“she stalked me on IG,” "i was not stalking, i was looking!": alyssa thomas, dewanna bonner, and falling in love with your teammate
if you were a wnba fan in 2021, the phrase "dewanna had twins—count that twice!" likely rings in your head from time to time. 2021 marked the 25th anniversary of the wnba, and the league released an advertisement with the slogan "count it". lisa leslie listed all of the things "they said women couldn't do", like dunking, playing after having kids, promoting activism, and more. the shoutout to DB stuck in fans' minds.
let's be clear: dewanna did a lot before she had twins. she was drafted fifth overall to the phoenix mercury in 2009, when she was lucky enough to be named sixth woman of the year and a wnba champion as a rookie (and, yes, she made the all-rookie team too).
she'd win sixth woman of the year three years in a row, become a WNBA champion again in 2014, and by the start of the 2021 season, she'd been a three-time all-star.
in the middle of her success, she found love with her phoenix mercury teammate candice dupree, whom she married in 2016.
shortly after their nuptials, they started planning their family—and twins were not part of that plan (at the beginning). what they did know was that dewanna would carry the baby and miss the 2017 season, while candice would continue playing to support their new family. but candice was a twin, and she wanted their kids to have the same upbringing she did.
Just thirty minutes before Bonner was set to undergo in vitro fertilization — with a single embryo — she finally caved. Dupree had been hearing it from her twin sister and her mother. Just do it! Go for twins! “Shoot, they talked us into having twins,” Dupree said, before laughing. “Well, I kind of talked (Bonner) into having twins.” “It came down to the very last second,” Bonner said. “Because I said no. Nope. just one.” Bonner's doctor told her twins would be twice as hard. Worse morning sickness, weight, fatigue, stress on joints and even heartburn. And Bonner wasn't about all that. But Llanos [Candice's mother] was telling them that it's actually easier to raise twins than a single baby. "They always had a friend growing up," she said. Dupree couldn't argue that. She's still tight with [her twin] Crystal. And they have that weird twin thing where one knows when something is wrong with the other. She loves it. During their interview with IndyStar, Dupree broke out of the conversation to ask Bonner a question. "If you could go back would you have just one?” Bonner laughed. “You can’t ask me that now!” She eventually transferred two embryos. The twins are here and she can’t very well go on the record saying she’d rather have just one. She loves them more than she thought possible. But things are busy. “When I’m on the road, she’s up all night with both of them," Dupree said. "At least I get a break.” —"How a married WNBA couple is raising newborn twins. 'It’s my turn to sacrifice.'", Dakota Crawford, IndyStar, Sept. 6th, 2017
being married and raising twins while one mom is busy with the wnba season is hard enough, let alone when both are playing. however, candice was traded to the indiana fever in early 2017, meaning that they would be trying to raise the kids across two teams' schedules, two timezones, and two people that couldn't be together for five months out of the year (and that's before you factor in overseas travel). the difficulty of this arrangement was chronicled many times, including in a profile posted by the wnba itself.
On this particular day, DeWanna Bonner is sitting in an airport waiting to board a flight to Chicago, the start of a 10-day road trip for th
when the wnba started to plan its bubble season in 2020, many wnba moms were asked whether they'd bring their kids with them. when dewanna spoke about bringing the twins (both before entering the bubble and while playing inside of it), her quotes included no mention of dupree. candice was still playing with the fever, and this would've presented a unique scenario for their family to be united during the season. the silence on the situation seemingly confirmed what'd been rumored for months: candice and dewanna weren't together anymore.
perhaps the biggest clue had been that dewanna chose to go to the connecticut sun in free agency earlier that year. she was definitely closer to indiana now (850 miles instead of 1,700), but had shared no word of closing the gap in her relationship. they'd spent the previous "offseason" apart, too: candice was in hungary playing for sopron basket, and dewanna was in russia, playing for dynamo kursk.
in connecticut, dewanna would be joining 2019 runner-up championship players jonquel jones, brionna jones, a young natisha hiedeman, jasmine thomas, theresa plaisance... and sun franchise player alyssa thomas.
alyssa thomas had been a fixture in connecticut since she was drafted fourth overall in 2014 from the university of maryland, former ACC juggernaut. by early 2020, she'd been a two-time all-star, made the all-defensive second team twice, and led the sun to their best season finish since curt miller was named the head coach—and had already torn both of her labrums.
she was a star, but she preferred keeping to herself. she'd quietly been in a few relationships before (including with teammate jasmine thomas), but she seemed to be single and happy heading into the 2020 season.
however, dewanna had a crush. it started with some innocent instagram story-watching, and then she told a mutual friend... who told alyssa. (major party foul, but i digress.)
