Veteran power forward Alyssa Thomas has to leave her future wife and teammate, DeWanna Bonner, after being traded to the Phoenix Mercury. The two former teammates played for four years with the Connecticut Sun team.
The Phoenix Mercury received Alyssa Thomas in addition to Ty Harris, and the Sun received Natasha Cloud, Rebecca Allen, and the 12th pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
Thomas, 32, started 40 games last season and averaged 10.6 points, 7.9 assists, and 8.4 rebounds.
The stats pushed the veteran to her sixth WNBA All-Star team and second All-WNBA First Team.
Alyssa’s trade already has had a spillover effect as the Phoenix Mercury legend Brittney Griner has moved to the Atlanta Dream.
Thomas spent her entire career in Connecticut after being the No. 4 pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft.
The power forward departs the Sun franchise as the all-time leader in games played and ranks third in rebounds, assists, and steals per game.
She led the Sun to two WNBA Finals appearances and six consecutive WNBA semifinals.
Experts have already said that the Phoenix Mercury might’ve won the trade as the team gets a top-five player in Thomas, and Kahleah Copper can be an ideal partner in transition for Thomas.
Though this trade for Thomas move means spending less time with her fiance, DeWanna Bonner, the move to Mercury can be a new challenge for the veteran, who had become accustomed to winning with the Sun.
Alyssa Thomas Popped The Big Question To Her Future Wife In 2023
Alyssa Thomas and her future wife, DeWanna Bonner, began dating in 2020.
Though the two WNBA stars didn’t go public with their romance immediately, three days after Valentine’s Day in 2021, DeWanna went public with their relationship on Instagram.
The Sun shooting guard wrote a lengthy post for Alyssa and attached a picture of them laughing in bed.
A month later, the two lovebirds had a pottery date, and DeWanna made sure their fans were fed as she shared videos and pictures of their surprise date.
The two athletes love sharing appreciation posts and celebratory posts for one another.
On August 22, 2022, on Bonner’s 35th birthday, Thomas shared a video compilation of the Sun’s star looking gorgeous.
She captioned the post,
“Screaming happy birthday to my love!! Enjoy your day my queen!”
Via Instagram
Finally, after dating for three years, the WNBA’s power couple decided to lock their relationship.
The two announced their engagement on July 21, 2023, sharing a joint Instagram post showing Thomas bending down on one knee to propose to Bonner.
Their caption read: “FOREVER“
The Couple Gave Joint Interview In 2024
In July 2024, the couple sat down for a joint interview for CBS News, sharing how they fell for one another.
Bonner said:
We knew each other from the WNBA, we played USA Basketball together. And–OK, she says I stalked her Instagram. But I don’t call it stalking.
Via CBS News
And it was like destiny wanted them to be together as Bonner joined Thomas at Connecticut Sun in 2020.
The couple said there are positives and negatives about being a teammate and couple.
Bonner said the negative is that they already know what happened at their jobs and have nothing to share.
DeWanna further added that the positive is that they balance each other, as she is the wild one, and Alyssa is a more reserved one.
The two athletes admitted to being highly competitive against each other and said they try to beat each other at everything, and Alyssa jokingly said, “she usually loses though.”
DeWanna Bonner Was Previously Married To Another WNBA Player
Bonner was previously married to former WNBA player Candice Dupree.
Dupree was a sixth overall pick in the 2006 WNBA Draft by the Chicago Sky.
She later played for the Phoenix Mercury and later for the Fever, the Storm, and finally ended her career with the Atlanta Dream.
In 2022, Dupree started her coaching with the San Antonio Spurs.
She worked with them for two seasons as their player development coach, and in 2024, she moved to Tennessee State.
DeWanna and Candice dated for several years and finally tied the knot in November 2016.
Phoenix #Mercury players Candice Dupree and DeWanna Bonner were married Friday pic.twitter.com/a5V8j8U2ZU
— jeffmetcalfe (@jeffmetcalfe) November 6, 2016
The couple took another big step in their relationship as they decided to become parents.
In July 2017, the couple welcomed twin daughters- Cali and Demi.
Unfortunately, Candice and DeWanna’s relationship didn’t last long, and they moved separate ways.
Speaking to Slam in 2022, Bonner talked about co-parenting with Dupree and said they had no problem.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- In May 2024, DeWanna Bonner surpassed her ex-wife to become the fifth all-time scoring leader in the WNBA and moved to the fourth position. She currently has 7,482 total points, and Dupree has collected 6,895 in her career.
- In 2025, Thomas became part of the Unrivaled Basketball League and joined the Laces Basketball Club.