DeWanna Bonner‘s departure from Indiana after just nine games was one of the most talked-about moments of the season.
Her decision blindsided the fan base and sparked accusations that she had “quit” on her teammates, especially Caitlin Clark.
Though Bonner later found her footing again with the Phoenix Mercury, the bitterness from Fever fans never fully subsided. And when Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts made a revealing comment about the team’s pursuit of Bonner, the controversy erupted all over again.
“The last two offseasons, we’ve tried to get DB to come back to Phoenix. And so we’ve been able to build a relationship a little bit. Unfortunately, she didn’t pick us twice. Third time’s the charm,” Tibbetts said.
Social media reactions were swift and sharp, accusing both sides of tampering and betrayal. The timing couldn’t have been worse, as Bonner‘s high-profile miss during Game 2 gave her critics a fresh talking point.
A missed shot and a familiar comparison
The play itself unfolded innocently enough. Early in the second quarter of Game 2, Phoenix led 29-24 with less than nine minutes left in the first half. Running a pick-and-roll with Alyssa Thomas, Satou Sabally kicked the ball out to Bonner on the wing.
With no defender in sight, she rose from 29 feet – a shot from what fans now call “Caitlin Clark range.” The ball sailed long and missed everything, drawing a collective gasp from the crowd.
Normally, a single miss wouldn’t make headlines. But Bonner‘s shot, paired with her past departure from Indiana, was the perfect storm for online reaction.
Play-by-play announcers even noted the distance by referencing Clark‘s shooting range, and within minutes, clips of the airball were circulating across social media. Fever fans seized the moment, framing it as poetic justice for the player who had “walked out” on their team.
For Bonner, the renewed attention contrasts sharply with her performance in Phoenix this season. After struggling with the Fever, where she averaged just 7.1 points in 21 minutes per game, she has thrived in her return to the Mercury.
Her regular-season averages of 10.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 42.6 percent shooting were a return to form, helping the team secure the No. 4 playoff seed. Her efficiency and veteran poise off the bench were widely credited for stabilizing the Mercury’s midseason push.
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