DeWanna Bonner has never been one to chase the spotlight. She’s usually found just outside its center, content with quieter recognition. But on opening night, when she became the third all-time scorer in WNBA history with 7,489 points., she embraced the moment fully.”The support here is phenomenal…Everywhere I go, people] are excited for the season,” she said, as she threw her hands in the air and soaked up all the energy from roaring 17,274 strong at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Her twin baby girls watched from the sidelines. Bonner had even called out to them, urging them to come closer as she stood surrounded by cameras and microphones. But the girls lingered at a distance, quietly shifting in place, their gaze fixed on their mother. They watched starry-eyed as their mother stood out in a hallway glowing with portraits of Indiana Fever players. But just 7 games after that, and DeWanna Bonner has been missing since June 12 due to “personal reasons”. She has now missed 4 games straight and is also set to miss Tuesday’s game against the Storm. What happened for things to go so sideways so suddenly?

And as for any concrete updates from the franchise? “Give her the time that she needs,” “we’re continuing to be supportive of DB in her time away” – that’s all White has said. You’d be wrong to think that these statements are from the same day. Rather, Fever HC Stephanie White has been repeating the same words each time Bonner’s cause comes up. Naturally, Indiana fans are now getting restless. They have started picking up on hints, speculating, instead of waiting for an official update. Though, honestly, it is not just the fans.

Fever fans take up the task: Decoding DeWanna Bonner’s absence

Remember the Tina Thompson surpassing move, the one we just talked about? Where, DeWanna Bonner scored 7,489 career points to become the WNBA’s third all-time scorer. Apparently, that was her only moment with the Fever that she felt was worthy enough to stay on her Instagram feed. And the fans picked up on it fast. Amidst all the ongoing speculation, one person said, “Y’all may wanna check into her IG feed too.” While it hasn’t been properly confirmed yet, fans say that Bonner has cleaned her Instagram profile of almost all things Fever, including her bio.

If that’s the case, the move wasn’t one-sided. Some fans noticed a change in public appearance from the Fever franchise’s end, too. The team seems to have conveniently removed Bonner from the banner wall. Again, in this digital age, we are not sure how true is that. Because someone also shared a picture from just a day before with the vet’s banner amidst all the others. So, photoshop? Could be. “DeWanna Bonner deletes all Indiana Fever posts from her IG Account and it now’s says @WNBA Athlete Not Indiana Fever Player as well as the Indiana Fever Banner Wall she is removed??? You Decide”  Another person though brought a good argument, citing the Rickea Jackson example. “Didn’t we just go through this with Rickea? Someone spread that she removed Sparks from her bio but it was never in her bio to begin with. I think that’s the same for DB,” they said and there is a lot of logic there.

Yet, on the basis of all these ‘unverified’ changes, people are waiting for DeWanna Bonner to “drop the retirement announcement already.” Some are even looking forward to it actually, as they expressed, writing “”Thank you Bri Turner”, “Thank you DeWanna Bonner” and “Thank you Natasha Howard” would be a dream.“” Turns out that the Fever franchise’s mid-season trade did not impress many fans. Rather, they are making up ideal trades in their heads. It showed when one Fever fan wrote, “Imagine this trade. Bonner and Turner for Copper and Musa. And it meets the salary cap @IndianaFever.” 

Amidst all of the technical and league talks, one person acknowledged the bigger role Bonner plays in life, as a mother. And that the personal reason could be related to it. Empathetically, the person wrote, “I hope her kids are okay.” Fair enough to think that way. Because, honestly, it doesn’t seem like Bonner is going to retire yet. She will, of course, as she herself once said – Of course, the ball is gonna stop bouncing one day – but this moment seems too soon. After all, she had joined Indiana Fever for two major reasons, after dropping heavy names like the Lynx. She desperately wants to the win the championship for the third time and she wanted to be closer to her children. So, the personal reason might be too complex for us to ever “speculate” about.

There was one person, though, who made the mood lighter, commenting, “Probably heard Sophie Cunningham chanting slurs in the locker room and said “yeah i’m out” 😭,” but it was a rare one. Other people still continued to wonder if she’s gonna head to Mercury to her wife Alyssa Thomas. The reason being that Bonner is currently averaging only 21.3 minutes per game with team Indy. That marks the lowest amount of minutes she has played since her rookie year with the Phoenix Mercury back in 2009.

Hinting at her career-low averages this year, another fan wrote, “my Theory is that they told her they’re cutting her for Aari. And she didn’t take it that well so she quit.” After all, Aari did show huge potential during her short stint with the Fever. She averaged 11.0 points, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 rebounds off the bench over 25.3 minutes per game. But, again, she cannot be a replacement for Bonner until Turner and Timpson step up. Is coach White ready to take such a risk, especially now when their roster seems to not have been clicking for the past two games?