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DALLAS — Arike Ogunbowale is a four-time WNBA All-Star. Since making her debut in 2019, Ogunbowale has finished 17th or better in WNBA MVP voting each season. Arike has finished 10th or better in five of her six seasons. Yet, in 2025, Ogunbowale has not been able to find any level of consistency.
Sure, Ogunbowale has enjoyed some good games. Overall, though, the 2025 season has been a disappointment for the 28-year-old. Arike entered Friday night's game against the New York Liberty averaging just 15.7 points on 36.2 percent shooting from the field and 31.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Despite Paige Bueckers' absence on Friday against the Liberty, Ogunbowale scored just three points on 1-7 shooting from the field in the first half. She bounced back in the second half and finished the game with 17 points, but she shot just 6-16 from the field and 0-4 from three-point land.
“It's just adjustments… New offense, new coach, new team,” Ogunbowale said after the game. “Still making the adjustments, just trying to help my team win and yeah, just trying to get better every game.”
In all reality, Ogunbowale has never been the most efficient scorer — 39 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from deep for her career. She's still been able to record strong scoring numbers, though, as evidenced by her career average of 20 points per game. Yet, in 2025, Ogunbowale's lackluster shooting efficiency numbers have led to just 15.6 points per outing — a career-low.
So, what's wrong? Why is Ogunbowale seemingly in a season-long slump?
Is Arike Ogunbowale's difficult season a product of the Wings' offense?
The Wings' offense has been referred to as “free-flowing” on more than one occasion. It often seems to lack true structure. Head coach Chris Koclanes seems to want his players to create for others — but Paige Bueckers is arguably the only reliable creator on the roster.
Dallas' offense ranks fifth in pace with a mark of 96.24. In 2024 — with Latricia Trammell as the head coach — the Wings led the league in pace at 98.05. They were third under Trammell once again in 2023 at 98.21.
Ogunbowale's PIE (player impact estimate) is currently at 8.5. Her individual pace is 96.75 and her usage percentage is at a mark of 22.2. Looking at 2024, Arike held an 11.4 PIE, 25.9 usage percentage and 98.03 pace.
Surface-level statistics also help to tell the story of Ogunbowale's difficulties with the Wings' new-look offense.
She's averaged 7.1 three-point attempts per game for her career. In 2025, Arike is recording only 5.6 looks from deep per outing. Her 14.0 field goal attempts per contest is also down from her career average of 17.4 per game.
Ogunbowale simply isn't being used as often. She is having to not only adjust to a new role, but Ogunbowale doesn't have true structure to follow within Koclanes' free-for-all (at least it appears that way) offense. Having to adjust to a new role would be one thing, but trying to find balance in this specific offense is another challenging element of the situation.
Arike Ogunbowale is a good basketball player. However, Koclanes needs to find a way to either add more structure or get her involved more.
