Rhyne Howard Reveals Dream Consulted Players Before Signing DeWanna Bonner

The Atlanta Dream signed DeWanna Bonner on Aug. 26 after the Phoenix Mercury bought out her contract. Rhyne Howard said Tuesday at the Dream's media availability in Atlanta that the front office first made sure she and Naz Hillmon were comfortable with the move.

Bonner cleared waivers that Wednesday and joined Atlanta as a free agent. The Athletic first reported the signing. ESPN's Alexa Philippou reported the deal at the prorated maximum, about $116,000.

Atlanta was 25-13 and fourth in the WNBA standings that day. The Dream finished 30-14 and have won 10 straight entering the Finals, which open Saturday against the Golden State Valkyries.

Howard and Hillmon both arrived in Atlanta in 2022. Hillmon was the 2025 Sixth Player of the Year and signed a three-year deal to stay in April, first reported by ESPN's Kendra Andrews.

Howard has been pitching players on Atlanta for years.

"Trust, and a whole lot of it," Howard said. "A lot of people joke that I'm the GM or I'm recruiting and stuff ... Jen and Renee and Morgan, they trust that I know what I'm talking about. And the people that I'm trying to get here to come play with us, they trust that it's going to help raise our standards."

"Obviously we're a family-first organization, and we're going to continue to bring people [like] that," Howard continued. "But we want to win and we want to be contenders. And we've got to where we are in the last five years because they trusted our opinions on the players that we were bringing into this organization. Me and [Naz], we came in, we started it, and they continue to ask us our opinions."

Howard said the Bonner signing was another example of that trust.

"They could have just said [they got] DB, but they wanted to make sure that we felt comfortable with it as well. And of course we did," Howard added. "I've been trying to get DB for a long time, but I think it was being able to trust each other, have those conversations. Obviously, it's still a business, but to be able to have that and know that they're going to take it into account, it's very special."

Bonner is in her 17th season. The Mercury drafted her fifth overall in 2009, and she won two championships with Phoenix. She is a six-time All-Star and a three-time Sixth Player of the Year.

In 37 games with Phoenix this season, she averaged 10.6 points and 6.1 rebounds. She had 98 career playoff games before she joined Atlanta.

The Dream bench was averaging 17.2 points per game when she signed, the second-lowest mark in the league, according to Bleacher Report.

Bonner came off the bench for 23 points in 30 minutes when Allisha Gray went down in the semifinal opener against New York. She is averaging 13.2 points this postseason, according to the Valkyries, and is headed to her second straight Finals.

Valkyries forward Gabby Williams named Bonner as the biggest difference in the Atlanta team Golden State will see.

Bonner still hollers, and the Dream want her to keep doing it.

"Even since she's been here, we're undefeated since she's been here," Howard explained. "I knew that when we acquired her that it was going to be a completely different team just because of what she brings, her experience, her leadership. The fact that she's done this so many times, we're looking for her to lead us. Obviously, we've already established something, and she's coming in and making it better."

"But we're also looking at her because she's got however many playoff wins, however many playoff games," Howard continued. "Me and [Naz], it's our first one. It's like five of us, or like more than half, [it's] our first Finals appearance. And so we're gonna be leaning on her, and she's had something positive or something encouraging to say every day since she's been here, whether it's regular season or playoffs. She's had something to say to help us get ready for these moments."

Atlanta lost in the first round in each of the three seasons before this one. The Dream swept the Washington Mystics 2-0 this postseason to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2018.

Hillmon's go-ahead layup with 20.8 seconds left in regulation helped Atlanta win Game 2 against New York in overtime.

Howard is averaging 19.2 points in the playoffs, tied with Jordin Canada for the team lead. She scored 21 in the 85-83 win at Barclays Center that closed out the Liberty.

Howard called the last five years rough.

"I think just continue to be confident. We didn't come this far [to only] come this far," Howard said. "And we believe that everything we've done to get here is gonna continue to help us in this next round and in the next couple of games. We've worked for five years. Me and [Naz] specifically have worked for five years to get this team in a position to where we can win, and we can be the champions, and now we're here, and we're gonna make the most of it."

Golden State went 32-12, two games better than Atlanta, and swept the regular-season series 3-0.

Game 1 tips off at 3:30 p.m. ET Saturday at Chase Center in San Francisco on NBC and Peacock.