The Dallas Wings made a big move Sunday, trading splashy offseason addition DiJonai Carrington to the Minnesota Lynx in the middle of a trying season.
In return, Dallas got guard Karlie Samuelson, forward Diamond Miller and a 2027 second round pick from Minnesota.
Samuelson, a 7-year WNBA veteran, joins the Wings as she recovers from a left foot injury she suffered in June. She will not return in 2025.
Here’s five things to know about Dallas’ newly-acquired veteran guard:
Sports Roundup
1. The basics
Position: Guard
Height: 6-0
Date of birth: May 10, 1995 (Age 30)
Birthplace: Fullerton, Calif.
College: Stanford
2. She’s been here before
This isn’t Samuelson’s first time in North Texas.
She first played for Dallas in 2019 with a brief stint where she featured in just four WNBA games. She struggled to make an impact and averaged just 1.5 points per game coming off the bench for the Wings.
Dallas renewed her contract for 2020, but she was waived before the start of the year. After her time in Dallas, she did not return to the WNBA until 2021 when the Los Angeles Sparks brought her back into the league.
3. Journeywoman
An undrafted free agent out of Stanford, Samuelson struggled to find her footing in the WNBA. She came off the bench in 20 games for the Sparks her rookie year, but then appeared in only seven games the following season and dropped out of the league entirely in 2020.
Since LA brought her back in 2021, she’s played for five teams in five years: Los Angeles (2021, 2023), Seattle (2021), Phoenix (2022), Washington (2024) and Minnesota (2025).
One of the best seasons of her career came in 2023 when she appeared in 34 games and started 23 for the Sparks, averaging 7.7 points per game and shooting 42.6% from three-point range. Coincidentally, that season she was coached by now-Wings general manager Curt Miller.
4. She’s a sharpshooter
While in the WNBA, Samuelson has demonstrated elite three-point shooting ability. She’s a career 39.2% shooter from beyond the arc, good for No. 21 in WNBA history, just behind Hall of Famer Sue Bird and two-time league MVP Elena Delle Donne.
Her 42.6% from three was good for No. 6 in the league in 2023. A year later she was still among the league’s best, shooting 39.8% from three to rank inside the top 15 in the league.
She’s also excellent from the free throw line, a career 92% shooter from the charity stripe.
5. WNBA family
Karlie isn’t the only Samuelson to make the WNBA. She’s the older sister of former Dallas Wings forward Katie Lou Samuelson.
Katie Lou, a former star at UConn, was drafted in the first round of the draft by the Chicago Sky in 2019. She, like her older sister, has bounced around to several clubs in the WNBA, including a stop in Dallas in 2020.
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Miller was part of Dallas’ return in the trade that sent DiJonai Carrington to the Minnesota Lynx.
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