The Dallas Wings are in a tough spot. When the franchise won the top pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft and a chance to add Paige Bueckers to the team, hopes for the Wings’ immediate future were high. Bueckers’s addition has not led to much on-court success so far, though.
The Wings have only won one game, beating the Connecticut Sun 109-87. With a 1-11 record, the Wings are currently the worst team in the WNBA. They are not far behind the Connecticut Sun and Chicago Sky, though, and things in Dallas are not as bad as they could be.
When Arike Ogunbowale appeared on Sue Bird’s podcast Bird’s Eye View, the All-Star guard noted that the Wings still have good vibes in the locker room and that all the losing is not weighing on the team’s chemistry.
When asked about what she had seen from her team that she liked, Ogunbowale said, “The best thing is that we actually like each other because, you know, you’ve been in these situations where it’s like, basketball is going sucky and I also can’t stand the person next to me…I love that we all get along and it’s like, all right, we’re in this together.”
The Wings are building for the future
The Wings were never going to compete for a championship this season. The roster was never going to be a real match for the likes of New York or Minnesota, but Dallas entered the season with a chance to lay the foundation for a better future.
With Paige Bueckers, Luisa Geiselsöder, Aziaha James, JJ Quinerly, Maddy Siegrist, and NaLyssa Smith, the Wings have plenty of young talent. All of those players are 25 or younger. On top of that, DiJonai Carrington, Arike Ogunbowale, Ty Harris, and Teaira McCowan are also all 28 or younger.
While several of those players will be free agents after this season—mainly because of the new CBA—the Wings hope to re-sign most of them and keep the core together. Keeping that in mind, Ogunbowale’s comments about the locker room atmosphere are incredibly encouraging.
Suffering as many brutal losses as the Wings have this season can quickly bring down the mood and ruin a team’s chemistry. That, in turn, can lead to players like Ogunbowale, Carrington, and Harris wanting to leave and join a winning team, which would set the Wings’ rebuild back by several years.
The Wings will likely land another lottery pick
With how the season is currently going, the Wings’ future likely holds another top draft pick. That is often the one silver lining to a losing season. For the Wings, it could also be the key to getting back into the win column. Paige Bueckers wasted no time showing that she was ready for the WNBA. The 2026 WNBA Draft will feature prospects who should be able to do the same. Two high draft picks plus the veterans currently on the roster could be enough to build a winning team.