The Dallas Wings were one of the favorites to win the WNBA draft lottery and the chance to draft Paige Bueckers. Not only did they have their own record to put them in the lottery, but they also had the right to swap picks with the Chicago Sky.
Dallas won the jackpot. They will get the first overall pick in a coveted 2025 WNBA Draft. Paige Bueckers still has a year of college eligibility left, and the draft is still far away, but she is widely expected to join the WNBA as the number one pick anyway. Every team in the lottery was yearning to land her.
The Los Angeles Sparks and Chicago Sky would have had the perfect guard to pair with the front-court players they drafted in 2024. The Washington Mystics could have landed a sure-fire star and someone to pair with Shakira Austin.
Instead, teams will now very likely have to deal with a backcourt duo of Arike Ogunbowale and Paige Bueckers when they play Dallas. Ogunbowale is one of the best scorers in the WNBA, but since she emerged as an All-Star in 2021, the Wings have only made it past the first round of the playoffs once.
Getting the chance to add a talented young player to a team that already features an All-Star could be just what the Wings need to get over the hump. Ogunbowale was visibly excited about the prospect on social media.
I just fell to my knees. THANK YOU LORD! 😭😭😭😭
— Arike Ogunbowale (@Arike_O) November 17, 2024
The Wings must give Ogunbowale a chance to compete
The Wings‘ 2024 season was derailed by injuries. Satou Sabally only played 15 games, and Natasha Howard missed the start of the season, leaving Arike Ogunbowale without her co-stars for quite some time. Injuries just happen sometimes in professional sports and are beyond anyone‘s control.
Still, missing the playoffs when you have a player as talented as Ogunbowale on the roster is tough. On top of that, the Wings are also in danger of losing two of their three top scorers from the 2024 season. Natasha Howard and Satou Sabally are both free agents this offseason, and the former has already announced that she wants to explore the market and likely find another team.
Sabally has been rumored to be on her way out as well after she liked some social media comments recruiting her to the Indiana Fever. Dallas can still core her, but if she really does not want to play for the Wings, it would probably be best to trade her.
The one player the Wings simply cannot afford to lose is Ogunbowale, so they have to put her in a position to play her best basketball and compete. Landing the number one pick, likely Bueckers, could help with that, and Ogunbowale’s positive reaction is just what the Wings needed to hear from their star player.
Drafting someone like Bueckers could help the team beyond just keeping Ogunbowale happy, though. Sabally may even choose to stay in Dallas if it means playing with such an intriguing young player, or other All-Stars may be more inclined to join the Wings. We all saw what Caitlin Clark did for the Fever last season. Bueckers has a similar draw on fans, and many players would surely love to be a part of that.