ARLINGTON – The Dallas Wings aren’t hanging their heads as they enter their final game of the season.
Dallas, which plays the Phoenix Mercury on Thursday at College Park Center, has been eliminated from the playoffs since its 81-80 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks on Aug. 20. While the Wings (9-34) no longer have anything to play for, spirits were high on Wednesday at their last practice, which saw the team play a competitive game of knockout to close out their time together.
This season, the first with No. 1 pick Paige Bueckers on the roster, hasn’t panned out exactly how the Wings hoped. But they’ve been using these last few games of the season as a springboard into 2026.
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“We have a locker room that is super connected and locked in with one another,” Wings coach Chris Koclanes said after Wednesday’s practice. “Just really good people in that locker room with a really good purpose together. So that’s a good foundation to be able to build off of.”
The locker room has been a bright spot in what has been a tough season for the rebuilding organization. Five players, including Wings star veteran Arike Ogunbowale, have been ruled out for Thursday’s game with injuries, a huge issue for Dallas this year.
Injuries have been so bad for the Wings that they’ve brought in a revolving door of players on hardship contracts. Other players were traded or waived throughout the season.
“As people come and people go, it’s really tough to find continuity on and off the floor. But I think we found something down the stretch with a core group, so lots of good habits being built,” Koclanes said. “So, a lot of positives to grow on and build off of throughout the adversity that we’ve experienced all year.”
The Wings announced a sellout for Thursday’s game at College Park Center, where fans will be able to see Rookie of the Year front-runner Bueckers in action one last time in 2025.
Bueckers, who just picked up her third consecutive Rookie of the Month honor, is averaging 19.1 points, 5.3 assists and 3.8 rebounds. In more ways than one, it’s been an unprecedented season for the phenom out of UConn, who won a national title in April and isn’t used to losing.
But like many others in the Wings organization, she’s leaned on the strength of the locker room.
“The stuff off the court, like playing card games on the plane,” Bueckers said Wednesday about her favorite memories from the season. “Just bonding, going out to eat. Hanging out is the stuff that’s most fun to me.”
Koclanes said his favorite memory from the season was also off the court.
After the Wings beat the Seattle Storm on the road in the first game after the All-Star break, he said the team took a trip to Napa Valley.
“Those are the trips that bring the perspective back to you,” Koclanes said. “You play 44 games in such a short time. You get wrapped up in the highs and the lows and the basketball and the X’s and the O’s and you forget about the people and the person behind the player, so that was a good reset for me.”
Wings forward Maddy Siegrist, who is averaging 12.8 points and 4.4 rebounds and missed more than a month with a right knee injury, said Wednesday that Dallas has had a great group all season.
“Our locker room is something that has been strong all year,” Siegrist said. “Obviously, we want it to translate on the court tomorrow and in the coming season.”
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Wings’ pattern of a big Paige Bueckers game in defeat continues with loss to Valkyries
Bueckers’ 27 points weren’t enough, as Dallas’ losing streak extends to nine.
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