Stephanie White named All-Star Head Coach
Uncasville, CT (July 1, 2023) – Connecticut Sun forward-guard, DeWanna Bonner, and forward, Alyssa Thomas, were named 2023 AT&T WNBA All-Star reserves, the league announced today. This is the fifth WNBA All-Star selection for Bonner (2015, 2018, 2019, 2021) and fourth selection for Thomas (2017, 2019, 2022). With the league’s second-best record after June 30 (12-4), Stephanie White qualified to be one of the two head coaches in the 2023 All-Star Game.
In her 14th season in the WNBA, Bonner is averaging a team-best 17.6 points, along with 4.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.1 steals per contest for the Sun. The 6-4 forward-guard has led Connecticut in scoring in seven of their 15 games, including a 41-point performance against in their 94-77 win over the Las Vegas Aces on June 8. The point total marked a career-best and a new Connecticut Sun franchise record for most points scored in a single game.
Bonner is currently second amongst active players in games played (438) and has worked her way up all-time league leading lists this season. She entered the 2023 season 13th all-time in scoring in WNBA history and now currently sits at ninth (6,466), passing league legends, Lisa Leslie, Sylvia Fowles and Katie Smith. Bonner also eclipsed the 1,000 assist-mark in her career in the Sun’s win over the Storm on June 20, making her one of only three players in league history to amass 6,000+ points, 2,500+ rebounds and 1,000+ assists (T. Catchings, C. Parker).
In her tenth season in the league, Thomas is averaging 14.6 points, along with a team-best 10.4 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.1 steals per game. With those numbers, she is currently leading the league in rebounds and steals per game and is second in assists in per game.
The 6-2 forward has made WNBA history this season, tallying three triple-doubles in her past four games. Thomas now has five regular season career triple-doubles which makes her the league’s all-time leader in triple-doubles. After notching 14 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in the Sun’s win over the Sky on Sunday and 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the Sun’s loss to the Liberty on Tuesday, Thomas became the first player in league history to record back-to-back triple-doubles in the WNBA regular season.
Thomas has played her entire WNBA career in Connecticut and has already hit major franchise milestones this season. On June 25 against Chicago, Thomas became the Sun franchise leader in rebounds (1,822), passing Taj McWilliams-Franklin who had held the record for 17 years (1,814). On June 15 against Atlanta, Thomas eclipsed 3,000 career-points, becoming one of four players in franchise history to achieve the feat in a Sun uniform (N. Sales, A. Jones and T. McWilliams-Franklin). On June 4 against Dallas, she became the franchise leader in free throws made (693) and moved into third overall in games played in Connecticut Sun history (246).
Stephanie White and the Connecticut Sun coaching staff earned the honors to coach the 2023 WNBA All-Star Game as they guided the Sun to the second-best record in the WNBA as of June 30, 2023 (12-4). This will be White’s first time as a head coach in the All-Star Game. White had previously been named an assistant coach for the Eastern Conference Team in 2013 when she was an assistant for the Indiana Fever. However, she had to miss the game due to the birth of her twins Avery and Aiden.
The 2023 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game will be held at the Las Vegas Aces’ Michelob Ultra Arena on July 15 at 8:30 PM EST and broadcasted on ABC.
Established in 2003, the Connecticut Sun is a professional women’s basketball team in the Women’s National Basketball Association that takes residence at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. For additional information or to purchase season tickets, visit www.connecticutsun.com.
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