"…When she spoke, everyone was listening. I think that was something we were missing last year."

• Dewanna Bonner is the WNBA career leading in the playoffs and won two WNBA titles with Phoenix.
• Bonner ranked fourth (7,482) in WNBA history's professional scoring roster (7,482 points).

Indianapolis - Kelsey Mitchell fenced the stairs on the first day of training camp on Sunday to reach the fever practice gym.

Not only because of her eighth season in the fever jersey, but for some new players around, including 15-year veteran Dewanna Bonner, who joined the team through free agents during the offseason.

"I have DB, I got the best vet in the world!" Mitchell shouted to the camera, both she and Bonner bent in the corridor.

It was a different experience for Mitchell, who was once the longest player in the senior roster. She has been having a fever since she was selected as No. 2 in 2018 and has been seen as a veteran of the young group.

Now, she has her own veteran to rely on this season.

"I think it feels really good to have a new atmosphere, a new coach, in the case of everything new," Mitchell said. "It feels fresh. It feels fresh when you take off the clothes off the dryer. It feels different, it feels good because we have new players and we get leadership skills as a veterinarian, so I think all of this combination can make the atmosphere good."

Bonner is a good traveler with a WNBA playoff appearance record and is one of the best veterans out there.

She was selected as Phoenix in the 5th overall order and played the first decade of her career in the desert, winning championships in 2009 and 14. She was traded to Connecticut in 2020 and played for the Suns for five years.

She played in 2023 and 24 years of current coach Stephanie White, and the two led the Suns to the WNBA semifinals each season. Then, happy with White, Bonner also came to Indianapolis.

"She went through a lot of different things," White said. "Whether it's teammates, playing with the best players in the world, there are franchises, coaches, all of these things. Having her intelligence, having her own knowledge, having the personality of Mom Bear is so important because she understands how to hold you accountable, but also having love for you."

Bonner is also close to the top of more league records. She was the fourth time in the professional scoring list with 7,482 points, surpassing the 7,380 points of fever legend Tamika Catchings last season. Ranked tenth in defensive rebounds with a record of 2,446; third and third in the game.

Bonner is the longest active player in the league after the retirement of her former teammate Diana Taurasi.

Bonner knows that winnings are needed in both the regular season and the playoffs. She is a veteran and a long-term leader. Bonner isn't important either, it's the first time that he has joined a new team in six years. She will always reflect leadership quality; this begins even before training camp.

"If you only know how many text messages I receive, like, 'What will practice look like? What will practice look like?'" Bonner said with a smile. “…I got a lot of text messages the night before trying to get to know Stephen and what he needed, and like I said, this team wants to be better, this team wants to be great.”

Bonner is the veteran of this young fever team who needs to put the next step into practice. Last season, Indiana led the lead in All-Star Mitchell, Aria Boston and Caitlyn Clark. Since 2016, the fever scored 20-20 and its first playoff spot, but was swept by the Suns in the first round.

But they lack a key. Indiana doesn’t have that real leader, the veteran player who knows what it takes to win a championship.

Now, fever is in Bonner's guidance light. They wanted to give her a third ring.

"She's not only a leader, but she's also a huge basketball player," Clark said. "She's already won the championship and she knows what it is, so when she talks, everyone is listening. I think it's part of what we're missing last year and we don't have real things in the locker room, so I'm really grateful for her talking, just the way she talks, she brings leadership to me. As a point guard for the second year, I want to win for her, and it's her career.