The Indiana Fever played an incredible game against the Chicago Sky Saturday, shutting out the team's so-called rival 93-58 during the Fever's home opener at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. There was a lot to celebrate, including the fact that Caitlin Clark hit her first triple-double of the season (and her third in her professional career) and Aliyah Boston earned a double-double, but DeWanna Bonner had a truly historic night.
Bonner, who was already a top-4 all-time WNBA scorer when she signed a one-year contract with the Fever this year, passed Tina Thompson to easily slide into the number 3 position with over 3 minutes to go in the game's final quarter. The crowd immediately rose to its feet and offered Bonner a standing ovation, a fitting tribute for a strong athlete.
Clark also had plenty of high praise for Bonner after the game. "“D.B. is somebody that's a Hall of Famer, like a legend, not only a good basketball player, a great person,” she told reporters. “The strongest voice in the locker room is hers, and it's fun to have been around for her for about a month, just to get to learn from her. And I'm really happy she got to do it at the free-throw line and all the fans could go crazy and cheer for her because she really deserved that moment.”
DeWanna Bonner was an essential addition to the Fever
Signing Bonner during free agency was a profoundly important move by the Fever front office. She gives the team a true shot at their collective 2025 goal: a WNBA championship.
The Indiana Fever have won the championship only once in franchise history: back in 2012. That Indiana Fever was an entirely different team from the one we see now. This iteration of the Fever is in many ways stronger and faster than ever, but the team has been lacking one thing: a solid core of veteran leadership.
Bonner is defensively strong and in her 16 seasons on the court has learned to effectively use her size well on the court. She has plenty of practical basketball experience that younger players on the team will eat up, but she also knows how to navigate the increasingly tricky intersection of basketball and social media, where player's lives are dissected in real time, often while they are out on the court playing the game fans presumably want to see them play.
The Fever weren't the only people celebrating Bonner after her big win: soon after the game, the WNBA shared a video that featured several league greats congratulating Bonner on the feat. At this point, only Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles have scored more points than her — and Bonner could well surpass Charles' record of 7,696 — with today's points added, she's already at 7,489 (and counting).