ATLANTA — The Dream have added a proven winner to their playoff push. Atlanta announced today that it has signed two-time WNBA champion and six-time WNBA All-Star DeWanna Bonner to a rest-of-season contract, bringing nearly two decades of championship-caliber experience into a locker room already building serious postseason momentum.
Bonner steps into a Dream team that has already clinched its fourth consecutive WNBA Playoffs berth. Atlanta’s starting five — Jordin Canada, Allisha Gray, Rhyne Howard, Naz Hillmon and Angel Reese — has been among the best in the league all season, with Howard, Gray and Reese all earning 2026 WNBA All-Star selections and Canada and Hillmon each turning in career years. Now that group adds a battle-tested veteran with a resume few in league history can match.
A Legacy Built for October
This is Bonner’s 17th WNBA season, and her track record speaks for itself. A two-time WNBA champion with Phoenix (2009, 2014), she’s a six-time All-Star, a two-time All-WNBA selection, and the only three-time Sixth Player of the Year in league history. She sits third on the WNBA’s all-time scoring list and is one of just three players ever to reach 7,000 points, 3,000 rebounds and 1,000 assists for a career.
Where Bonner truly separates herself is on the postseason stage. The 6-foot-4 forward has appeared in 15 WNBA postseasons and four WNBA Finals, and she’s the league’s all-time leader in playoff rebounds while ranking second all-time in playoff points and steals. Across 98 career playoff games, she’s averaged 13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals a night — the kind of production Atlanta hopes to lean on as the games get bigger.
This season with Phoenix, Bonner appeared in 37 games, including 26 starts, averaging 10.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists. For her career — spanning stops in Phoenix, Connecticut and Indiana — she’s put up 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game.
From Fairfield to the Hall of Fame Conversation
A native of Fairfield, Alabama, Bonner made her name at Auburn, where she was the 2009 SEC Player of the Year and a First Team All-American. She left as the program’s all-time leading scorer, and the Tigers retired her No. 24 in 2024. Phoenix selected her No. 5 overall in the 2009 WNBA Draft, launching a career that’s now spanned three franchises and nearly two decades — and continues in Atlanta.
Roster Moves
In corresponding moves, the Dream have waived guards Aaliyah Nye and Jaylyn Sherrod, who was previously on a developmental contract.
With the postseason approaching and a veteran of Bonner’s caliber now in the fold, Atlanta’s championship aspirations just got a significant boost. Stay tuned as the Dream continue their push toward a deep playoff run.
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