Not long ago, the Dallas Wings looked like one of the most dangerous up-and-coming teams in the WNBA. But now, they are searching for answers.
At a glance, it may seem as if the Wings have taken a sudden decline; however, rather than an abrupt downfall, their initial flaws are simply more apparent now, and much harder to overlook.
Dallas Had Enough Going Right to Cover the Rest
Ever since the Wings drafted Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, more eyes have been on a franchise that has one of the most exciting, young rosters in the league.
To start the season, the first few games were like a rollercoaster. One game, Dallas would take a close loss, and the other, a blowout victory. However, in just the seventh game of the season, the Wings found their groove as they went on a four-game winning streak. It was in this stretch of victories that Dallas would have a collection of individual success that ultimately came together as a full team effort in the end. Whether it was Paige Bueckers torching opposing defenses with her midrange jumpers or Jessica Shepard starting her historical season with her first triple-double, all other contributions from the Wings’ roster came into play beautifully.
Such teamwork was seen when the Wings faced off against the Las Vegas Aces on May 28. Although they were serious underdogs taking on the defending champions, Dallas came together for a commanding 95-87 win thanks to an all-around performance from Bueckers, Fudd, and Shepard who each had at least 20 points in this game. Not only was this matchup a turning point for the Wings after beating the 2025 WNBA Champions, it also put on display their bright future as Shepard recorded her second career triple-double and Fudd arguably had her second breakout game of the season with 22 points of her own.
Through this unified team effort, many considered the Wings as a threatening team early.
Two Stars, One Unsettled Offense
Paige Bueckers’ Role Has Started to Shift
Prior to the All-Star break, it was clear that Bueckers was the number one option for the Wings in terms of scoring. Because of this, we saw not just her individual success that would progress to averaging over 20 points per game, but the Wings had positive results as well. Bueckers’ success as Dallas’ “go-to” in the first half of the season was evident in the 10-game stretch she had just before All-Star weekend. In this run, Bueckers averaged 24.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game, a career-high in each category. In 8-of-10 of these games, the Wings were victorious. That said, no matter how successful Bueckers is, it takes a total team effort to take down the Las Vegas Aces and Minnesota Lynx, the two teams they lost to in that 10-game span.
Since the second half of the season began, some shifts and changes have occurred in the Wings’ playstyle. Most noticeably in their three most recent matchups, Dallas has been exceedingly more reliant on Arike Ogunbowale to kickstart the offense rather than Bueckers. Though Bueckers has still been able to put up a respectable stat line, trusting her to score in crunch time or in the game in general have seemingly begun to fade.
In close contests where the Wings took difficult losses such as in their matchup with the Atlanta Dream on July 29 or the Washington Mystics on August 5, Bueckers has noted in post-game press conferences that she had looked to get the ball back in hopes to get a good look for her team. Even so, she did not receive the ball in what were crucial final moments in those games. This leaves fans wondering what exactly head coach Jose Fernandez wants the future of Dallas’ offense and leadership to look like.
Return to Arike-Centered Offense Has Not Clicked
Keeping in mind that the Wings’ offense has been redirected in a way that Bueckers appears to be not as large of a priority as she was, there is only one player that Dallas has turned back to: Arike Ogunbowale.
Without a doubt, Ogunbowale is a great player and when she is hot, she is hot. That said, when Ogunbowale’s shots are not on the mark, it can be exceedingly difficult to find a rhythm individually and as a team. Now, Ogunbowale has been a part of the Wings for eight seasons, and in those seasons, she has been one of the top options for the franchise no matter the numerous changes in front office, coaching, and rosters.
Since Bueckers landed on the Wings in 2025, it was assumed by many that Bueckers would take the lead as a generational talent with an incredibly high ceiling. In the 2025 season, this was true as Bueckers led the Wings in scoring with 19.2 points per game along with 3.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.6 steals. Considering the fact that both Bueckers’ and Ogunbowale’s individual playstyles require the ball in their hands often, the dynamic of the two is rather complicated and difficult to balance.
For these reasons, many had speculated that Dallas would trade Ogunbowale before the 2026 trade deadline to open the floor for Bueckers to lead. However, no trades were made by the Wings, leaving them with the same strange, awkward backcourt in Bueckers and Ogunbowale.
Not only does this seem to create a clash within the way Bueckers plays as a scorer and facilitator and Ogunbowale as a volume scorer, but it also further proves why the Wings have struggled to win in the home stretch of the regular season.
Wings Cannot Win on Star Power Alone
The Azzi Fudd Factor
As important as stars like Bueckers and Ogunbowale are to the Wings’ success, a team cannot win with just two players. It takes a team to win games. Regardless of the many controversies around Dallas taking Fudd with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft, Fudd is a lethal and established shooter that, if nothing else, spaces the floor for the Wings.
In her college career at UConn, Fudd shot 46.9 percent from the field, 42.2 percent from three, and 92.5 percent from the free throw line. Because of these insane shooting splits, as well as the way she has shown that she can terrorize teams from beyond the arc, Fudd demands attention from opponents, thus clearing floor space for her teammates to attack the paint. With these factors in mind, no matter how many points Fudd contributes, her impact is far beyond the box score. Going hand-in-hand with this value beyond the numbers seen in the stat sheets is Fudd’s defense. Earlier this season, Fudd broke the record for most steals and blocks by a player in their first 20 games with 35 steals and 20 blocks. Alongside that WNBA record, among rookies, Fudd is in the top two for total steals, steals per game, total blocks, and blocks per game, further justifying her impactful role as a 5-foot-11 rookie guard.
