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Indianapolis-Caitlin Clark looked at the shrinking shot clock, stuck to her left side and launched a deep 3-pointer over the vast arm of Dewanna Bonner.
Luchtbal.
While Clark fell to the ground, the Indiana Fever -Superster showed the referees. She felt that Bonner, the defensive bait of the Connecticut Sun, undermined her on her 3-Pointer and gave her no room to land. Clark argued for an error call. Bonner disagreed. The two came together briefly to argue before they were separated.
The entire series, in Game 2 of the first round of the WNBA play -offs from 2024, only a few seconds took a few seconds of each player who reflected the unyielding fire that they saw in the other. Neither of the two competitors could have predicted that four months later, after the sun had ended the fever, teammates would call each other.
“They are (de) play -offs, so emotions are high, the tension is high,” said Bonner Monday. “But I couldn’t be more excited to get on the field with Caitlin.”
In fact, they already have that. Clark and Bonner, the most striking free-agent of the fever who signed this season outside season, shared a training on the field in the practice of the fever on Monday before the space was transformed with a stage and Dozens of seats for Bonner’s introductory news conference. Clark was in the front row and writhed a sheep -like smile when Bonner spoke their late season -dust -up who, knowing how each player was wired, probably will not be their last fight if they join forces.
“That’s exactly what you want. You want your teammates to be just as competitive as you, “Clark said. “I think the training camp will be really fun.”
Clark, next to Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell, form a young core in Indiana that informed the competition last year. After a 1-8 start, the fever ended the regular season at 20-20 and made the play-offs for the first time since 2016.
Bonner had a first hand reported on the revival of the fever during the play-offs, and while we weighed her decision this season to leave the sun, who has undressed their selection and went into a complete rebuilding mode, she did that With one thought above the rest.
“I want to win another championship,” said Bonner, who won two titles with the Phoenix Mercury. “I want to go back to the final.”
Bonner believes that the fever that she praised as a ‘hungry group’ gives her the best chance, and the fit was just too logical. New Fever Coo and general director Amber Cox, who worked with Bonner in Phoenix, called her a Shoo-in Future Hall of Famer. Coach Stephanie White, who previously coached the fever from 2015 to 2016, coached Bonner for two years in Connecticut before they were reunited in Indiana. Even Bonner’s young twin daughters, Cali and Demi, begged their mother to choose Indiana, because it only a few hours’ drive from where the children live in Tennessee.
“From the start I knew a kind of lines that were a bit connected to Indiana,” said Bonner, who held a one -year -old deal with the fever. “But it was just like:” Do I have to do this? Should I not do that? “But then I called Amber, and I have something like ‘Okay, I am in it’ and the tears flowed a bit. ‘
Apart from the personal connections, Bonner said it was the competitiveness of the fever that made them more attractive than other teams. Bonner, 37, also acknowledged that once she put pen on paper, she would marry the dusk of her career with Clark’s unprecedented ascension. During Clark’s historic Rookie campaign, she broke the registers of the competition and a single game and single-season record on the way to earning All-Wnba First-Team Awards. She also became the first rookie to record a triple-double and did it twice.
That is the point guard that Bonner, who played the most play -off games in the history of WNBA, wants to chase a championship in 2025. The same point guard that has become the face of the sport.
“I don’t feel that I have to push her to be a player she is not yet,” said Bonner about Clark. “Coming in this competition is in no way simple, especially her path. But to see what she has already done for this competition, and then this organization is a bit insane. You don’t see that much in Rookies. So hopefully, as I said, I can make her life a little easier. “
Bonner, who enters her 16th pro season, comes back-to-back All-Star nods and her sixth All-Star selection in general. They on average 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and 1.2 steals last season as the sun went on to the semi -final of the play -off. White said that Bonner correctly described himself as a “puzzle piece” because she can do a little offensive and defensive a little bit of everything to raise the new fever of the appearance, which also drew triple WNBA champion Natasha Howard in a free desk and became Traded for Sophie Cunningham.
Bonner acknowledged that it will be a challenge for every player to adapt to new roles, but that is a burden she welcomes while Indiana is still trying to take a step forward. Last year, when Bonner and Clark threw each other’s feathers into the play -offs, the fever was sent home. This year, as teammates, their goal is to send everyone.
“The way they came out and fought and got almost the second game (in the first round last year), only shows the type of players they have and the vision they want to go,” said Bonner about the fever. “And I want to win. I am a winner. I feel like that is a kind (who) I am my whole career, and I don’t see myself taking a step back. … just add to what they have (so) that we can bring this thing to a different level. “
Clark shared the same sentiment while assessing the remarkable outdoor season of Indiana. The 23-year-old praised the fever for prioritizing the short-term franchise by bringing in experienced champions such as Bonner and Howard, as well as the future with plans to build a practice facility of $ 78 million that others Remarkable free can put on agents along the line.
“I think that in the coming years will be great for this franchise and will hopefully stay more than 10 years,” said Clark. “Hopefully we will win a few championships. They invest to help us be really good. “
This article originally appeared in athletics.
Indiana Fever, WNBA
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