Age is just a number for Atlanta Dream veteran DeWanna Bonner — but she has no problems putting numbers on the board.
Bonner, in her 17th season, continued to fight against Mother Time after lifting her Dream squad in extended minutes in Sunday’s 92-82 Game 1 Dream victory over the Liberty.
The 39-year-old scored 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting off the bench with the Dream shorthanded following star Allisha Gray’s early exit.
“She’s a fantastic player, She protects the rim. She has the ability to make threes,” Liberty head coach Chris DeMarco said of Bonner, who shot 3-of-6 from deep in Game 1.
“She gets to the rim on offense. It’s a good acquisition for them. She plays well. She fits that system. She had a huge impact on this game.”
Her contributions in 30 minutes off the bench helped Atlanta protect home-court and put the team in position to take a commanding 2-0 lead in this best-of-five series with a victory in Wednesday’s Game 2.
Now on the fourth team of her WNBA career, Bonner landed in Atlanta as a midseason acquisition after beginning the year with the Phoenix Mercury.
In August, the Mercury and Bonner reached an agreement on a contract buyout with the team eliminated from postseason contention weeks before the end of the regular season.
The move gave the two-time WNBA champion a chance at a third title.
She then landed in Atlanta as a veteran depth piece on a roster lacking postseason experience.
The signing now proves to be even more valuable with the Dream unsure of Gray’s status for the rest of the second-round series.
Gray, the Dream’s leading scorer, suffered a left hand injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s Game 1 before returning in the following period. But the starter re-injured her shooting hand and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
“I don’t have an update at this time. Hopefully she’ll be OK,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko of Gray said after Game 1.
But, in came Bonner, the clutch performer with 101 postseason games (most in WNBA history) under her belt.
And with her team down three after two periods, the veteran lit a fire under her teammates with a halftime speech, which later sparked a historic third quarter.
“DB got into us at halftime. I’ll just say that,” said teammate Jordin Canada as Smesko and Bonner laughed next to her at the postgame podium.
“Maybe after the series,” Bonner said when asked to share the spirited message.
Bonner’s locker room speech sparked a 20-2 run right after halftime.
The Dream forced nine Liberty turnovers in the third quarter, which led to 16 points off turnovers for Atlanta, tying a playoff record in any quarter (WNBA switched to quarters in 2026), per ESPN.
Overall, Atlanta forced New York to cough up the ball 21 times, which led to 32 points off turnovers, a WNBA playoff record.
Bonner tallied two steals in the win after firing up her teammates inside the locker room.
Her Game 1 performance Sunday comes after she steadied the Dream with 13 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in last week’s opening game in a first-round series against the Washington Mystics.
Bonner’s repeated timely contributions — on and off the hardwood — after suddenly becoming a key piece now have the Dream two wins away from the franchise’s fourth WNBA Finals berth in history.
“I feel like they made it really easy coming in here. This is what they wanted. They felt like that’s what they needed,” said Bonner.
“I kind of just lead in my own way. Being vocal. I try to lead by example. Always been that way. I learned from the best… I just had great leaders so I know what it takes to stay around.”