ARLINGTON, Texas -- Few people make more of their 24 hours than Paige Bueckers. So when the Dallas Wings' star had the opportunity to attend Game 7 of the NBA Western Conference finals between the Spurs and Thunder, the self-proclaimed basketball junkie jumped at the chance, making the six-hour round-trip trek to Oklahoma City in between morning practices that weekend.
When she wasn't taking photos with fans, Bueckers took it all in at Paycom Center: the intensity with a trip to the Finals on the line; the way the Spurs never wavered when the Thunder made a run; the emotion San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama unleashed unapologetically when the final buzzer sounded.
Amid the celebration and fanfare, Bueckers began to think about what it would be like to experience that kind of success at the highest level. And what it would take for the Wings to get there.
"Anytime you see success, you envy it in a way to where, like, that's what you want to be, and that's the peak you want to reach," Bueckers told ESPN the next day. "To be around just how excited and happy they were because of all the hard work, and that draining series to come out on top, it was inspiring to be around."
The prospect of the Wings competing for a WNBA championship would have seemed far-fetched for most of their history. Since relocating from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Dallas in 2016, the franchise has mostly been a bastion of mediocrity; the Wings' .390 winning percentage was the second worst in the league in that span. That includes a dreadful 19-65 record over the past two seasons.
But the promise new coach Jose Fernandez shared in his introductory news conference last November -- "This won't be the same old Dallas Wings, my brother" -- appears to be materializing. At 8-5, the Wings are off to their best start since arriving in Dallas and look poised not only to return to the playoffs, but to potentially make a deep run.
The transformation is the product of a six-month overhaul in which Dallas hired Fernandez, secured a second consecutive No. 1 pick in the draft lottery, landed two of the top free agents in Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith, re-signed franchise stalwart Arike Ogunbowale and drafted UConn star Azzi Fudd with the first pick.
"This organization is turning a new leaf," said veteran Alysha Clark, who also joined the Wings in free agency. "They want to build those championship habits and characteristics, and that's not something that happens overnight."
With the spotlight fixated on them, all eyes are on the Wings to see what happens next -- and whether they can establish themselves as a major player in the WNBA.
"I just think everyone has an expectation amongst themselves that the standard is different," Dallas CEO and managing partner Greg Bibb told ESPN. "Nothing is acceptable until we get to the ultimate prize of winning a championship."
WHILE AT UCONN, Bueckers experienced the elation of hoisting a championship trophy and the agony of falling just short of one. But her first year in the pros felt foreign: There was losing -- and a lot of it.
Losses at UConn, Bueckers told ESPN, felt "like a death in the family." She thrived individually during her first year in the WNBA, earning Rookie of the Year and all-WNBA second-team honors. But as Dallas faltered to a 10-34 record in 2025, Bueckers suffered more than twice as many losses as she did in college (13). She had to quickly learn not to let those linger or change her as a teammate and person.
The Wings' franchise originated as the Detroit Shock, who won WNBA titles in 2003, 2006 and 2008 under Bill Laimbeer. But sustained success has been elusive since the organization relocated first to Tulsa in 2010 and then eventually Dallas. The franchise has just one season above .500 and has not kept a coach for more than three seasons, cycling through five in the past seven years.
It looked as though things were turning a corner in 2023, the Wings' sole winning campaign (22-18) and only playoff appearance beyond the first round. But they stumbled to a 9-31 finish in 2024 and fell short of the postseason. Bibb was juggling business and basketball operations at the time, which he acknowledged to ESPN was a struggle: "That last year on the basketball side we probably suffered a little bit."
In November 2024, Bibb hired Curt Miller, a former coach and executive of the year with the Connecticut Sun, as general manager to take over basketball duties. Miller's first move was hiring a new coach in Chris Koclanes. But a year later, it was evident that the Wings needed a more experienced leader who could instill a culture of accountability and elevate their competitive standard.
Miller hired Fernandez, who had built USF into a mid-major power over the past 25 years. Fernandez considered the job when it came open a year earlier, but the coach said the timing wasn't right. When Miller circled back last fall, everything aligned, and Fernandez could feel "the passion and the energy that the franchise had, and their commitment to winning," he told ESPN.
In an era when ownership must pour resources into teams at risk of getting left behind, the Wings have had to demonstrate, as Miller put it, "the investment by our ownership group to become one of the haves."
The Wings were approved to move from Arlington, Texas, their home base since 2016, to Dallas in 2024. But construction of a new practice facility and renovation of their eventual arena, Dallas Memorial Auditorium -- both of which were supposed to be carried out by the city of Dallas -- have met complications and delays.
