Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers (5) looks to get past Golden State Valkyries guard Kaila Charles (6) during the second half of a WNBA basketball game played on Friday, August 7, 2026 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Steve Nurenberg/The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Wings have known for weeks they were bound for the WNBA playoffs for the first time since 2023.
But it took until the final night of the regular season for Paige Bueckers and her teammates to learn their opponent will be the No. 2 seed Golden State Valkyries.
The Wings enter the postseason as the No. 7 seed and having won seven of their last eight games, but the Valkyries proved to be a thorn in Dallas’ side all season.
Article continues below this ad
“We definitely had a lot of glimpses of good basketball, and we know we can compete with them,” Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale said Friday after practice in Arlington. “But I think they just had a lot of good basketball for a longer period of time than us. So if we can string together 40 minutes, I think it’s going to be a really competitive series.”
So who has the advantage? Here’s an early scouting report of the series, which also includes a look at the three-game regular season slate that fell in Golden State’s favor:
Previous meetings this season
Dallas met Golden State three times during the 2026 season. It may have been three times too many as the Valkyries swept the series. Golden State leads the all-time regular season series against Dallas 6-1 since its expansion season in 2025.
June 17: Valkyries 91, Wings 80 at Golden State
Article continues below this ad
Gabby Williams scored 25 points, while Kaitlyn Chen came off the bench to score 15 points against former UConn teammates Bueckers and Azzi Fudd, and the Valkyries beat the Wings in the season’s first matchup.
Aug. 7: Valkyries 94, Wings 76 at Dallas
Amid the Wings’ slippery slope after the All-Star break, Fudd’s absence was the main storyline of a blowout loss to Golden State at American Airlines Center. Dallas didn’t know it then, but the No. 1 overall draft pick had played her last game of the season two days prior, due to injury.
Aug. 17: Valkyries 78, Wings 70 at Golden State
Williams had 23 points and seven rebounds as Golden State clinched its playoff berth and completed the season sweep of the Wings. Bueckers scored 21 points and brought Dallas back down the stretch, but in the end it wasn’t enough.
Article continues below this ad
Valkyries’ top stars
Gabby Wiliams, guard: Golden State’s leading scorer at 14.4 points per game. She averaged 22.3 points per game against Dallas in 2026.
Janelle Salaun, forward / Veronica Burton, guard: The other top scorers on the Valkyries. Both averaged more than 12.0 points per game this season. Burton scored 22 points against the Wings, her former team, on Aug. 7. The Wings drafted Burton seventh overall in 2022 and waived her before the start of the 2024 season.
Kiah Stokes, center: The big presence down low leads the team in rebounds (5.8) and blocks (1.7) per game.
Who has the edge
The Wings may have just completed the most successful season since the franchise moved to Dallas, racking up 27 wins. But the luck of the draw wasn’t exactly on their side landing the Golden State card in the playoff bracket.
Article continues below this ad
The three-game series tips off Sunday at Chase Center in San Francisco before a trip to Arlington for Game 2 on Wednesday at 8 p.m. and a potential flight back to California if there’s a need for Game 3.
During the regular season, the Valkyries were able to control the potent Wings offense, holding the team under many of its season averages. Dallas scored 89.4 points per game in 2026, but could only manage 75.3 per game against Golden State.
Likewise, Bueckers, the team’s scoring leader, also had a little extra attention on her. The guard’s points per game average dropped from 20.9 to 17.7 when playing the Valkyries, and her percentage from beyond the 3-point arc also fell from 41.0% to 28.6%.
“They’re physical and they do a good job rotating,” Wings coach Jose Fernandez said Friday after practice in Arlington.
As is the case across the league in the opening round, the first game could be crucial for the Wings. Stealing one on the road with the opportunity to advance in front of the home crowd would be a much easier path than the alternative, especially considering the opponent swept Dallas during the regular season.
Article continues below this ad
Series schedule
Game 1: Sunday, 8 p.m. (Chase Center)
TV: USA/CNBC
Game 2: Wednesday, 8 p.m. (College Park Center)
TV: ESPN
Game 3 (if nec.): Friday, Oct. 2 (Chase Center)
TV: TBD/TBD
Article continues below this ad