{"id":581775,"date":"2026-04-13T14:48:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/581775\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T14:48:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:48:12","slug":"dallas-is-making-moves-wings-re-sign-arike-ogunbowale-to-multi-year-deal-add-jessica-shepard-and-alanna-smith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/581775\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas is making moves. Wings re-sign Arike Ogunbowale to multi-year deal, add Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith"},"content":{"rendered":"

The return of a 4-time All-Star, the co-defensive player of the year and a powerhouse on both sides of the floor \u2013 many teams across the WNBA made some major moves during free agency over the weekend, including the Dallas Wings<\/a>. <\/p>\n

To top it off, this is the first season where players are capitalizing on higher salaries from the new CBA<\/a>, making it possible for some of them to earn more than $1 million in a year for the first time. <\/p>\n

Building a legacy\u00a0<\/p>\n

More than 80% of the league’s veteran players are free agents this year, including Dallas’ star guard Arike Ogunbowale, but she’s staying right here. <\/p>\n

The Wings announced Saturday that the organization re-signed the franchise’s leading scorer on a multi-year, nearly $1.2 million deal. <\/p>\n

During her time with Dallas, Ogunbowale has been named a four-time WNBA All-Star, a two-time All-Star Game MVP, and she’s been a three-time WNBA selection. She enters this season as not only the Wings’ leading scorer, but also the leader in field goals made, three-pointers and free throws made. <\/p>\n

“We are so excited that Arike has chosen to return to Dallas and build upon her great legacy here,” Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Curt Miller said in a press release. “Her commitment to the Wings and City of Dallas is undeniable and we are looking forward to building this team with her veteran leadership at the forefront.”<\/p>\n

Ogunbowale’s resume speaks for itself, and outside the WNBA, she recently celebrated winning the Unrivaled Championship in the offseason. <\/p>\n

Impactful on both side of the floor<\/p>\n

But that wasn’t the only notable news by the Wings this weekend; the team added Ogunbowale’s former Notre Dame teammate, and Minnesota Lynx forward, Jessica Shepard, to its roster. <\/p>\n

Shepard, who was a free agent this season, signed a multiyear deal after being with the Lynx for five seasons. <\/p>\n

Shepard, at 6’4″, brings much-needed size and rebounding to Dallas’ frontcourt, but she’s also known for her basketball IQ on both sides of the floor.<\/p>\n

In over 40 games with the Lynx last season, she averaged 8 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.6 assist, while shooting nearly 64% percent from the field. She ranked 7th overall in the WNBA for rebounds.<\/p>\n

“She was a priority for us in free agency because of her versatility offensively. She is a fantastic passer and facilitator, along with being an incredible scorer around the rim,” said Miller. <\/p>\n

A defensive steal\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another piece that was a priority for Dallas, adding a defensive presence and who better than the reigning Co-Defensive Player of the Year, Alanna Smith. <\/p>\n

Smith, who signed a multi-year agreement with the Wings, also comes from the Lynx after two standout seasons. <\/p>\n

Last season she started in 42 games, averaging 9.6 points on 48.5% shooting, along with 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.<\/p>\n

Smith finished third in the league in both blocks and total blocks (80) last year, setting career highs in both those categories. <\/p>\n

Smith, a native Australian, has also been a longtime member of the Australian National Team, named to the All-Star Five at the 2024 Paris Olympics. <\/p>\n

The Wings also traded Diamond Miller to the Connecticut Sun for Rayah Marshall on Thursday in a swap of frontcourt players this weekend. And late Sunday announced they assigned veteran point guard Lindsay Allen. <\/p>\n

Who’s up next for the Wings? <\/p>\n

The Wings have the No. 1 pick in Monday’s draft after getting Paige Bueckers<\/a> in that spot last year. Bueckers was honored as rookie of the year after averaging 19.2 points, 5.4 assists and 3.9 rebounds.<\/p>\n

The top pick on Monday night will earn $500,000 in her first year, with the second and third picks making $466,913 and $436,016. Whoever is chosen first will make nearly seven times as much as Paige Bueckers did last season as the No. 1 choice. Second and third-round picks will make $270,000, which is more than the previous maximum salary in the old CBA.<\/p>\n

There are four players at the top of the list, including TCU point guard Olivia Miles<\/a>, recent NCAA champion Lauren Betts and Spain’s Awa Fam, but fans and now mock drafts are projecting Azzi Fudd as the top selection. <\/p>\n

Fudd, UConn guard and Bueckers’ former teammate, was the most Outstanding Player at the 2025 Final Four. The 3-point snipper looks to be the best choice for the Wings after the moves they made over the weekend. <\/p>\n

The draft is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. CT, and the Wings are hosting a watch party at Happiest Hour in Dallas starting at 4 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The return of a 4-time All-Star, the co-defensive player of the year and a powerhouse on both sides…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[1062,2834,99,434,238055],"class_list":{"0":"post-581775","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wnba","8":"tag-dallas","9":"tag-dallas-wings","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-wnba","12":"tag-women039s-basketball"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}