NEW YORK (AP) - Candice Dupree appreciates road trips a little bit more lately. That’s what happens with newborn twin girls at home.
The Indiana Fever star’s wife is DeWanna Bonner, who is with the Phoenix Mercury and took this season off. Sleep is at a premium now.
“I was pretty excited to go on the road to get a good night’s sleep,” Dupree said before a recent game in New York. “If it’s not a game night, sleep is very limited. I try to help out. Game night’s DB is pretty good about sleep. My mom and her other sister are there also. For the most part, we’re trying to do things on our own since we won’t have everyone around forever.”
The day the babies were born, Dupree thought her friends were pulling a prank. Someone from the Fever’s front office told her Bonner was in labor. Dupree called her mom. When told it was true, she rushed home in her practice gear.
“I was glad I was able to be in the delivery room and see it happen,” Dupree said. “I felt bad for DB. The first one came quick, but the second one took two hours. I was like ’you got it, you got it.’ It was a very cool experience.”
Dupree wasn’t the only Fever player excited about the birth. The team drafted Bonner’s sister, Erica McCall, this past April. This league says this is the first time in the WNBA that sisters or sisters-in-law have been on the same team.
“It’s really special,” McCall said of becoming an aunt. “To hold them the first time, I got pretty emotional. They are super sweet.”
Dupree has enjoyed having McCall on the team.
“I try to let her live and enjoy her rookie season,” Dupree said. “I don’t want her to feel like she has to hang out or anything like that. Enjoy her rookie season, I know I enjoyed mine. The big difference though is she’s the only rookie so that could be a little hard.”
The two first met when McCall was in high school and have had a bond since.
“She’s been great to have around and I’m glad she’s part of this team,” Dupree said.
The pair are always shooting together after practice and McCall is Dupree’s backup. The one game that Dupree missed after the birth, McCall started in her place.
“It’s always great to learn from one of the best in the game, it’s even cooler that we’re family.”
It’s been a season in transition on the court for the Fever, who are in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2004. That’s the longest postseason streak in WNBA history.
“We’re aware of it,” Dupree said. “We are going to try and do what we can to keep it going.”
Dupree isn’t playing overseas this winter so she can spend time with Bonner and her daughters. She isn’t sure what’s going to happen next year when Bonner goes back to Phoenix. The two were teammates in Phoenix before Dupree was traded to Indiana in the offseason.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Dupree said. “We have the same agent so he has his work cut out for him to figure out next summer. It’s something we talk about occasionally. At some point we’ll have to figure it out.”
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