• DeWanna Bonner passed Tina Thompson by a point on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list in Fever’s season opener Saturday.
• Bonner has 7,489 points — behind only Diana Taurasi (10,646) and Tina Charles (7,696).

INDIANAPOLIS – Standing at the free-throw line, DeWanna Bonner took a deep breath. The 15-year WNBA veteran knew what she was about to accomplish if she made that first free-throw.

Then, like she had thousands of times before, the Indiana Fever‘s new addition went through her routine. As she watched the ball sink into the basket, she raised her arms in celebration. She had tied Tina Thompson for third all-time on the WNBA scoring list. One more point gave her the outright spot at No. 3.

So, she sunk the second, becoming the No. 3 all-time leading scorer in the league with 7,489 points — behind only Diana Taurasi (10,646) and Tina Charles (7,696).

Just 10 seconds of game time later, she checked out of the game, one the Fever would win over the Sky 93-58. She raised her arms up once more to the crowd, which was roaring in celebration.

It was an in-game celebration Bonner wasn’t used to. But this time, she reveled in it.

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“I kind of got a little bit emotional,” Bonner said. “To be in this moment, in front of a sold out crowd, in front of all this attention, and to have that moment, it’s pretty special to me… I’m just so grateful.”

She hugged her teammates and coaching staff on her way out of the game, sharing an extended hug with Fever coach Stephanie White, who she followed to Indiana after two years together in Connecticut. 

“You guys, I felt like every game last year (in Connecticut), we were saying ‘DeWanna Bonner moves into 12th, DeWanna Bonner moves into 11th, DeWanna Bonner moves into top-5,’” White said. “It’s really incredible, not just her longevity, but her efficiency and how good she’s been her entire career.”

Bonner, a future Hall of Famer, has been a staple in the WNBA since she was drafted No. 5 overall to Phoenix in 2009. She won two championships with the Mercury in 10 seasons there, then was traded to Connecticut. She spent five years with the Sun, then signed with Indiana in the 2025 offseason. Through all that she’s been the same, consistent player. A selfless player, one that will do anything to get better and someone who is a constant veteran voice in the locker room.

Sometimes, too, she’s flown under the radar. She played with high-profile players like Mercury stars Taurasi and Brittney Griner and MVP candidate Alyssa Thomas on the Sun. 

Through those veteran stars, she learned the blueprint of the league. And the credit, she says, goes to those veterans.

“I always say I played with the greatest of all time in Diana,” Bonner said. “If I learned anything, I learned the blueprint on how to stay in this league, she did it for 20 years, and she was great at it… I just credit all that to her, and this path, I really had the greatest blueprint

Playing with all of the stars through her career, including Fever superstar Caitlin Clark, means she doesn’t always get the limelight — and at times, she likes it that way. But for accomplishments like this, White said, she deserves to be celebrated.

“She gets lost in the shuffle,” White said. “She’s played with a lot of great players… And she’s quietly just gone about her business. We tell her all the time, that you deserve the limelight, you deserve the recognition. She doesn’t love it, it’s not really her personality, but what she’s been able to do and accomplish in this league … that’s hard to do.”

This season, Bonner was exactly what the Fever needed; both on the court and in the locker room. She provides that crucial veteran voice and crucial championship experience — something Indiana was lacking last year.

She’s been in the league for 15 years, and she knows the end of her career is closer than the beginning. Coming to Indiana, she’s imparting what she’s learned from Taurasi, from Griner, from everybody she’s played with onto Indiana’s young core.

In return, the Fever will celebrate her every chance they get.

“DB is somebody who is a Hall of Famer, a legend,” Clark said. “Not only a good basketball player, but a great person, a great leader. The strongest voice in our locker room is hers, and it’s fun to have been around her and get to learn from her. I’m really happy she got to do it at the free throw line and all fans could go crazy and cheer for her, because she certainly deserved that moment.”

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