The Indiana Fever revitalized their franchise last season, returning to the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2016. Now the Fever’s 2025 offseason moves have them poised to perhaps become a championship contender this year. Or at least primed to make a deep postseason run.
Back-to-back WNBA Rookie of the Year winners Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark and veteran Kelsey Mitchell are the All-Star core of the franchise. But Indiana is adding players who have won WNBA championships and have extensive experience. Indiana needed stronger defense and a consistent threat from the wing position. And more 3-point shooting doesn’t hurt.
The Fever got all of that in free agency and via trades the past week, adding guard/forward DeWanna Bonner, forward Sophie Cunningham and forward Natasha Howard. Bonner and Howard signed as free agents, while Cunningham came as part of a four-way trade from the Phoenix Mercury that also sent forward NaLyssa Smith from Indiana to the Dallas Wings.
Those moves followed the Fever’s other big offseason news: Mitchell’s return. The shooting guard, who was an unrestricted free agent, received a core designation by the team and then signed a one-year deal to return for her eighth season with Indiana. (Players are signing one-year deals because the union and the WNBA are negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement for 2026 and beyond.)
The 6-foot-4 Bonner is 37, but she has looked ageless on court. Bonner is entering her 16th season, having played previously with Phoenix and the Connecticut Sun. She won two championships with the Mercury and played in the 2022 WNBA Finals with the Sun. For her career, Bonner has averaged 14.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists. She spent her past two seasons playing in Connecticut for Stephanie White, who was hired as the Fever’s coach in November.
Bonner is long and tenacious with a deceivingly slight build. She has guarded every type of player in the WNBA, and there’s no trick in the book offensively or defensively she doesn’t know.
