ARLINGTON — With signs of encouragement all around, the Dallas Wings — just like the Texas Rangers — hit the All-Star break with a losing record after falling to the Las Vegas Aces, 90-86, Wednesday night at College Park Center. The difference is instead of being one game below .500 with nearly 70 games to play like Texas, the Wings are 6-17 and time already has become precious.
While Paige Bueckers has done everything the team could possibly have asked or hoped for since being drafted No. 1 overall following her championship season with the UConn Huskies — she will become the sixth rookie to play in the league’s All-Star Game Saturday night in Indianapolis — the Wings have not taken flight. They reside in last place in the West, which doesn’t matter so much since the top eight teams make the postseason no matter which conference they call home.
The problem is that the Aces and Washington Mystics, tied at 11-11, hold down the final two playoff spots. If it’s going to take a .500 record to reach the playoffs, the Wings will have to go 15-6 after the All-Star break. Nothing suggests a team that began the season 1-11 is ready to make that kind of a leap, no matter how great Bueckers plays.
I asked her before Wednesday’s game if there was still a path to the playoffs and she said, “Yeah, but we’re not focused on anything other than the results. Try to play better, let the results take care of themselves, stick to our process.’’
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The Wings found themselves helpless against league MVP center A’ja Wilson, who scored 37 points and had 10 rebounds in 34 minutes. Dallas trailed by 20 entering the third quarter, but Bueckers’ six assists in the final quarter ignited the home team and the home crowd. The Wings got to within two on a Bueckers basket in the final minute before Wilson put the game away. With rookie third-round pick J.J Quinerly running the offense, with Bueckers doing her part despite a rough shooting night (20 points, eight assists), the Wings showed what the future can look like. That picture should include 12th overall pick Aziaha James, who led the team with 28 points earlier this month in its biggest win, a 95-87 upset of the Phoenix Mercury.
“We’re young, we’re young, we’re very young,” rookie head coach Chris Koclanes said afterward, perhaps repeating something he tells himself every night before bed. “But I like our upside. If we can continue to stay together and build positive habits, we’ll get this thing where we need to get it in the long term.’’
Staying together might require pulling apart, however. Arike Ogunbowale is the club’s all-time leading scorer and has been its singular star for much of her seven seasons here after leading Notre Dame to a national championship in 2018. But there have been times where she appeared to be a scorer and not much else. With Bueckers on hand, with Quinerly running the point, Agunbowale can look like the third woman out in the Wings’ backcourt. After going 0-for-10 against the Indiana Fever Sunday, Ogunbowale drew the mildest criticism from her coach, causing Bueckers to rush to her defense while seated alongside Koclanes.
Ogunbowale was 3-for-12 against the Aces. Shooting less and enjoying it a lot less, she has not just her lowest scoring average (15.7) in seven pro seasons but lowest field goal percentage (34.6) and second lowest among the league’s top 20 scorers. Koclanes likes the speed and energy the rookie Quinerly brings to the offense at the point, and if she ever finishes her layups, she’ll be dangerous. With Bueckers handling the ball on nearly every possession, Arike looks less than ever like someone with a permanent place on this roster.
The team beat Phoenix while she was injured, causing Koclanes to be asked why Arike was back in the starting lineup over James, who had played so well in beating the Mercury and who clearly represents this team’s future along with Bueckers and Quinerly. “Right now I believe in Arike, this organization believes in Arike and that she’s a superstar and that she will be just fine,’’ he said.
They can believe what they choose, but this team belongs to Bueckers and the kids, and Ogunbowale’s visible frustration when calls didn’t go her way against Las Vegas weren’t helping the cause. Time will tell exactly what kind of role she can adapt to when this team is positioned to truly contend in the WNBA.
For now, it remains the Paige Bueckers Show and even on a 9-for-24 night, her game-high assist total was worth the price of admission for the 6,000-plus that made it to the UTA campus. When will the Wings truly become a Dallas team and move into the refurbished Memorial Auditorium downtown? That’s a harder one to predict than Arike’s future but it won’t be next season.
Ten years into their time in Texas, the Wings have been slow to find their footing and make their mark. The arrival of Bueckers has the accelerator on everything. More changes will be made before this becomes a good basketball team, but rookies holding their own against Wilson and the league’s best veterans is as encouraging as anything this organization has managed since leaving Tulsa.
As Arike Ogunbowale battles shooting slump, Wings maintain strong belief in veteran star
Paige Bueckers and Chris Koclanes shared positive remarks about Ogunbowale, who has come under criticism this season for her performance.
Paige Bueckers-led Wings fall to Aces, but show significant strides as needed break nears
Ahead of the WNBA All-Star break, Dallas exhibits positive steps when Paige Bueckers and 2024 MVP A’ja Wilson face off.