DeWanna Bonner: Will She Make Difference For Mercury in Playoffs?

DeWanna Bonner was with the Mercury for six years before leaving for new endeavors with the Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever. Now that she has returned to Phoenix, what can be expected of her in the playoffs?

Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (25) slaps hands with Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner (14) during the first quarter against the Minnesota Lynx at PHX Arena on July 9, 2025. / Michael Chow/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After a fallout with the Indiana Fever, six-time All-Star player DeWanna Bonner decided to return back to her first team in Phoenix, officially reuniting with the Mercury after being gone for nearly six seasons.

Now that she has returned, and with a definite playoff run coming from the Mercury, what will she bring to the team come the post-season clutch?

In her previous playoff outings with the Mercury, Bonner bolstered the offense with a strong rebound game along with her own style of offensive prowess that reeled in double-digit points almost every game. She especially exploded point-wise in her final two playoff runs with the Mercury before leaving, scoring an average of 22.5 each playoff game between the 2018 and 2019 post seasons.

Bonner also was a menace on defense during her many playoff runs, bringing five or more rebounds on average for five of her nine post-season bouts with the Mercury. She also managed to steal the ball once a game on average in a league where steals are hard to come by.

When the Mercury won the WNBA championship in both 2009 and 2014 Bonner showed similar, albeit slightly lower, numbers to what she has shown in this year's regular season with the Mercury.

Surrounded by stars such as Satou Sabally, Kahleah Copper, and Alyssa Thomas she has everything she needs to prosper in Phoenix; especially in the inevitable post-season run. She also has only played two games with the Mercury since coming back and, barring an injury, should get more comfortable in Head Coach Nate Tibbets' system, leading to an increase in her numbers.

After the upset win against the number one ranked team Minnesota Lynx, Tibbets praised Bonner, saying that, "You could feel her professionalism and approach just in our building, and her focus in the timeouts. Like, this stuff matters to her. She's excited to be here and we're excited to have her."

Dewanna was also given high praise from her former Connecticut Sun turned Mercury teammate Alyssa Thomas, who admired her when she said that, "she got thrown into the fire, didn't really know everything, but, you know, she did the things that she could control which was playing defense and rebounding. She had huge defensive rebounds down the stretch for us."

With familiar teammates in a familiar place with a home crowd that loves her, Dewanna Bonner has definitely returned home. Yet she still needs to prove that she can be affective in the playoffs after being disconnected from the Mercury for five and a half seasons.

At the end of September, she will be able to prove her worth again in the post-season; but, if her past victories say anything about her, then Mercury fans can be confident in her ability and what good she can do for Phoenix.

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