Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers plays rock-paper-scissors with guard Aziaha James during practice on the team’s opening day of training camp at College Park Center on Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
The Dallas Wings started training camp Sunday at College Park Center in Arlington, where they’ve started identity-formation and chemistry-building in advance of their May 9 season opener at the Indiana Fever.
Here are five takeaways from the first few days of camp.
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New era in Dallas
Jose Fernandez made something clear after the first practice.
“It’s a new day in Dallas,” Fernandez wrote on X. “Championship Standards in everything we do.”
And he put action behind those words. Star guard Paige Bueckers said Fernandez, hired as the new Wings coach in October, reminds her of legendary UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma.
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Bueckers highlighted his “no BS mentality” and attention to detail.
“It gives you confidence in terms of everybody knowing their role, everybody knowing what it’s going to take that night and nobody stepping outside of what the Dallas Wings culture is. Because if that happens, he will hold us accountable,” Bueckers told reporters Sunday.
Dallas Wings head coach Jose Fernandez watches his team practice on the team’s opening day of training camp at College Park Center on Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Trimming the roster
The Wings listed 22 players on their initial training camp roster, with 17 showing up on Sunday for camp and five players — Arike Ogunbowale, Jessica Shepard, Awak Kuier, Costanza Verona and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu — scheduled to arrive late due to overseas commitments.
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All-Star guard Ogunbowale is expected to report between Friday and Tuesday, a team spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News.
The Wings will trim their roster down to 14 — 12 active players with two additional development spots — by May 7. Dallas has already made cuts, waiving guard Shyanne Sellers and guard Grace Sullivan on Wednesday, when the Wings had the day off.
Fernandez joked on Monday about the number of players the Wings have at camp. The former South Florida coach said he’s never had 17 people in one gym.
“I think we could invade a small island,” he said.
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Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd takes a shot during practice on the team’s opening day of training camp at College Park Center on Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
High praise for Azzi Fudd
Fernandez yelled at Azzi Fudd, the Wings’ No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA draft, on the first day of practice.
“‘You’re not going to pass up open shots,’” the coach said Sunday, recalling the exchange before adding that the Wings drafted her in part because of her elite shooting ability.
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There’s been high praise for that, along with other aspects of Fudd’s game.
“Defensively, she disrupts a lot of stuff,” Bueckers said. “She has great hands, great length. … She knows how to play and play the right way.”
The Wings ranked among the worst 3-point shooting teams in the league last season. Players and team leaders have emphasized that Fudd addresses a need.
“We took Azzi Fudd because she was the best player for this franchise, and in my system, I thought she would be very successful. That’s why we drafted her,” Fernandez said Tuesday. “She has a very unique skill set. She can shoot the crap out of the basketball and she can create off the bounce. She invested and got better defensively.”
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Fudd said Sunday that she’s committed to being more aggressive.
“If I’m a threat, then they have to guard me,” Fudd said. “They have to respect me and then it opens things up for the people around me.”
Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers addresses reporters on the team’s opening day of training camp at College Park Center on Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Year 2 Paige Bueckers
Bueckers averaged 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 2025, when she was named the WNBA Rookie of the Year.
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She was just getting started.
Now back for Year 2, the phenom has added strength in the weight room and found her voice after an offseason that included playing in Unrivaled and representing Team USA.
“I came in as a rookie, I wanted to gain everybody’s respect, wanted to just gel with the team, not step on any toes,” Bueckers said Sunday.
But in 2026, she wants to take more ownership over who she and the Wings want the team to be.
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Dallas Wings forward Alysha Clark greets a staff member during practice on the team’s opening day of training camp at College Park Center on Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Arlington.
Smiley N. Pool/The Dallas Morning News
Piecing everything together
The Wings brought in several new pieces in 2026, signing co-defensive player of the year Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard, both formerly of the Minnesota Lynx, to multiyear deals. They also picked up veterans Alysha Clark and Odyssey Sims, in addition to acquiring new players through the draft.
One of the big roster questions is how Bueckers, Fudd and Ogunbowale, who returned to the Wings on a multiyear deal, will mesh.
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With several players still missing from camp, including Ogunbowale, the Wings can’t answer that or other questions just yet.
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“When they get here, things in this practice facility are going to change dramatically,” Fernandez said Sunday.
Bueckers said that similar to last season, there’s a lot to learn with so many new players. But she likes the versatility she’s seeing.
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“We’ve got shooting, we’ve got length, we’ve got aggressive mentalities on the defensive end,” Bueckers said.