The Dallas Wings put together a heroic effort in their first-round series against the Golden State Valkyries. They won Game 2 in overtime behind a 45-point performance by Arike Ogunbowale and lost by just four points in Game 3—although they frustratingly let go of a 16-point lead in that game.
Ogunbowale woke up after a quiet Game 1 and scored 75 points over the last two games. The Valkyries’ defense made Paige Bueckers’s life hell, but she still filled up the stat sheet.
Jessica Shepard was solid in Game 3 with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists. But after she totaled just 4 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists, along with 6 turnovers, over the first two games, it was still an underwhelming playoff appearance.
So, the Wings have to consider one major question: Did Shepard struggle because of the Valkyries’ defense or is she just not the kind of playoff riser Paige Bueckers’s co-star will have to be if Dallas wants to contend for a title soon?
This season was still an overall success for Shepard
Shepard may not have had the playoff impact you’d like to see from an All-Star starter and million-dollar player. However, that shouldn’t take too much away from the regular season she just had. She went from averaging 8 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists as a backup for the Minnesota Lynx in 2025 to putting up 14.5 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game for the Wings.
She and Angel Reese were the only two players to average a double-double this season and she recorded six triple-doubles. Only Alyssa Thomas has ever recorded more triple-doubles in a season with eight.
Shepard earned her first All-Star nod and won the Most Improved Player award over Washington Mystics star Shakira Austin. She will have to be better when the Wings return to the playoffs next year and live up to her star-level contract.
Still, her regular season was a huge success offensively.
Defensively, it was a different story. Shepard struggled on that end of the floor, which was difficult to make up for, especially with Smith, the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year, in and out of the lineup with injuries. Awak Kuier has proven herself to be an excellent rim protector for the Wings, but she couldn’t block or alter enough shots to make up for Shepard’s shortcomings and Smith’s and Azzi Fudd’s injuries.
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