they started talking regularly over instagram during the 2019-2020 euroleague season. dewanna was in russia with dynamo kursk, while alyssa was in czechia with usk praha. it was nice to make friends that shared similar goals in their careers, especially knowing that they'd be on the same team for the 2020 wnba season.
then, the 2020 season came... sort of. covid-19 put a wrench in the sports world. the wnba season was indefinitely postponed on april 3rd, and the draft was held two weeks later on zoom for players that didn't know if they'd get a rookie season that year. the league didn't get approval on holding a shortened regular season until june 15th, and players wouldn't arrive at the wnba bubble at the img academy in bradenton, florida until about a month later.
wnba moms were split on how to handle childcare while playing in the bubble. dearica hamby famously brought her daughter, amaya, while diana taurasi's son leo stayed at home in phoenix with penny. dewanna had family about an hour away from the bubble that was able to watch the twins and give them the care they would need without disrupting their schedules, as they were old enough to start attending school that fall.
leaving her babies for seven weeks was difficult, but it also meant that dewanna had time to focus on herself for once.
“Inside that Bubble, I had all the time… I’d never been that free since I had them. I wasn’t trying to get into another relationship, especially with a teammate, after I’d just come off of one. That just was not in my goals or vision at all,” says Bonner on her mindset entering the Bubble. —"Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bonner are chasing a WNBA championship with the Sun while planning their wedding", Mark Schindler, SBNation, Jul. 29th, 2024
alyssa and dewanna kept it strictly platonic, focusing on learning to work together as a team.
in the bubble, every team was spending all of their downtime together, too. their feelings became harder to ignore, but they tried to approach them maturely:
Poolside lunches, walks around IMG’s campus, and playing cards were how they passed time early on as they talked. The couple openly admit that everyone there seemed to recognize their chemistry immediately, before they were even dating. Each had concerns about how a relationship might work when life returned to normal, or whatever semblance of normal there would be outside Bradenton, Florida. “I’m a mom first, and I wasn’t sure if she’d be able to handle that and understand that,” Bonner says now. “I didn’t know if I wanted to give that a chance or just keep my normal routine just me and my kids, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to put that on (Thomas).” “I wanted to make sure that we were doing everything the right way, you know? We really communicated everything about each other before we just jumped into a relationship,” adds Thomas. —"Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bonner are chasing a WNBA championship with the Sun while planning their wedding", Mark Schindler, SBNation, Jul. 29th, 2024
once they realized they were on the same page, they decided to go for it while still inside of the bubble. dewanna shared that their first date involved alyssa taking her to the movies, quarantine-style: she slid a handmade movie ticket under dewanna's door and surprised her with popcorn and all of her favorite snacks.
the gesture was only the first of many that has made their relationship feel special, even when basketball gets in the way. for example:
Bringing in the New Year together at the end of 2021 remains their favorite date. New Year’s is Thomas’ favorite holiday, and she was able to find some time away from Prague to close the year and surprise Bonner with a trip to Florida just the two of them. Thomas rented a house, had it decorated still with a Christmas tree and lights, and hired a personal chef to make dinner for them. “We just had good food and good music, sat down and vibed and talked. I was kind of shocked, it turned out to be perfect,” says Bonner. “I thought she was going to propose and I was like, okay way too soon.” “And then we got COVID,” chimes in Thomas. But they reminisce that the following week and a half quarantining together and enjoying their own company was unforgettable, even if unplanned. —"Alyssa Thomas and Dewanna Bonner are chasing a WNBA championship with the Sun while planning their wedding", Mark Schindler, SBNation, Jul. 29th, 2024
alyssa and dewanna would publicly confirm their relationship with a sweet instagram post on valentine's day in 2021 (archived post source here)
their relationship didn't change anything on the court, though. they became vital pieces for the sun, making it to the 2021 wnba semifinals (where they lost to the underdog chicago sky), then the 2022 finals (where they lost to the first-time champions, the las vegas aces). slowly, they were getting closer to a championship.
they were also undeniably adorable, growing closer in their relationship, and melting all of our hearts the whole time 🥹
in 2023, they were both named all-stars (dewanna had been an all-star in 2021, then alyssa in 2022). however, alyssa had much more on her mind than the all-star game that weekend, when she asked dewanna to marry her!
dewanna, of course, said yes. they're still engaged today, deeply in love and showing up for each others' biggest moments. when alyssa was named to the 2024 olympic team, dewanna was her biggest cheerleader.
around the same time, they were also the cover story of SLAM 251.
most recently, they both ended up with the mercury for the 2025 season. unfortunately, the 2025 season would end with another wnba finals loss to the las vegas aces for them. it's okay, though: their time is coming, and more importantly, they have each other.
