DeWanna Bonner's decision to ask the Phoenix Mercury if she could be traded to a championship-bound team surprised plenty of people — fans, reporters, analysts, and probably even a few teams included. Bonner hasn't said she's retiring after this WNBA season, but she also hasn't said she isn't. Bonner knows her next moves, and the rest of us will find out about them when she's good and ready for us to.
But for now, the focus is on how Bonner is playing with the Atlanta Dream, because she's playing incredibly well. Bonner brought veteran leadership to a team that needed it, and it's clear that having her on the roster has already been an enormous asset. The Dream are in the WNBA semifinals, and they just beat the New York Liberty on Sunday.
They'll have to win the next two games if they want to sweep the Liberty, which may be a tall order. But it's clear Bonner is playing with persistence and dedication, and it's clear that she wants this playoff run to matter.
Bonner, of course, has been here before. She's won two championships — one in 2009 with the Mercury, and the second in 2014, with the same team. Since then, she's gotten close with the Connecticut Sun, and again with the Mercury last year. If she's ring chasing, that's understandable: 12 years have elapsed since her last one.
But Bonner could be doing even more than that. Sure, a ring is a powerful and incredible thing — but a lasting legacy is even more powerful. Bonner has impacted nearly every part of the game, and could have a strong career in coaching if that's something she's interested in. It's not clear she is, and it's not clear that she isn't — again, that seems to be what Bonner prefers.
For now, WNBA fans have a gift: they get to watch one of the greats play what may well be her final season, and she's getting to do so in a huge, and so far successful, way. That's not always afforded to the legends of the game, and it's the type of rewarding scenario that is special, and that matters.
The Dream have a tall order ahead of them. They beat the Liberty without Allisha Gray in for most of the game after she suffered a hand injury, and may have to play without her again. Bonner will be there through thick and thin, and if she keeps doing what she's doing... they may go very far indeed.
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