AUBURN, AL (EETV)- This week, as we continue highlighting our Auburn greats in the pros, the spotlight is on Connecticut Sun guard and Auburn women's basketball all-time leading scorer DeWanna Bonner.
DeWanna Bonner was born and raised in Fairfield, Alabama, just about three hours south of Auburn’s campus. Bonner grew up playing basketball from a young age and ended up cementing a legacy early on. Before Bonner was an Auburn Tiger, she was a Mighty Tiger as a member of the Fairfield High Preparatory School women's basketball team. While playing for the Mighty Tigers, she was selected as a women’s McDonald’s All-American team member. Bonner had big dreams for a small-town kid to one day play for the Tigers. In 2005, her dream came to fruition when she signed on to dawn the orange and blue for former Auburn women’s hoops coach Nell Forner. Being from a city with a population of just under 10,000, Bonner had goals to make herself known to the world. And after her accomplishments thus far, it’s safe to say she did just that.
During her four years here on the Plains, Bonner cemented a legacy…this one, somehow more substantial than her last. Throughout her illustrious collegiate career, DeWanna Bonner became Auburn’s all-time scoring leader with 2,162 points, placed herself third on the school’s all-time rebound rankings with 1,047, and was named the 2009 SEC Player of the Year! All of this taken into account, Bonner’s name rose quickly in WNBA scout rankings, as she was a projected top pick heading into the 2009 WNBA draft.
In the 2009 WNBA Draft, the Phoenix Mercury selected DeWanna Bonner with the fifth overall pick. This was unprecedented. A women’s player from Auburn had never been selected in the first round, let alone the top five of a WNBA draft. This pick would change how the Auburn Women’s Basketball program would be viewed by potential recruits, donors, and, most importantly, the fans. DeWanna Bonner was special, and she was just getting started.
DeWanna Bonner has continued her dominance, to say the least. There aren’t many accolades that she hasn’t obtained over her time in the W, and with year 15 in the books, let's take a look back on everything she has accomplished thus far. And yes, you read that right…15.
-Two WNBA championships (‘09, ‘13)
-Five All-Star game appearances (‘15, ‘18, ‘19, ‘21, ‘23)
-Three WNBA Sixth Player of the Year awards (‘09, ‘10, ‘11)
-All-WNBA First Team honors (‘15)
-All-WNBA Second Team honors (‘20)
-AP Comeback Player of the Year (‘18)
Over these…*cough*... 15 years, DeWanna Bonner has undeniably become a WNBA icon. More importantly, however, she has become a leader for female athletes in this new era of women’s sports that has quickly come upon us. Bonner returned home to the Plains in early 2024 as her #24 jersey was rightfully retired and hung in the rafters next to her fellow Tiger greats. This is one of multiple jerseys she will likely have retired in her career as we continue to watch her greatness unfold.
Bonner climbed to second all-time on the WNBA playoff scoring leaders chart as recently as last week, passing the great Candice Parker with 1,177 points. Her Connecticut Sun were eliminated from the playoffs this past Tuesday evening in a grueling game five where Bonner went down swinging with 14 points and eight rebounds. At 37 years old, fans are left to wonder if this was it for Bonner or if the all-timer will return for yet another season.
DeWanna Bonner has done it all in her basketball career. Whether the time for her to retire is now or a few years down the road, fans can look at Bonner as someone who has truly given her hometown, university, and the game of basketball everything that she has.
