The Dallas Wings are a week into training camp, with six practices in the books.\u00a0Media members have been allowed in to observe roughly 30 minutes of each session at College Park Center. Here are the standout storylines so far.<\/p>\n
2025 rookies coming in strong<\/p>\n
Any time you step into the gym for training camp, one thing you won\u2019t be able to miss is Paige Bueckers<\/a>\u2019 presence.\u00a0The 2025 rookie of the year is vocal as a leader throughout practice and at times has spoken to the team in the post-practice huddle.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cJust taking ownership of who I want to be and who I want this team and who we all want this team to be,\u201d Bueckers said about her leadership style. <\/p>\n First year head coach Jose Fernandez has stressed the importance of taking every practice and every possession seriously, and Bueckers\u2019 competitiveness has been on full display. Whether she\u2019s talking trash or taking issue with perceived uncalled fouls, it\u2019d be difficult to accuse the second-year star of simply going through the motions of training camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n On top of all of that, she\u2019s continued to stand out with her play on the court. Bueckers has dominated offensively in each session that media has observed, whether by scoring or passing the ball. Any judgement about desired improvements \u2014 shooting more threes, getting to the rim and increased defensive impact \u2014 is best saved for game action, but plenty outside shots have been attempted and converted.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aziaha James<\/a>, Dallas\u2019 other first-round pick in 2025, has also impressed. She\u2019s been able to shake defenders at will, throw sharp passes and give a fierce defensive effort. Fernandez noted that she came to training camp in great shape, a credit to her playing in Unrivaled over the offseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s electric in the open floor,\u201d Fernandez said. \u201cNow it\u2019s about spacing and putting her right positions in the halfcourt.\u201d<\/p>\n James, who is expected to come off the bench in 2026, showed flashes with three 20-point games as a rookie. Improved efficiency might be the biggest key for her remaining as a rotation staple in the coming season.\u00a0<\/p>\n The point guard puzzle<\/p>\n While Bueckers is expected to make her starts at point guard, she won\u2019t be spending all of her time at that spot; both Fernandez and general manager Curt Miller want her to be used off the ball as well. This is not only because she\u2019s still dangerous in that role, but also to relieve her of the attention opponents will give her as a ballhandler and the effort she\u2019s expected to exert defensively herself.\u00a0<\/p>\n Which players are kept to be trusted in that role might be the biggest puzzle the Wings have yet to figure out.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYou have to have a great point guard to be able to move Paige around,\u201d Miller said.\u00a0<\/p>\n As of April 26, the Wings still have four candidates. Guards JJ Quinerly<\/a> and Grace Berger<\/a> are the two returning options in that spot, both having started 13 games in 2025. Quinerly impressed after making the roster as a third-round pick, averaging 6.5 points per game and shooting 38.9% from three.<\/p>\n Her season was ended early by a knee injury that required surgery, and she\u2019s been held out of contact portions of practice to this point. Fernandez said the team is being \u201cvery careful\u201d as she works toward a return.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dallas also added two veteran options after losing Ty Harris<\/a> in free agency. Odyssey Sims<\/a>, who has had a few stints with the franchise, joins after averaging 10.3 points and 4.0 assists for Indiana last season.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cFor us to be able to convince Odyssey to stay home and stay in the DFW market was really important,\u201d Miller said. \u201cSo excited about what she brings on both sides. She\u2019s a two-way player. She can really help our defense, but offensively, she can go score and be a second-unit scorer for us, and obviously move Paige off the ball and keep our tempo up.\u201d<\/p>\n Lindsay Allen<\/a> was another free agency pickup who is in the mix. However, the ninth-year guard is another player who has been limited during portions open to media.\u00a0<\/p>\n The No. 1 2026 pick is now a week into her first training camp, now the team\u2019s only draft pick on the roster after Zee Spearman<\/a> was waived Sunday.<\/p>\n Fernandez said on day one that he had to \u201cyell at her\u201d to take open shots, but the guard has otherwise earned praise from her coach and teammates.<\/p>\n Dallas said it plans to run plenty of plays for the sharpshooter, and that has been reflected in the five-on-five portions of practice. Practice players or teammates tasked with defending her have been forced to navigate numerous screens as to not let her come open beyond the arc.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone knows she\u2019s an amazing shooter, but I think something that\u2019s underrated is her off-ball movement,\u201d forward Alysha Clark<\/a> said. \u201cShe\u2019s a fantastic cutter. She knows how to read the game.\u201d<\/p>\n The rookie hasn\u2019t necessarily lit it up from downtown in the portions of practice media has been able to deserve, but she\u2019s had open looks from three and has been comfortable getting to a one-dribble pull-up jumper in the mid-range as well.\u00a0Her first preseason game action is just days away on April 30.\u00a0<\/p>\n Order \u2018Rare Gems\u2019 and save 30% If you enjoy Megdal\u2019s coverage of women\u2019s basketball every Wednesday at The IX Sports, you will love \u201cRare Gems: How Four Generations of Women Paved the Way for the WNBA.\u201d Click the link below to order<\/a> and enter MEGDAL30<\/strong> at checkout to save 30%!<\/p>\n Another year at College Park Center<\/p>\n For a while, it was expected that the Wings wouldn\u2019t be continuing to hold practice on the University of Texas-Arlington\u2019s campus in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n A groundbreaking ceremony was held for a dedicated practice facility back in September of 2025, with plans for opening in April of this year. By January, however, construction had yet to start and the move has been pushed back to next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a result, Dallas has to continue dealing with the conflicts that come with sharing the venue. While specifics weren\u2019t given, an event on campus on Thursday apparently brought enough inconvenience that Fernandez and Clark brought it up when speaking with media. Both looked to take the positives out of the setup.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s an event happening here at UTA \u2026 So it forces you to have to lock in on the court and what you\u2019re doing, which helps you,\u201d Clark said. \u201cWhen you travel, you go to away arenas, you know something may not go the right way you want it to, routine changes, and it\u2019s all about how you can adapt to that.\u201d<\/p>\n The College Park Center\u2019s event calendar for May is mostly populated with Wings games and high school graduations. A number of those ceremonies will take place while Dallas is on an early-season road trip, but some come in the days before home contests on May 28 and June 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n A lot more to be seen<\/p>\n Short open training camp periods only provide a limited look at what a team might be in the coming season, and that\u2019s especially true for the Wings.<\/p>\n A number of the team\u2019s expected key contributors either haven\u2019t arrived yet or haven\u2019t spent much time on the court.\u00a0<\/p>\n Arike Ogunbowale<\/a>, Jessica Shepard<\/a>, Awak Kuier<\/a>, Costanza Verona<\/a> and Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu<\/a> are all yet to make a training camp appearance, mostly as a result of their play overseas. Of that group, only Fankam Mendjiadeu will be back in time for the team\u2019s Monday media day, with most others set to arrive early in the week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/strong>
Howard Megdal, founder and editor of The IX Basketball and The IX Sports, wrote this deeply reported book. \u201cRare Gems\u201d follows four connected generations of women\u2019s basketball pioneers, from Elvera \u201cPeps\u201d Neuman to Cheryl Reeve and from Lindsay Whalen to Sylvia Fowles and Paige Bueckers.<\/p>\n