NCAA Champion Analyst Uses Plus/Minus to Defend DeWanna Bonner, Claiming Clark’s Number Exposes the ‘Myth’ of Single-Player Dominance
The WNBA has entered a new era defined by explosive media interest and intense scrutiny over every aspect of player performance. In this data-obsessed environment, one metric—the often-misunderstood plus/minus rating—has become the new battleground for assessing a player’s true value. A highly respected – Val Whiting, two-time NCAA champion analyst has ignited a statistical firestorm, using the controversial negative plus/minus number associated with Indiana Fever rookie sensation Caitlin Clark to mount a surprising and fierce defense of Phoenix Mercury veteran DeWanna Bonner.
The core of this debate centers on a fundamental question: When a team is struggling, how much blame does an individual star truly deserve for the team’s poor net scoring margin? The analyst’s argument is bold, uncompromising, and relies on an inconvenient truth: the numbers show that even a generational talent like Clark is incapable of overriding systemic team deficiencies.
The Bonner Problem: Scrutiny and the Plus/Minus Trap
DeWanna Bonner, a five-time All-Star and established leader, has long been a fixture of the Phoenix Mercury offense. She remains a prolific scorer, capable of carrying the offensive load for stretches. Yet, Bonner has consistently faced a steady stream of criticism directed at one specific, unforgiving metric: her plus/minus rating.
The plus/minus statistic simply tracks the net difference in the score while a player is on the court. For struggling teams, star players who log heavy minutes—like Bonner—often accumulate significantly negative numbers. Critics use this number as irrefutable proof that Bonner’s high-volume scoring is either inefficient or does not translate to meaningful team success, suggesting she may be hurting the team more than helping in spite of her raw box score numbers.
Val Whiting pushed back forcefully against this narrative, arguing that placing the entirety of a negative plus/minus on Bonner’s shoulders is a fundamental misunderstanding of basketball dynamics. The analyst contends that in a league with tight talent margins, a negative rating often reflects deep-seated issues that one player, regardless of talent, cannot fix—namely, poor defensive execution across the roster and chronic bench scoring deficiencies.
The Clark Counter-Argument: A Generational Talent’s Inconvenient Metric
The analyst then delivered the most shocking rhetorical move of the debate: using Caitlin Clark’s own highly scrutinized statistics as a shield for Bonner.
Clark’s arrival in the WNBA brought unprecedented attention. Despite the historic viewership and sellout crowds she draws, her transition to the professional game has been challenging, marked by numerous turnovers, league-low defensive ratings, and a consistently deeply negative plus/minus rating. This number, for a star of her caliber and usage, is highly unusual and has been the most significant point of contention for her critics.
The analyst argued that Clark’s negative plus/minus is the ultimate data point proving the systemic nature of the problem, stating essentially, if the most hyped, highest-usage player in the league—a true generational offensive force—cannot achieve a positive plus/minus on the Indiana Fever, then the issue is definitively not the individual player.
“Look at Clark’s plus/minus,” the analyst is understood to have conveyed.
“She is a talent we have never seen. Yet, her number is right there, at the bottom. She scores, she assists, she does everything you ask, but the team’s net margin while she’s on the floor is still heavily negative. That is undeniable, powerful evidence that the Fever’s poor bench play, the rotational defense issues, and the overall roster depth—or lack thereof—is what’s driving the number, not just Clark’s personal execution.”
By drawing this direct parallel, the analyst effectively reframes the entire debate. If the league’s most transcendent offensive talent cannot escape the negative gravity of her team’s plus/minus, then it is intellectually dishonest to solely punish a veteran like Bonner for the exact same metric on another struggling team. The analyst’s position is that Bonner is a symptom of the Mercury’s issues, just as Clark is a symptom of the Fever’s issues, rather than the singular cause of the statistical deficiency.
The Myth of Single-Player Dominance Exposed
The larger philosophical implication of this argument challenges the pervasive “Myth of Single-Player Dominance,” particularly in the highly-skilled WNBA where deep rosters and tactical cohesion often trump individual star power.
For years, the narrative has been that a truly elite player—a so-called “game changer”—should be able to elevate their team immediately, and this elevation should be quantifiable in advanced metrics like plus/minus. Clark’s heavily negative rating, however, serves as a powerful counter-example: even her massive offensive gravity and elite passing cannot compensate for every defensive breakdown or every point conceded when she is on the court.
The analyst’s defense of Bonner is therefore not just about one veteran; it is about establishing a fairer context for evaluating stars on rebuilding or poorly constructed rosters. It is a plea to the audience to look beyond the simplistic surface of the plus/minus number and recognize that in basketball, the negative metric often shines the brightest light on the team’s weaknesses, not the star’s.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’m over it, but I’m just gonna live this moment with them.”
In a league where every debate goes viral, this statistical face-off—pitting the rookie sensation’s controversial numbers against the veteran’s long-standing criticisms—is set to redefine how fans and analysts alike assign credit and blame. The truth, according to this champion analyst, is that both Bonner and Clark are victims of their team’s deficiencies, a realization that should temper the aggressive use of plus/minus as the ultimate weapon against individual star power.
