WNBA star DeWanna Bonner is returning to where her professional career began and signing with the Phoenix Mercury, ESPN reported Monday.
Terms of their agreement were not yet known, with the report indicating Bonner would sign in the days to come.
Bonner played her first 10 WNBA seasons with the Mercury, who selected her fifth overall in the 2009 draft. She began her illustrious career by helping Phoenix win the 2009 WNBA title and winning three straight Sixth Player of the Year awards in her first three seasons.
Bonner, 37, began this season with the Indiana Fever, who waived her on June 25 so she could pursue a role with another team.
“Despite our shared goals and excitement heading into the season, I felt the fit did not work out and I appreciate the organization’s willingness to grant my request to move on, particularly at this point in my career,” Bonner said in a news release. “I wish the Fever great success as they continue to build around this dynamic group of young players.”
In nine games (three starts) for Indiana, Bonner averaged 7.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 21.3 minutes per contest, all down from her career averages of 14.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 30.2 minutes.
Bonner is the active WNBA leader in games played (511) and minutes played (15,441). In the first game of the season, she passed Tina Thompson as the league’s third all-time leading scorer, behind only Diana Taurasi and Tina Charles. She now sits at 7,546 career points.
In Phoenix, Bonner would join a Mercury team that entered Monday’s game against Dallas tied for second in the league standings at 12-6. She would reunite with Alyssa Thomas, her fiancee and former teammate with the Connecticut Sun.
–Field Level Media
