The Dallas Wings have a long WNBA history. They first joined the league in 1998 as the Detroit Shock. In Detroit, the franchise won three WNBA titles. In 2010, the Shock moved to Tulsa where they stayed until 2016. Then, the franchise became known as the Dallas Wings.
Over that time, the Dallas Wings have drafted many talented players. The WNBA Draft is the best way for teams to add young talent and find players to build around. The Wings hit the jackpot several times, drafting Swin Cash, Deanna Nolan, Shavonte Zellous, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Arike Ogunbowle, and Satou Sabally, among other All-Stars.
This year, the Wings will likely get to add Paige Bueckers to that list. The Wings have the number-one pick, and Bueckers is the most impactful player entering the 2025 WNBA Draft. She is expected to have a similar impact on the Wings as Caitlin Clark had on the Indiana Fever. After drafting Clark, the Fever quickly became one of the most-watched teams in the WNBA and opponents had to move several games to bigger arenas. With Arike Ogunbowale and Paige Bueckers, the Wings should have a similar star appeal in the 2025 season.
Complete year-by-year WNBA Draft picks for the Dallas Wings
Draft Year | Draft Round | Draft Pick | Player | College/ Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1998 | 1 | 4 | Karie Hede | Duquesne |
2 | 14 | Rachael Spam | Australia | |
3 | 24 | Georgiana Branzova | Florida International | |
1999 | 1 | 5 | Jennifer Azzi | Stanford |
2 | 17 | Val Whiting | Stanford | |
3 | 29 | Dominique Canty | Alabama | |
2000 | 1 | 3 | Edwina Brown | Texas |
8 | Tamicha Jackson | Louisiana Tech | ||
2 | 28 | Madinah Slaise | Cincinnati | |
3 | 44 | Chavonne Hammond | Vanderbilt | |
4 | 60 | Cal Bouchard | Boston College | |
2001 | 1 | 6 | Deanna Nolan | Georgia |
2 | 22 | Jae Kingi | Australia | |
3 | 38 | Svetlana Volnaya | Virginia | |
4 | 54 | Kelly Santos | Brazil | |
2002 | 1 | 2 | Swin Cash | UConn |
2 | 18 | Lenae Williams | DePaul | |
20 | Ayana Walker | Louisiana Tech | ||
21 | Jill Chapman | Indiana | ||
22 | Kathy Wambe | Belgium | ||
3 | 47 | Ericka Haney | Norte Dame | |
2003 | 1 | 3 | Cheryl Ford | Louisiana Tech |
5 | Kara Lawson | Tennessee | ||
3 | 28 | Syreeta Bromfield | Michigan State | |
2004 | 1 | 11 | Iciss Tillis | Duke |
13 | Shereka Wright | Purdue | ||
2 | 23 | Erika Valek | Purdue | |
3 | 32 | Jennifer Smith | Michigan | |
2005 | 1 | 7 | Kara Braxton | Georgia |
13 | Diannah Jackson | Oklahoma | ||
2 | 20 | Nikita Bell | North Carolina | |
3 | 33 | Jenni Lingor | Southwest Missouri State | |
2006 | 2 | 17 | Ambrosia Anderson | BYU |
3 | 35 | Zane Teilane | Western Illinois | |
2007 | 1 | 11 | Ivory Latta | North Carolina |
2008 | 1 | 4 | Alexis Hornbuckle | Tennessee |
11 | Tasha Humphrey | Georgia | ||
2 | 18 | Olayinka Sanni | West Virginia | |
28 | Natasha Lacy | UTEP | ||
3 | 42 | Valerya Berezhynska | Rice | |
2009 | 1 | 11 | Shavonte Zellous | Pittsburgh |
2 | 15 | Britany Miller | Florida State | |
3 | 37 | Tanae Davis-Cain | Florida State | |
2010 | 2 | 19 | Amanda Thompson | Oklahoma |
