Two-time WNBA Champion, three-time Sixth Woman of the Year and 2018 WNBA All-Star DeWanna Bonner was named the Western Conference Player of the Week, as announced by the league office today. It’s the fifth career honor for Bonner, and her first time winning it since June 14, 2015.
Bonner earns the award after helping guide the Mercury to a 2-0 record last week, including victories over Atlanta and New York to help extend the Mercury’s win streak to four games to end the regular season. The 6-foot-4 forward averaged a double-double on the week, posting averages of 22.0 points, 13.0 rebounds to go along with 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals in the two games. Her back-to-back double-doubles gave her seven on the season, as she has now posted 33 double-doubles in her career, the second-most in franchise history (trails Brittney Griner – 37).
After pouring in a season-high 31 points on Sunday, August 12 against Los Angeles, Bonner posted 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds in the Mercury’s win over second-place Atlanta on Friday. She grabbed six offensive rebounds and matched her career high in assists with seven.
In the Mercury’s final regular season game of the summer, Bonner again had a big performance, scoring 23 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and adding three steals. She shot 60 percent (six-of-10) from the field and went a perfect nine-for-nine from the free throw line. Her double-double in the win gave her 33 in her career, moving her into sole possession of second place on the Mercury’s all-time double-doubles list.
Bonner is having one of her best all-around seasons of her career this year, ranking 13th in the league in scoring (17.3), tied for 10th in rebounding (7.2), 8th in free throw percentage (86.7 percent), and is averaging 3.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game. She’s one of only two players in the league this season (Angel McCoughtry) to rank in the top-25 in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and free throw percentage. She became the second player in Mercury history (Diana Taurasi) to reach 4,000 career points this season on July 15 against Indiana and is averaging 21.3 points and 10.3 rebounds over the last nine games since her move to power forward on July 25 against Chicago.
WNBA all-time leading scorer Diana Taurasi and 2017 WNBA scoring champion Brittney Griner return to Phoenix this summer to lead the Mercury in a quest for the franchise’s WNBA-record tying fourth championship. Tickets to the Mercury’s Round 1 Playoff Game against Dallas at Arizona State University are on sale NOW and can be purchased by calling 602.252.WNBA or by visiting PhoenixMercury.com.