The Dallas Wings (8-21) are in the midst of a trying rebuild that will likely see them finish in the bottom-three in the WNBA standings for the second straight year. The team generally plays porous defense and struggles to knock down 3-pointers, and four-time All-Star Arike Ogunbowale is posting the worst campaign of her career. This franchise has much to address at the upcoming trade deadline and offseason. But there are a couple of positives that fans can draw from the 2025 slate, with Paige Bueckers' arrival obviously taking center stage.
The No. 1 overall draft pick entered the W to much fanfare after capping off an excellent run at UConn with a national championship victory. She has arguably surpassed expectations from an individual performance standpoint and is already the Wings' centerpiece. The rest of this season will be defined by Bueckers' continued development. Fans are fully invested in the runaway Rookie of the Year favorite, therefore it is easy to see why concerns rose during Tuesday's 85-76 loss to the New York Liberty.
Bueckers temporarily left the contest, grabbing at her back before heading to the locker room. Fortunately, she returned to the bench area, signaled that she was feeling alright and eventually returned to the court in the fourth quarter, per Grant Afseth of DallasHoopsJournal.com. The All-Star guard scored 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting to go with eight rebounds, four assists and one steal in 31 minutes of action. The Wings fought valiantly, but the Liberty had enough to protect their home floor.
Dallas will get another crack at the defending champions on Friday night, as it heads back to the College Park Center. The team will likely need a healthy Paige Bueckers if it has any hope of ending its three-game losing streak. The 23-year-old is averaging 18.5 points, 5.5 assists, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 steals while shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 34.1 percent from 3-point range. As long as she is active, Wings fans will have a reason to tune in.
