Diana Taurasi’s impact on the WNBA is unparalleled. In her 20-year career, the Phoenix Mercury guard led the team by example, averaging 18.8 points in 565 games. She is also the only player with a record 6 Olympic Gold medals. However, these statistics don’t do justice to the immensely positive impact she has had on her Mercury teammates. Moreover, as she plays her potentially final career games in 2024, beautiful stories of her off-court bonding are emerging.

In 2009, a fresh face joined the Phoenix Mercury as they drafted Auburn alum DeWanna Bonner as the 5th overall pick. Naturally, in her rookie year, the big bucks were yet to arrive. Though she hit the ground running with 16 points in her debut game, the shy Power Forward felt like an odd one out when it came to the accessories carried by players. However, it was the then-6th-year veteran Taurasi that changed Bonner’s life.

On the latest episode of ‘In Case You Missed It’ with Khristina Williams, Bonner shared this sweet story. “Everybody at that time had all the designer bags and I’m coming in, I have my Auburn Under Armor backpacks that I used to carry every day,” she said. “You know, I don’t have the money yet. And she (Taurasi) told me that if I went out and got a double double, she’ll give me a bag – a designer bag. So I did it. I went out that game and got it.”

Much to Bonner’s surprise, Taurasi kept her side of the bargain. “The next morning, she called me – ‘Ready? Meet me at the mall’. She let me pick out any bag that I wanted. (That was) forever special to me and I couldn’t believe it. I’m like shy, I’m like, ‘Wow, you really doing this.'” When host Khristina Williams further questioned her about the designer brand, Bonner laughingly added how she had no idea of any designer brands back then. But Taurasi did. “It was a Louis (Vuitton). She took me to that store and pick out anything that I wanted,” the now-15th-year veteran concluded.

Under Taurasi’s leadership, Bonner grew multifold and today, the Connecticut Sun star is 4th in the all-time scoring leaderboard with 7,482 points (plus 1101 and counting post-season points). Fortuitously, the duo not only got to play against each other but also shared the floor as teammates before Taurasi’s imminent retirement.

DeWanna Bonner credits ‘The GOAT’ Diana Taurasi for elevating her WNBA career

DeWanna Bonner joined the Connecticut Sun in 2019, traded for 3 first-round picks by the Mercury. However, the Auburn alum hasn’t tasted the same success with the Sun as she did with Mercury. With talks of Diana Taurasi’s retirement picking pace, the Mercury announced a reunion of their 2014 championship-winning team.

They organized this event in such a way that Bonner, a pivotal part of their 2014 team, would be able to attend it in person. The post-game event was scheduled for Friday, September 13, after the Sun faced off against the Mercury. When it was Bonner’s chance to address the crowd at Phoenix’s Footprint Center, she made a heartwarming statement for Taurasi.

“Everybody that knows me knows I like to put the ball in the basket. I’m a shooter. I’m going to score. But that year (2014), I had to play defense,” Bonner said, laughing. “Literally, I was known for (being) the person who guarded the best player every single night, which I took personally. Whatever it took to win a championship.”

She further added, “I was playing with the GOAT, Diana Taurasi. So I didn’t have to score much, which made my job easy every single night. It’s hard to believe, but I was the one that was the defensive stopper, and I would do it again for all these ladies.”

Even though the Sun has yet to win a WNBA championship, DeWanna Bonner has transformed the team. Head coach Stephanie White has called her an “incredibly consistent player” and a “really good leader.” That is how well Diana Taurasi mentored her former teammate. After all, Kobe Bryant named her the “White Mamba” for a reason.