 2014 Bonner married fellow WNBA player (and former Mercury teammate) Candice Dupree. In April 2017,[4] it was confirmed Bonner was expecting the couple's first child and will miss the 2017 WNBA season. Bonner gave birth to twin daughters in July 2017.[5] Bonner and Dupree have since split up. Bonner is now engaged to Sun teammate Alyssa Thomas as of July 2023.

In March 2018, Bonner has received Macedonian passport and is eligible to play for Macedonian basketball team.[6]

High school

Bonner attended high school at Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Alabama. She was named McDonald's[7] and WBCA All-American and participated in their All-America games.[8] She earned USA Today Junior All-America and was the Gatorade Alabama Player of the Year while at Fairfield High School. She was featured in USA Today as one of the top 25 recruits in the nation during summer of 2005.

College career

Bonner went to Auburn University, where she earned a degree in psychology.[9] She was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. She scored in double figures in 22 games during the 2005–06 season and led the Tigers with a 13.5 points per game average, the first time since 1980–81 that a freshman led the team in scoring.

This led Bonner to join the youth teams of US basketball, winning the 2006 FIBA Americas Under-20 Championship for Women and the FIBA Under-21 World Championship for Women one year later.[9]

Bonner went on to put together one of the most impressive careers ever at Auburn. The 2009 SEC Player of the Year[10] and a National Player of the Year finalist, she broke the Auburn career scoring record during the Ole Miss game at the SEC Tournament. She finished her career with 2,162 points, nearly 100 more than the former school record.[7]

She also finished her career as one of Auburn's top rebounders, taking second all-time with 1,047 rebounds, placing her among three Tigers to ever finish their career with more than 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. Listed in the top 10 in every major statistical category at Auburn, she also ranks sixth in blocks, seventh in steals, first in free throws, fourth in field goals and 10th in 3-pointers.

Bonner led the SEC in scoring that season, becoming the first Auburn player to ever earn the honor. She also ranked 10th in the country in scoring while setting the Auburn single-season scoring record with 716 points, 21.1 per game.

She went on to earn WBCA/State Farm, USBWA, AP and ESPN.com All-America honors and was voted the Alabama Sports Writers Association Amateur Athlete of the Year.[11]

Auburn statistics

Source[12]

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2005-06 Auburn 29 391 42.2% 30.3% 69.1% 6.5 1.9 1.4 0.6 13.5
2006-07 Auburn 32 484 45.9% 28.6% 77.9% 8.1 1.7 1.6 0.9 15.1
2007-08 Auburn 31 571 44.7% 27.7% 81.2% 10.0 2.1 1.9 1.2 18.4
2008-09 Auburn 34 716 48.2% 33.9% 84.5% 8.5 1.5 1.7 1.6 21.1
Career 126 2162 45.6% 30.3% 79.5% 8.3 1.8 1.7 1.1 17.2

WNBA career

Bonner was selected 5th overall in the 2009 WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury. In her first regular season game with the Mercury, Bonner played 26 minutes and scored 16 points.[13] October 9, 2009, as a rookie, Bonner scored 13 points to contribute toward the 2009 championship.

On September 12, 2014, Bonner won her second WNBA Championship, with 12 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.

In 2017 Bonner sat out the whole season due to pregnancy. She would return to the team in 2018 and be voted into the 2018 WNBA All-Star Game.[14] Later on in the season, the Mercury made the playoffs as the fifth seed and were one game away from reaching the finals as they lost in five games to the Seattle Storm in the semi-finals.

On February 11, 2020, Bonner was traded to the Connecticut Sun for three first round draft picks.[3]

WNBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game  RPG  Rebounds per game
 APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game  BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
 TO  Turnovers per game  FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 Bold  Career best ° League leader
† Denotes seasons in which Bonner won a WNBA championship

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2009† Phoenix 34 0 21.3 .457 .154 .812 5.8 0.4 0.6 0.7 1.0 11.2
2010 Phoenix 32 4 25.4 .465 .358 .840 6.1 1.3 0.6 1.2 1.2 12.0
2011 Phoenix 34 5 25.2 .430 .343 .909 7.0 0.8 1.0 1.0 1.0 10.7
2012 Phoenix 32 32 35.0 .364 .283 .852 7.2 2.2 1.7 0.8 2.3 20.6
2013 Phoenix 34 33 32.9 .410 .325 .901 5.8 2.4 1.1 0.3 1.6 14.5
2014† Phoenix 34 34 29.2 .459 .279 .780 4.1 2.3 1.4 0.4 1.3 10.4
2015 Phoenix 33 33 33.3 .378 .254 .866 5.7 3.3 1.3 0.8 1.8 15.8
2016 Phoenix 34 24 31.3 .424 .329 .798 5.4 2.4 1.2 0.6 1.6 14.5
2018 Phoenix 34' 34 32.9 .452 .313 .867 7.2 3.2 1.2 0.4 1.6 17.3
2019 Phoenix 34 34 32.9 .377 .272 .916 7.6 2.7 1.3 0.6 1.6 17.6
2020 Connecticut 22 22 33.3 .422 .252 .895 7.8 3.0 1.7 0.5 2.4 19.7
2021 Connecticut 32 32 31.9 .395 .317 .892 6.4 3.5 1.3 0.7 2.2 15.2
2022 Connecticut 33 33 30.0 .439 .329 .827 4.7 2.8 1.2 0.3 1.6 13.5
2023 Connecticut 40 40 30.1 .425 .329 .862 5.6 2.2 1.1 0.6 1.5 17.4
Career 14 years, 2 teams 462 360 30.3 .416 .305 .859 6.1 2.3 1.2 0.7 1.6 14.9

