Dallas Wings’ Jessica Shepard, Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and Arike Ogunbowale.
Photos/Getty Images; Michael Hogue/Staff Artist
On the first day of Dallas Wings training camp, new coach Jose Fernandez set an intention.
“It’s a new day in Dallas,” Fernandez wrote in a post on X. “Championship standards in everything we do.”
Article continues below this ad
A year after finishing 10–34 and missing the playoffs, Dallas is 18–9 entering the WNBA All-Star break. The Wings made the franchise’s best 25-game start to a season since 2008, when they were known as the Detroit Shock, and recently had a six-game winning streak. Dallas sits at fourth in the league standings and boasts two All-Stars: second-year phenom Paige Bueckers and veteran forward Jessica Shepard.
Related: It’s early in the 2026 season, but this Dallas Wings team already looks radically different
With the playoffs in sight for the Wings, talks of championship potential have surrounded the team, which underwent a rebuild in the offseason. That rebuild included taking Azzi Fudd No. 1 overall in the 2026 WNBA draft and signing some of the league’s first million dollar athletes.
But the surging Wings have a few things to work out during the back half of the regular season, with improvement on the defensive side of the ball being a point of emphasis and the WNBA trade deadline approaching next month.
Not the same old Dallas Wings
The Wings went 2–0 in the preseason and opened the regular season with a thrilling road win over Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, highlighting the leaps Dallas made in the offseason.
Article continues below this ad
Dallas Wings forward Alanna Smith (8) and guard Aziaha James (10) react on the bench during the second half of an WNBA basketball game against against the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 9, 2026.
Doug McSchooler/AP
Bueckers added more strength in the weight room and general manager Curt Miller bolstered the Wings’ roster. During free agency, Dallas acquired former Minnesota Lynx forwards Shepard and Alanna Smith, along with veterans Alysha Clark and Odyssey Sims.
The Wings re-signed All-Star guard Arike Ogunbowale and returned forward Awak Kuier, who had been out of WNBA play since after the 2023 season. Dallas took Fudd No. 1 overall in the draft, reuniting the Bueckers-Fudd backcourt that won a national championship at UConn in 2025.
New coach Fernandez, hired in October, pieced everything together.
Related: Jose Fernandez has a Geno Auriemma-like intensity, but that doesn’t tell his full story
Article continues below this ad
Dallas ranks fourth in the WNBA in offense with an average of 90.2 points per game and fourth in field goal percentage with a mark of 46.5%. The Wings are on pace to make the second-highest jump in win percentage between seasons in WNBA history, according to ESPN Insights.
All-Star play
Bueckers, the 2025 No. 1 overall pick and WNBA Rookie of the Year, is having an exceptional sophomore season and has been paramount to the Wings’ ascent.
In 25 games played, the two-time All-Star starter has averaged 20.9 points, 6.2 assists and 4.2 rebounds. Bueckers, recently named AP Player of the Week and WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week, is shooting 39.7% from 3 and 51.3% from the field.
Related: How Dallas Wings star Paige Bueckers has approached this WNBA season differently
Article continues below this ad
She ranks sixth in the league in points and sixth in assists, and has delivered in the clutch repeatedly for Dallas — at one point leading the league in fourth quarter scoring.
Shepard, named an All-Star for the first time in her career in 2026, has taken some of the pressure off Bueckers and is having a career year.
She’s averaging 14.9 points, a league-high 12.0 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game. Shepard, who has also picked up Player of the Week honors, has recorded four triple doubles this season. The forward has the second-most triple doubles in WNBA history and the most double doubles in a single season in Wings history.
Defensive struggles
While rookie Fudd has been excellent on defense with averages of 1.7 steals and 0.8 blocks per game, the Wings as a whole could improve in that area.
Article continues below this ad
Indiana Fever guard Shatori Walker-Kimbrough (32) shoots over the defense of Dallas Wings guard Azzi Fudd (35) during the first half of an WNBA basketball in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 9, 2026.
Doug McSchooler/AP
Dallas has allowed an average of 86.2 points per game and has a defensive rating that ranks fifth among the league’s 15 teams, according to Basketball Reference.
Of the Wings’ nine losses, five have come to three of the league’s top teams: the Lynx, Las Vegas Aces and Golden State Valkyries.
In three meetings with the Lynx, all losses, the Wings have given up at least 85 points. Dallas gave up 99 points in its third meeting with the Aces, a team the Wings beat twice previously. Against the Valkyries, Dallas allowed 91 points in an 11-point loss.
Checking in with the top earners
One of the biggest pieces Dallas added in free agency was Smith, the reigning co-defensive player of the year. But the forward has struggled to see the floor this season.
Article continues below this ad
Initially in the starting lineup, Smith suffered a preseason nasal fracture that required her to wear a mask. The mask has since come off, but she’s missed time with other injuries and has averaged 3.8 points on 38.5% shooting, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20 games played this season.
These likely weren’t the returns the Wings expected from Smith, one of the highest paid players on the roster with a 2026 salary of $1,190,000, according to the Her Hoops Stats WNBA Salary Cap Database.
Ogunbowale, tied with Smith for the highest-paid on the roster, also signed a multiyear deal with Dallas, which selected her in the first round of the 2019 draft.
Related: ‘I’m seeing the new WNBA’: Arike Ogunbowale reflects on $1.2 million contract with Wings
The All-Star guard, averaging 14.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, has performed well in several contests this season.
In the last game before the All-Star break, she scored a game-high 24 points on 8 of 12 shooting and recorded six assists in the Wings’ 101-97 win over the Portland Fire.
But her output has been inconsistent.
Ogunbowale has scored 20 or more points 11 times this season, but has recorded less than 10 points in 10 contests. She’s struggled with efficiency, shooting 36.9% from the field — the second lowest percentage on the team.
Looking ahead
Dallas’ roster could see some movement in the coming weeks if GM Miller decides to make any transactions ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline.
The Wings have already made a few moves this season, acquiring guard Sug Sutton, waiving guard JJ Quinerly and signing guard-forward Haley Jones to a developmental contract.
With matchups against the Atlanta Dream, Fever, Lynx and Valkyries still on the schedule following the All-Star break, the Wings still have plenty of hurdles to overcome before the regular season wraps Sept. 23.
To close out the season strong and potentially make a playoff run, it’s paramount that Bueckers, who has missed two games in 2026 due to injury, stays healthy and the Wings improve on defense.