3 | 31 | Vivian Frieson | Gonzaga | |
2011 | 1 | 2 | Liz Cambage | Australia |
7 | Kayla Pedersen | Stanford | ||
2 | 21 | Italee Lucas | North Carolina | |
3 | 25 | Chastity Reed | Arkansas—Little Rock | |
2012 | 1 | 4 | Glory Johnson | Tennessee |
2 | 17 | Riquna Williams | Miami | |
3 | 25 | Vicky Baugh | Tennessee | |
2013 | 1 | 3 | Skylar Diggins | Notre Dame |
3 | 29 | Angel Goodrich | Kansas | |
2014 | 1 | 2 | Odyssey Sims | Baylor |
2 | 13 | Jordan Hooper | Nebraska | |
3 | 27 | Theresa Plaisance | LSU | |
2015 | 1 | 2 | Amanda Zahui | Minnesota |
2 | 13 | Brianna Kiesel | Pittsburgh | |
3 | 25 | Mimi Mungedi | Nevada | |
2016 | 1 | 5 | Aerial Powers | Michigan State |
2 | 18 | Ruth Hamblin | Oregon State | |
3 | 30 | Shakena Richardson | Seton Hall | |
2017 | 1 | 3 | Evelyn Akhator | Kentucky |
4 | Allisha Gray | South Carolina | ||
10 | Kaela Davis | South Carolina | ||
2 | 23 | Breanna Lewis | Kansas State | |
3 | 26 | Saniya Chang | UConn | |
2018 | 1 | 6 | Azurá Steven’s | UConn |
2 | 18 | Loryn Goodwin | Oklahoma State | |
3 | 30 | Natalie Butler | George Mason | |
2019 | 1 | 5 | Arike Ogunbowale | Notre Dame |
2 | 17 | Megan Gustafson | Iowa | |
22 | Kennedy Burke | UCLA | ||
3 | 29 | Morgan Bertsch | UC Davis | |
2020 | 1 | 2 | Satou Sabally | Oregon |
5 | Bella Alarie | Princeton | ||
7 | Tyasha Harris | South Carolina | ||
2 | 21 | Luisa Geiselsöder | Germany | |
2021 | 1 | 1 | Charli Collier | Texas |
2 | Awak Kuier | Finland | ||
5 | Chelsea Dungee | Arkansas | ||
2 | 13 | Dana Evans | Louisville | |
2022 | 1 | 7 | Veronica Burton | Northwestern |
3 | 30 | Jasmine Dickey | Delaware | |
2023 | 1 | 3 | Maddy Siegrist | Villanova |
5 | Lou Lopez Senechal | UConn | ||
11 | Abby Meyers | Maryland | ||
2 | 19 | Ashley Joens | Iowa State | |
3 | 31 | Paige Robinson | Illinois State | |
2024 | 1 | 5 | Jacy Sheldon | Ohio State |
9 | Carla Leite | France | ||
3 | 33 | Ashley Owusu | Penn State |
First-Round Draft Picks: Dallas Wings’ most notable selections
The Shock/Wings drafted several successful players in the first round of the draft. Deanna Nolan won three WNBA titles with the Detroit Shock, making five All-Star teams and taking home the 2006 Finals MVP award in the process. Swin Cash, who was drafted second overall in 2002 by the Shock, was also an integral part of those championship teams and a four-time All-Star.
In Tulsa, the Shock drafted two-time All-Star Glory Johnson in 2012, and Skylar Diggins-Smith, who went on to become a six-time All-Star, in 2013.
As the Dallas Wings, the organization drafted more All-Stars in the first round: Allisha Gray, Arike Ogunbowale, and Satou Sabally.
Biggest draft steals and late-round gems
The 2007 WNBA Draft produced one All-Star—Ivory Latta—and the Wings selected her late in the first round with the eleventh pick. While Latta became an All-Star after her second stint with the Shock, she was still a steal in the draft. The Wings also selected two-time champion and 2015 All-Star Riquna Williams in the second round of the 2012 draft, as well as WNBA Champion Kennedy Burke with the 22nd pick in the 2019 draft.