Keeping in mind Fudd’s influence on the Wings in numerous areas, it would be remiss not to mention how much Dallas has missed her during her absence. On August 7, before Dallas faced Golden State, Fudd participated in warmups only to be sidelined due to right knee soreness. Since then, Fudd has also missed Dallas’ contest against the Lynx, in which both games showed a lack of control and effort on the defensive end for Dallas. As Dallas awaits Fudd’s return to being fully healthy, Bueckers has emphasized that the entire Wings roster must collectively step up and fill Fudd’s void rather than trying to replace her.
Missing Production Around Bueckers and Ogunbowale
Since the beginning of the season, the Wings’ bench production has been rather underwhelming. In the offseason leading up to the 2026 season, Dallas brought in big names such as Shepard and Alanna Smith. While Shepard has played a huge role in the Wings’ early success and has recorded five triple-doubles already this season, she has seemingly struggled recently as well. However, Shepard has exceeded expectations far more than that of Smith.
Coming into the 2026 season, fans were electric as the Wings were able to sign Smith, the 2025 Co-Defensive Player of the Year. As high as these expectations were, nothing could have prepared fans for how this season would turn out for Smith. Despite experiencing a few injuries along the way, Smith has not produced for the Wings in ways she has in previous years.
Last season, Smith averaged 9.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.9 blocks per game with the Lynx, which ended by earning the Co-Defensive Player of the Year honor. To this point in 2026, Smith averages around half of each of her stats from the previous season. Rather than being a reliable post player that the Wings have desperately needed, Smith has had an underwhelming and inconsistent season, leaving many questioning what the next step is for Dallas in terms of a more reliable bench. Will Dallas turn back to longstanding Wings players like Maddy Siegrist, or continue to trust players like Smith and Shepard in what will be a crucial final stretch of the year?
Problems that Could Define Dallas’ Postseason
The Wings’ Biggest Problem Comes Down to the Final Minutes
Because of the previously discussed pre-All-Star break success, many considered the Wings to be well off to start the season. In fact, the Wings not only were once the fourth-best team in the league at one point, but they also saw their win streak extend to as many as six games to rise up in the standings.
While Dallas would win 7-of-8 games prior to All-Star Weekend, there was one particular game after the break that would completely reveal their biggest faults. In the Wings’ first game out of All-Star Weekend, they took on the Dream in what would be a defining contest for both teams.
On paper, it would seem that this was a close game from start-to-end, with Atlanta’s Allisha Gray and Angel Reese both putting up 20-point games and Dallas’ Bueckers, Shepard, Ogunbowale, and Fudd each contributed at least 16 points. However, that was not the case. Although it was in fact a tight matchup to start, the Wings led by as much as 15 points in the third quarter while Fudd, Bueckers, and Ogunbowale caught fire. Unfortunately for Dallas, its shooting would begin to cool with Atlanta fighting back to within three points with just under two minutes remaining. The Wings’ momentum would continue to collapse as Ogunbowale would receive a Flagrant 1 foul for a reckless closeout, rewarding the Gray with three free throws, in which she made all three and put the Dream down just 80-81 with 18.7 seconds remaining. Following these free throws, Gray would receive a pass from the sideline and connect on a fadeaway midrange jumper to give the Dream the 82-81 lead with 15.0 seconds left. In a scramble to make something work in the last moments of the game, the Wings would end up swinging the ball and settling for a missed three from Awak Kuier and an unsuccessful tip-in from Shepard, rather than putting the ball in Bueckers’ hands with the game on the line.
Not only was this loss a turning point in the Wings’ season, but they seemingly have not been the same since. And it is also a prime example of their lack of ability to finish games, something they cannot take into the postseason, should they make it.
Dallas Cannot Afford to Keep Learning the Hard Way
In the middle of August with the FIBA World Cup Break nearing, the Wings are currently floating around the eighth seed in the league standings. Considering the adversity they have faced this season in terms of injuries, it could be much worse, but certainly much better. Earlier this season, Dallas was at one point fourth in the standings, fortunately giving it room to lose a few games, but not nearly as many as it has as of late.
At a glance, many may think that Dallas could easily slip out of the playoffs. That said, the ninth team in the WNBA standings at the moment is the Portland Fire, who sit more than a handful of games behind the Wings in the standings. That cushion gives Dallas some breathing room heading into the final stretch before the World Cup Break, but it does not mean the Wings can afford to continue playing as inconsistently as they have.
Their playoff spot may not be in immediate danger, but their recent struggles have raised a more important question: what version of the Wings will actually show up when the postseason begins?
With or without Fudd, Dallas must remain unified and focused on only what it can control. No game is truly out of reach, and fortunately for the Wings, several winnable games remain on the schedule. All in all, if the Wings want to make more than just a playoff appearance, they will need to start turning opportunities into victories. Doing so will require Dallas to improve in one area that has been a challenge for it recently: closing out games strongly. Far too often, the Wings have put themselves in position to win, only to blow their lead and collapse when it matters most, from cold shooting to turnovers in the last moments. Such mistakes are much easier to recover from in the regular season, but in the playoffs, losing a game in the final seconds can be devastating and can even cost you the series.
If Dallas continues to learn these lessons the hard way, its postseason run could be much shorter than its roster and skillset suggest it should be. The talent that made the Wings appear to be one of the most electrifying, young teams earlier this season is still there. Everyone knows how high their ceiling is and what they are capable of, they just have to find the consistency to reach when it matters most.
