The WNBA player returned to her alma college to receive the top athletic honor.
Auburn, Alabama (WSFA) – Only four players’ numbers have been retired by Auburn’s Women’s Basketball program. On Sunday, that number rose to the rafters beside DeWanna Bonner’s jersey.
Bonner, the Tigers’ all-time leading scorer (2,162 points, in case you were wondering), saw her No. 24 jersey become history on Sunday.
The Alabama native, who was the 2009 SEC Player of the Year and a two-time All-American, burst into tears as others praised her accomplishments in Auburn’s Neville Arena.
Bonner, a two-time WNBA champion, was a First Team All American for Auburn in 2009 before being drafted fifth overall in
The Phoenix Mercury held their 2009 draft. She has spent 13 years in the league and is currently a forward for the Connecticut Sun.
“It’s really hard to get your jersey under here and retired,” she replied in response. “It takes a special type of athlete, and I believe I’ve done it and will continue to do so. Awe guy, it’s a great honor, and I’m really pleased and delighted to be up there.
It wasn’t just Auburn University that honored Bonner. The City of Auburn joined in, recognizing January 21 as “DeWanna Bonner Day.”
The city’s proclamation states:
“WHEREAS, for the fifth time in program history, the Auburn Tigers Women’s Basketball Team will lift a jersey to the rafters of Neville Arena—the No. 24 jersey in honor of Auburn’s all-time top scorer, DeWanna Bonner;
WHEREAS, Bonner, 36, played for the Tigers from 2005 to 2009, coming to the Plains from Fairfield. He was a two-time all-American and SEC Player of the Year in 2009, scoring 716 points, the most in program history. Bonner was also a McDonald’s and WBCA All-American at Fairfield, and the Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior;
WHEREAS, scoring 2,162 points during her time at Auburn, Bonner stands as the program’s leading scorer while also ranking third in rebounds (1,047), seventh in blocks (139), first in free throws (600) and fourth in scoring average at 17.2 points per game; and
WHEREAS, after her senior season with the Tigers, Bonner was a fifth overall pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft, landing with the Phoenix Mercury, and Bonner won the WNBA Championship with the Mercury in 2009 and 2014.
NOW THEREFORE, I, Ron Anders, Jr., Mayor of the City of Auburn, Alabama, do hereby proclaim January 21, 2024, to be ”DeWanna Bonner Day” In Auburn, Alabama, and encourage all Auburn citizens to join in celebrating DeWanna Bonner’s outstanding achievements in her career and during her time on the Plains as her No. 24 jersey is retired and displayed in Neville Arena.”
After receiving the city’s proclamation, Bonner said this:
“This is THE Auburn University, and for me to be honored is simply fantastic. This is my house. Here is where I grew up. This is where I left my mother and became a young lady, and now I’m returning to be recognized as a wonderful here…I don’t have any words. I’m quite excited to be here. I haven’t returned to Auburn since I left in 2009. It has been a very long time. When I drove onto campus, I was like, ‘Where am I?’ We didn’t even have a Target, just a Walmart. But we made it!
work and had a fantastic time, and it’s just always family and love…I’m just very glad and honored to be in this position, and I hope that I can always influence and encourage you young ladies to be standing here and breaking my records so that you may be in this same situation. All I’m saying is, let’s win on Sunday because there is one venue and school we will not lose to. “War Eagle!”
Dewanna Bonner, Connecticut Sun Forward
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