ATLANTA — DeWanna Bonner was introduced in for moments like this.
After reaching a contract buyout with the Phoenix Mercury in late August, Bonner joined the Atlanta Dream with a stacked résumé that features six All-Star picks, two WNBA championships and a league-record 101 playoff video games.
The Dream didn’t essentially search out Bonner to ship headline-worthy performances.
Atlanta wanted her expertise and management.
On Sunday, although, the Dream obtained all three.
With Allisha Grey sidelined by an injured left hand, Bonner delivered one of many largest performances within the Dream’s 92-82 win towards the Liberty.
Bonner scored 23 factors, grabbed 9 rebounds and dished out two assists in additional than half-hour off the bench in Recreation 1 of the semifinals.
The Dream entered halftime trailing 40-37 after Grey was dominated out for the rest of the sport. Atlanta wanted somebody to assist stabilize the offense and supply one other dependable scoring choice alongside Jordin Canada and Rhyne Howard.
Bonner answered the decision.
Not solely did she assist Atlanta in overcoming Grey’s absence, however Bonner was additionally credited with delivering a fiery halftime speech that helped gas the Dream’s dominant third-quarter run that finally led to Atlanta taking a 1-0 lead within the best-of-five sequence.
Questions stay about Grey’s availability for the remainder of the playoffs.
After the sport, Dream coach Karl Smesko didn’t have an instantaneous replace on Grey.
“Hopefully she’ll be OK,” Smesko stated.
If Grey can’t play, the Dream don’t should look far for an acceptable reply.
They’ve Bonner.
In fact, it’ll take a crew effort to fill the void left by Grey, who averaged a team-high 19 factors this season.
Bonner took on a significant portion of the scoring burden in Grey’s absence Sunday, capturing 10-for-18 from the sector and connecting on three 3-pointers.
The scoring could also be higher distributed among the many rotation in future video games.
However Bonner, taking part in in what could possibly be her last postseason, confirmed Sunday that the 39-year-old nonetheless has loads left within the tank and may swing a recreation.
“She’s a incredible participant,” Liberty coach Chris DeMarco stated. “She protects the rim, she has the flexibility to make 3s, she will get to the rim on offense in order that’s a superb acquisition for them. She performs effectively, she matches that system and yeah, she had a huge effect on this win.”
Satou Sabally is about to return to Unequalled for one more season.
Sabally participated within the 3-on-3 basketball league’s inaugural season in 2025 however missed all of final season after struggling a concussion throughout the 2025 WNBA Finals.
Sabally suffered a second concussion in late June that prematurely ended her WNBA season. The Liberty formally dominated her out final month.
