BOSTON — DeWanna Bonner has been in the WNBA since 2009. Tuesday night, she got to play at TD Garden.
The guard, who was traded to the Connecticut Sun in 2020, has dominated at every level and been a key piece to her team’s success. Bonner has represented the women’s game before it gained popularity, and now, she’s getting her flowers.
The Sun beat the Los Angeles Sparks 69-61 Tuesday in the first-ever WNBA game held at TD Garden. What’s more, it was a sold-out crowd of 19,156.
“She’s been here 15 years. She’s really seen the growth, the development,” Sun assistant general manager Morgan Tuck said Saturday. “To see the attention she’s getting now, and the publicity that she’s deserved for the last 15 years, it means a lot.”
Bonner is a six-time All-Star and two-time WNBA champion, but the prestige of her game – and that of the women around her – has not always been celebrated like it was Tuesday in Boston. As she stepped foot on the TD Garden court, Bonner was reminded of where she and the league started to get to this point.
“Going to different arenas and barely having any fans to selling out the Garden, one of the historic arenas around the world. We are getting to play here,” Bonner said. “There’s a lot of us Sun players that have been here for a long time. Just seeing where this organization has gone – coming to this point at this time at this arena is pretty special.”
Since the acquisition of players like Marina Mabrey, Sun head coach Stephanie White has been experimenting with her lineup. On Tuesday, that meant keeping Bonner out of the starting five. It was the veteran’s choice.
“She came to us and talked to us and was like, ‘Look, I don’t mind coming off the bench. I just want to win. I want to figure out what our best lineup is, our best rotation is. I’ll be ready to go no matter what,’” White said Tuesday. “That’s leadership. That’s sacrifice. That’s putting the team above anything else.”
Bonner finished the night with seven points, two rebounds and two assists. No matter what her role in the rotation looks like going forward – White said she is still tweaking it – Bonner’s experience will be a driving force as Connecticut hunts for its first championship in franchise history come September. And, her grind in the league is finally being recognized.
“(The WNBA) did come from a tough spot,” Bonner said. “I’m just happy to be here with my teammates and experience this with them.”
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