Postseason

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG TO PPG
2009† Phoenix 11 0 16.9 .493 .000 .829 4.3 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 8.8
2010 Phoenix 4 0 22.8 .458 .750 .833 3.3 0.5 0.7 1.8 0.7 7.5
2011 Phoenix 5 5 35.8 .348 .217 .857 9.4 1.2 1.4 1.2 1.6 12.6
2013 Phoenix 5 5 35.8 .333 .133 .857 5.2 3.4 1.2 0.4 2.2 10.4
2014† Phoenix 8 8 35.8 .360 .333 .905 6.0 2.0 1.3 0.6 1.7 11.3
2015 Phoenix 4 4 31.6 .451 .450 .933 6.0 2.5 0.2 0.7 2.7 17.3
2016 Phoenix 5 0 24.2 .426 .000 .824 4.2 1.6 1.0 0.0 2.8 10.8
2018 Phoenix 7 7 38.6° .535 .308 .909 11.1 2.4 1.6 0.8 2.1 24.0
2019 Phoenix 1 1 33.0 .357 .667 .900 6.0 2.0 1.0 0.0 2.0 21.0
2020 Connecticut 7 7 35.0 .333 .286 1.000 10.4 3.9 1.9 1.1 2.6 15.4
2021 Connecticut 4 4 35.0 .404 .400 .909 7.0 1.3 1.0 1.8 2.8 13.5
2022 Connecticut 12 12 31.5 .341 .294 .886 5.8 3.6 1.5 0.7 1.7 12.2
2023 Connecticut 7 7 36.9 .385 .365 .774 8.3 3.4 1.0 1.6 1.6 18.1
Career 12 years, 2 teams 80 60 31.2 .401 .302 .879 6.7 2.3 1.2 0.9 1.8 13.5

International career

Bonner (left) playing for Nadezhda Orenburg against Fenerbahçe.

During the WNBA offseason, Bonner has played in the Czech Republic for BK Brno, Spain for Baloncesto Rivas and CB Avenida, and Russia for Nadezhda Orenburg.[15][16]

References

  1. ^ "DeWanna Bonner - WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA". WNBA.com - Official Site of the WNBA. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  2. ^ "DeWanna Bonner - Women's Basketball". Auburn University Athletics. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Sun trade 3 1st-round picks to sign star Bonner". ESPN.com. February 11, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "Inside The W: Love & Basketball for Dupree, Bonner". Official Site of the WNBA. Archived from the original on June 28, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  5. ^ Drawford, Dakota (September 6, 2017). "How a married WNBA couple is raising newborn twins. 'It's my turn to sacrifice.'". indystar.com. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  6. ^ "Добредојде, Диуана!" [Welcome, DeWanna!]. basketball.mk (in Macedonian). March 12, 2018. Retrieved March 12, 2018.[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ a b "Auburn honors DeWanna Bonner: 'This is my home'". Auburn University Athletics. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  8. ^ Auburn Player Profile High School Highlights
  9. ^ a b "DeWanna Bonner". Archived from the original on May 27, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  10. ^ "Auburn honors DeWanna Bonner: 'This is my home'". Auburn University Athletics. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  11. ^ "DeWanna Bonner Named ASWA Alabama Amateur Athlete Of The Year". auburntigers.com. June 7, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  12. ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  13. ^ "WNBA.com: Rookies Shine on Opening Night". www.wnba.com. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  14. ^ "Bonner Goes From Having Twins To Being An All-Star In The Twin Cities". wnba.com. July 28, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  15. ^ "DeWanna Bonner Basketball Player Profile, Phoenix Mercury, Auburn, News, WNBA stats, Career, Games Logs, Best, Awards - usbasket". www.eurobasket.com. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  16. ^ "Dewanna Bonner | EuroLeague Women (2015) | FIBA Europe". www.fibaeurope.com. Retrieved September 10, 2017.

External links

  • Career statistics and player information from WNBA.com Edit this at Wikidata and Basketball-Reference.com Edit this at Wikidata
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