Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale celebrates after hitting a 3-pointer during a game against the Golden State Valkyries on Sept. 30 at College Park Center.
File photo / Treyson Abe
The Dallas Wings (27-17) were eliminated from the WNBA playoffs in the first round Oct. 2, concluding the team’s final season at College Park Center.
In August, the team announced it was moving to the American Airlines Center in Dallas after playing at UTA for 11 seasons. The Wings sold out the 6,251-seat Arlington arena in all but one of its games there this year.
“To have the city of Arlington backing us, they were our sixth man, and they won us plenty of games just being there and being loud and having our back,” Dallas guard Paige Bueckers said after the Wings’ final regular-season game in Arlington.
The team finished the regular season ranked seventh in the league, pitting them against the second-ranked Golden State Valkyries in the eight-team tournament.
The series opened in San Francisco, and despite a close first quarter, Golden State went on a 20-3 second-quarter run and didn’t look back, winning 104-80.
The series went to Arlington for Game 2, and with their backs to the wall, the Wings kept their season alive, winning 108-100 in overtime.
The win for survival came off the back of a WNBA playoff record 45-point performance from guard Arike Ogunbowale. It was her final game in the arena she spent her entire professional career calling home.
The series returned to California for the all-important Game 3. The Wings took a 16-point lead in the third quarter, but a 14-2 Valkyries run put Golden State back in it. The final quarter was back and forth, but Dallas ultimately lost the lead with just 77 seconds remaining and couldn’t reclaim it. The Valkyries cut down the Wings 77-73.
Despite the early elimination, the season wasn’t a disappointment, instead possibly being a sign of deeper runs in years to come. The playoff appearance was the Wings’ first since 2023, and sandwiched between the runs were bottom-two finishes in 2024 and 2025.
For the second season in a row, the Wings started the season by getting the first overall draft pick and selecting a highly touted guard from the University of Connecticut. In 2025, it was Bueckers, and in 2026, it was Azzi Fudd.
Fudd ended up leading Dallas in both 3-pointers and steals per game. A knee injury in August ended her rookie year early, and her absence was felt. The team placed fourth in the league just before the injury and never come close to that mark afterward.
Outside the draft, Dallas’ biggest addition was signing forward Jessica Shepard from the Minnesota Lynx. Shepard surpassed expectations this season, placing second in the league in rebounds per game and securing the WNBA’s second-most double-doubles and most triple-doubles.
The sixth-year, 6’4” forward averaged a double-double during the season, scoring 14.5 points per game and grabbing 11.1 rebounds per game. Her stellar year was honored with the league’s most improved player award.
“I’ve known what I’m capable of doing,” Shepard said to ESPN. “I think it’s my first time in the W just finding a team where I really fit.”
It wasn’t only newcomers who contributed to Dallas’ success. Bueckers followed her award-winning rookie year with a standout sophomore season. She led the team in both points and assists, placing fifth and eighth in the league, respectively.
Ogunbowale provided a strong veteran presence on the team, scoring the Wings’ second-most points per game and making the third-most assists per game. In the playoff series, the eighth-year guard carried the team on her back when others struggled, scoring 45 and 30 points in Games 2 and 3.
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers high fives fans after a game against the Golden State Valkyries on Sept. 30 at College Park Center.
File photo / Treyson Abe
The Wings will have two picks in the first round of next year’s draft.
Their performance this season gave them the ninth pick, and the team acquired the Las Vegas Aces’ 13th pick from a 2025 trade that sent forward NaLyssa Smith to Sin City.
Dallas also owns two second-round picks, its own at 24th and the Lynx’s at 30th from a 2025 trade that sent guard DiJonai Carrington to Minnesota.
The Wings own no third-round picks, trading theirs to the Seattle Storm in a 2025 trade that brought center Li Yueru to Dallas-Fort Worth.
Two of Dallas’ players this season will be unrestricted free agents in the offseason: Alysha Clark and Odyssey Sims. An unrestricted free agent can sign with any team that makes them an offer, without any say from the team they were on before.
In addition, four Wings will be restricted free agents: Yueru, Awak Kuier, Maddy Siegrist and Haley Jones. Kuier led the team and was third in the league in blocks, averaging 1.8 per game.
Starting Jan. 30, the team a restricted free agent was on previously gets exclusive rights to make offers to the player.
Beginning Feb. 4, other teams can make offers to a player, but if the original team matches it, the player has to go to the original team.
On Feb. 16, if the player’s team has not made them an offer, they become an unrestricted free agent.
“We’ve had such a fun season together. We truly, truly, truly enjoy being around each other,” Ogunbowale said after Game 2. “It was fun. We had a good time.”
@TyRoland06