The Wings took over as developer of the practice facility in March, and Bibb told ESPN that the project is on track to be completed by the start of training camp in April 2027. The result will be a 70,000-square-foot, $81 million complex in the Far West Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas.
The team is also in advanced negotiations to hold games at the American Airlines Center in 2027, Bibb said, before its eventual move to Memorial Auditorium in 2028.
"It's a market that, I think, is really attractive to players," Miller said, "and the more that it's truly going to be Dallas is just only going to continue to increase that interest in our franchise."
Bibb described the franchise's business growth as incremental for the past five or six years before reaching hyper-explosive status these past two -- and sees now as the time to pair that with on-court success.
THE WNBA WAS headed into an unprecedented free agency where all but two veteran players were available, and Fernandez and Miller knew the Wings needed to capitalize. Dallas also had the best odds at landing the No. 1 pick for the second consecutive year, in all, a golden opportunity to quickly and dramatically reshape the roster.
The Wings weren't starting from scratch. Beyond Bueckers, they had several returners they wanted back, most notably Ogunbowale, their former 2019 first-round draft pick, a four-time All-Star and longest-tenured player.
But speculation swirled that her time in Dallas could be over. One of the most prolific scorers in the league since her rookie year and the franchise's leading scorer, Ogunbowale finished 2025 with career lows in scoring (13.9 PPG), efficiency (36.4%) and attempts (13.9 FGA).
From their early conversations, though, Ogunbowale thought she could thrive in Fernandez's offensive system. He also had a bigger-picture message for her: What did she want her legacy to be in Dallas? Did she want to win a championship here? In the end, Ogunbowale said she is grateful for last season, that she "needed that to grow."
"I don't think I was my best self basketball-wise, regardless of the situation," Ogunbowale told ESPN. "[I wanted to] get better individually. ... That's half of the reason I didn't want to leave. I've given so much to Dallas, and Dallas has given so much to me. I didn't want to just be like, 'Oh, we had a bad coach or whatever, a bad situation, it's time to bounce.'"
Returning to the franchise she had spent her entire career with became her top priority, and she took less than the $1.4 million supermax so Dallas could attract additional talent. Because to build a potential championship contender, Ogunbowale and Bueckers knew they couldn't do it alone.
In free agency, the Wings prioritized acquiring more talent and balancing their youthful core with veteran leaders, while also targeting players they considered sleeper stars. Miller thought Shepard could be an efficient scorer around the rim and a dedicated rebounder, but most tantalizingly, a facilitating forward whom he estimated could play in the mold of Alyssa Thomas and Candace Parker. Coming off her co-defensive player of the year campaign, Smith could anchor the interior defense while helping stretch the floor on offense.
Shepard and Ogunbowale, teammates on Notre Dame's 2018 national championship squad, had long talked about linking up in the pros, and kept in touch during free agency while Shepard played in Italy and Ogunbowale in China. Ogunbowale had also played with Smith that winter on Mist BC at Unrivaled. Among Ogunbowale's selling points: Texas does not have income taxes ("Minnesota was taking your money!" she told Smith and Shepard).
Bueckers also didn't shy away from incessantly calling free agents. She has her own gravity, Miller said -- "people want to play with her because she's such an unselfish superstar." Smith remembers one message in which Bueckers asked, "What do I got to get you, some new Kobes and beers?" -- a reference to how Smith chugged beer out of her shoe after winning the Unrivaled championship in March. (Bueckers has yet to follow through on that offer.)
Shepard called Miller and Ogunbowale on the bus to her playoff game to tell them she was coming to Dallas. A few days later, Bueckers got the call from ownership that the team had landed Smith, and Bueckers posted a video of herself jumping into a pool celebrating and shouting, "I can't believe this is my life! ... we was in the trenches!"
All the recruiting worked. Smith and Shepard told ESPN they considered the Wings' upcoming facility as a sign of ownership's commitment to investing in the team. And with Dallas' young core and the promise of a cultural reset, they saw an opportunity to build something different -- maybe even something special.
"Obviously, Dallas has had some rough years. That's not a secret to anyone," Shepard told ESPN. "But I think what they're trying to do, and what we're going to do, I think everything is heading in a [better] direction."
THE WINGS TRAILED by 13 points in the first half of their May 28 home game against the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, the sort of game they would have lost in previous seasons.
