The Dallas Wings are at a crossroads
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Paige Bueckers during a game last month in Brooklyn. Photo: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
The Dallas Wings have spent the better part of the 2020s searching for a second star to complement Arike Ogunbowale.
Why it matters: The hunt might be over after Dallas won the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery last month — but this is still the Wings, so you can never know for sure.
State of play: The draft is expected to feature UConn star Paige Bueckers, an electric 6-foot guard who is already becoming a household name.
- Ogunbowale, who averaged more than 22 points per game in 2024 while the Wings' two other starting guards combined to average less than 10, posted, "I just fell to my knees. THANK YOU LORD!" after the Wings won the first pick.
- But Dallas has been so poorly run in recent years that some outlets are speculating Bueckers might go back to school instead of playing for the Wings.
Friction point: The team has drafted 12 first-round picks since 2020 and still finished 9-31 in 2024, its worst season in more than a decade.
- Longtime executive and coach Curt Miller, named executive vice president and general manager in November, is looking for a new coach.
- Latricia Trammell was fired in October after going 31-49 in two seasons with the Wings.
- Yes, but: It's unclear how much of a final say he has with president, CEO and partner Greg Bibb still in a leadership role.
Plus, Dallas didn't protect 20-year-old French guard Carla Leite in last week's 2025 WNBA Expansion Draft, allowing the Golden State Valkyries to take last year's first-round pick — a decision Mavs Moneyball called "organizational malpractice."
What's next: The Wings will need to find a coach and project some semblance of stability before the draft on April 14, 2025.
- If Bueckers stays in the draft, she's the obvious choice. If she doesn't, Dallas might have to face some harsh realities.