These Engaged Basketball Stars Competed Against Each Other in the WNBA All-Star Game This Weekend
2024 is the year of the WNBA. From a stellar rookie class to the brewing fashion culture and sold-out arenas, the 27-year-old league is finally getting the recognition it deserves for being the flagship of women’s basketball. The league brought both newfound and loyal fans to Phoenix for the 2024 AT&T All-Star Game on July 20, 2024, where the Team USA crew (composed of players headed to the Paris Olympic Games) went head-to-head against a group of WNBA All-Stars (who weren't selected for the upcoming Olympics). For engaged couple DeWanna Bonner and Alyssa Thomas, this meant a battle of the brides-to-be.
The two are usually teammates, both forwards for the Connecticut Sun, but since Thomas is gearing up for the Olympics, she battled it out on the court with her fiancée, Bonner. Ahead of the game, the athletes, SLAM’s latest cover stars, were excited to switch things up as competitors—and the lead-up included plenty of trash talk. "Oh, I’m gonna whoop her up,” Bonner told the magazine before Thomas interjected by exclaiming, “She’s not scoring. She’s not getting a bucket.” The match-up proved to be an engaging one, as Team WNBA took home the win with 117 points, while Team USA scored 109.
Thomas earned a spot on Team USA after a stellar 11-year career in the league. In 2014, she was drafted to the New York Liberty as the fourth overall pick before immediately being traded to the Connecticut Sun, where she has reached a slew of milestones, like receiving an accolade as a four-time All-Star, joining the 2022 USA World Cup Team, and meeting her soon-to-be wife, Bonner.
Bonner is also a tenured veteran in the league, with 15 years under her belt and a spot on the all-time scorer list. On the court, her style of play is comparable to that of NBA Star Kevin Durant, with her deadly mid-range shooting skills. The couple has been the glue of the Connecticut Sun throughout the years. “They really are the heart and soul of this franchise,” said their head coach, Stephanie White, to The Associated Press. “You think about not just what they do on a day-to-day basis, but the consistency with which they’ve done it since they’ve been here.”
https://www.brides.com/engaged-basketball-couple-competes-wnba-all-star-game-8681548