But not anymore. The crowd's roars crescendoed as the Wings clawed back. First, with Shepard's and-one that cut the deficit to a point late in the third. Then, a series of 3-pointers -- from Awak Kuier, Clark and Fudd -- built their lead. A second Kuier 3-pointer, which secured Shepard's 22-point, 20-rebound, 10-assist triple-double, and the ensuing defensive stop brought the fans to their feet as the victory was within reach.
Bueckers then delivered a 3-pointer to put Dallas ahead 12 with 1:59 to play. She pumped her fist and screamed as the Aces called a timeout, and Wings fans began to sing along to Miley Cyrus' "Party In the USA."
Usually, crowd noise doesn't register to Bueckers when she's locked in to a game, but that night was different. "I can't really remember a time where it's gotten that loud and that electric," she said.
With a win over the New York Liberty four days earlier and now one over the Aces, the Wings had knocked off the past two WNBA champions -- officially putting the rest of the league on notice.
But the season didn't start without some growing pains. Players describe Fernandez as old-school and blunt, and he made headlines in a postgame news conference after a loss to Minnesota in the opening week of the season when he said there's "selfishness" in the locker room, pointing to "emotions around minutes and starting."
"Really good teams, they don't give a s--- about that," he said as the team dropped to 1-2 after consecutive losses. "You know what they give a s--- about? They give a s--- about winning because that's what matters."
Fernandez later apologized to his team and acknowledged that he should not have brought the conversation out of the locker room. At this point, the incident is a nonissue to the players. "It was a good learning curve for everybody," Smith said. "It's really cool when you have a coach that can take accountability for their mistakes when they believe they've done something wrong."
Either way, Fernandez made clear that a new standard was being set: "Jose came in with that mentality of 'we're here to win, we're not accepting anything else,'" Fudd said.
The players don't point to that moment as the root of the team's recent success. Nonetheless, whether from developing chemistry, taking accountability as Fernandez implored, or some combination of factors, the Wings are 7-3 since that game, primarily thanks to a dynamic offense that's scoring 109.6 points per 100 possessions -- on track to be a franchise record.
"How we're doing it too, it's ethical hoops," Ogunbowale said. "Like if I wasn't on Dallas, I would want to watch Dallas because it's fun hoops."
Bueckers, who is day-to-day because of a right ankle injury and sat out Saturday's loss at Portland, is one of three players in the league averaging 19 points and five assists while maintaining her trademark efficiency (52.3% from the field and 42.9% from 3).
After previously having to focus on rehabbing during her offseasons, she finally could prioritize building full-body strength heading into Year 2, allowing her to better withstand the physicality. Bueckers recently said she added 15 pounds of muscle, but that number came from some creative math. "Yeah, I just made that s--- up," she told ESPN. "I've gained like 18 pounds, so I did mental math. ... I'm hoping that most of what I put on is muscle. It feels like it."
Shepard, meanwhile, has been a revelation and is on pace to be the second player in WNBA history to average 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in a season, joining Parker in 2015, who was limited to 16 games that year. Shepard might be exceeding expectations, but she sees what she's doing now as a product of having a larger role in Dallas, where she has started every game and is averaging about 10 more minutes than last year.
The Wings' hot stretch also coincided with Fudd's emergence. Miller said that the organization, including the medical and performance staff, looked to be more conservative with Fudd after her first fully healthy college season. She also missed the second game of the season because of a right knee issue.
But her role and comfort level have increased in recent weeks. She scored a combined 46 points in wins over the Liberty and Aces. Though she's best known for her 3-point shooting, where she is hitting 38.2% of her shots, she impacts the game with her off-ball movement and defense, and her plus-25.0 net rating differential this season is a team-best mark.
A common refrain emerges within the Wings: We're nowhere near how good we can be. They can outscore most teams, but their defense has been porous at times, allowing 100 points in consecutive games last week. The hope is that Ogunbowale can be more consistently efficient, and Smith is off to a slower start than expected, though Miller stressed they remain confident the Australian forward will turn things around.
The Wings know that building a contender and winning culture isn't done in the first month of the season. Even sped-up timelines can't skip steps, and ups and downs are inevitable.
Bueckers thinks back to Game 7 and how the young Spurs were so together.
"Every time OKC had a response to what they did, they were clapping, they were huddling, they were hype about it," she said. "It's that level of connectivity and that level of passion and joy for the game and for each other that I think that's what we're focused on right now."
And maybe the Wings will prove themselves to be a surging power in the process.
"I think we know how good we can be, how good we're capable of being," Fudd said. "You've seen glimpses of that ... to kind of have a taste of that definitely motivates everyone."
