Paige Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick and WNBA Rookie of the Year in 2025, headlines the group that includes five other returners from last season’s team: Aziaha James, Arike Ogunbowale, JJ Quinerly, Maddy Siegrist and Li Yueru.
Newcomers include 2026 No. 1 pick Azzi Fudd, veterans Alysha Clark and Odyssey Sims and a pair of two former Minnesota Lynx forwards: reigning co-defensive player of the year Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard.
Not technically a newcomer, center Awak Kuier rejoined the team after sitting out WNBA play following the 2023 season. The Wings picked Kuier second overall in the 2021 draft.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement, teams must carry 12 active players on their roster but can have up to two players on developmental contracts.
The Wings signed Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu and Costanza Verona to developmental contracts, rounding out the opening day roster.
Dallas has three, million-dollar athletes on the roster, according to the Her Hoop Stats WNBA Salary Cap Database. Ogunbowale and Smith’s salaries of nearly $1.2 million make them the highest paid on the team. Shepard is set to earn $1 million this season.
Fudd will make the most money of any rookie in WNBA history with a salary of $500,000. Bueckers, whose rookie contract was scaled up under the new CBA, will make the same amount. That figure is nearly seven times more than what she earned as the top pick in 2025.
* Signed to a Developmental Player contract