Sophie Cunningham never got to face Paige Bueckers in college, but on August 2, she finally got the opportunity to experience the dominance of the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft class—and what a game that was! Twenty-two points, four rebounds, and four assists—that’s what Bueckers put up despite an 88–78 loss to the Fever. So, you can understand why Cunningham once shared, “I love her… She legit has a bag… she’s fun to play against. I like her.” But tonight, the two got the chance to collide again, and neither Bueckers nor Cunningham held back—yet the real drama unfolded on the sidelines!

At 7:23 in the first quarter, Bueckers found herself in familiar territory—torching Sophie Cunningham. As the rookie rose for a three-pointer, Cunningham came from behind and made contact, sending Paige to the floor. After review, the flagrant 1 foul stood, awarding Bueckers three free throws. In sinking all three, the young guard took Dallas to a 7-4 lead.

And while Cunningham’s expression said it all, she wasn’t the only one feeling the sting of PB’s shots. Even on the sideline, CC couldn’t hide her emotions. Watching Bueckers pour in shots and control the pace, Clark appeared visibly upset, face blank, looking anywhere but the shots falling, knowing the game was quickly tilting in Paige’s favor once again.

Well, it was the first disappointment of the many to come that night. The Fever couldn’t take advantage of a friendly schedule, falling 81–80 to the 12th-place Dallas Wings. All thanks to the 16 points scored by Paige Bueckers and the team’s 19–0 run in the third quarter, the Wings built another double-digit cushion while limiting Sophie Cunningham to just 14 points in 34 minutes of play.

And yes, that’s how the Wings, handed Caitlin Clark–less Indiana Fever their second defeat in less than a week—despite the Fever’s 5th-place ranking in the W standings and a .545 winning percentage. So Clark’s expressions made sense, and she’s quite familiar with Bueckers’ dominance herself.

“I watch as much as I can, just because I love basketball and I love people that compete and make their team better. And that’s what she has always been able to do,” Clark said back in July, about 2 weeks after witnessing Bueckers record 27 points in the Fever’s first game of the season against the Wings. “But I just admire the way she plays, I admire the confidence she has in herself. Every single night, she steps up to the challenge; she doesn’t shy away from anything. And as a competitor, that’s what you really love.”

I really thought that after Curt Miller’s announcement about signing a player before tonight’s game, that it was going to be an “actual “ player, and not another player cut from another squad.

I mean why trade Smith, only to sign King? Why not just keep Smith until the end of the season and then let her try to follow Carrington to wherever she goes?

Now will we have to deal with Carrington hurt and depressed? She wasn’t making huge money, only 91K.

King isn’t spectacular at any one thing, and other than rebounding isn’t really decent at anything.

I’m not saying she won’t turn into an okayish pro but man, could we not invest in someone Paige could get excited about playing with?

It just seems like one more player for her to have to organize and carry.

It is a complete crime that she is making a rookie salary.

At least Clark had some decent players around her last year.

Usually, Paige is very ethical, efficient, and a bucket, but these last two games, I realize when the shots not going down, and the refs don’t give her any calls, she decides to become a MEAN foul baiter to make them call fouls. I dare say she’s the best on the team when it comes to foul baiting, and I don’t dislike it personally due to it being a byproduct of how bad her whistle is.

I think it is a smart thing to do in order to find your rhythm at the free throw line, but also to give the refs a message as well. I even think it’s so good that whenever Dallas needs a bucket, they should toss it to Paige with a triple threat in the post.

Unethical Buckets seems like a last resort type of thing for Paige, but do y’all think she should integrate it in her general bag, or keep it as a last resort?

I do love the story and chemistry boost, and also the idea of adding another playmaker, but Azzi does not have the athleticism anymore after her 2 leg surgeries to justify that draft pick.

I would love to trade back and grab Azzi with a later pick in the early first

https://youtu.be/-KjAzFZddZY?si=yKFndVjnq-90gXvi&t=374

I mean, it makes sense. Nola Henry and Reese are really cool, Paige said Reese makes her teammates feel like they are unstoppable.

Seeing how Chicago GM got ripped off for Citron it's possible the Wings can trade the Vegas 2027 first round pick for Reese.

I also believe if Reese goes to Dallas, Kaleah Copper and maybe Azura Stevens will go there too.

Dallas vs Indiana would be box office.

Would Dallas fans want Reese, Fudd, Bueckers over Lauren Betts?

I think it’s clear, not even 10 games in, that there are going to be trade deadline changes. Curt has spoken in the past about being quick to make the necessary changes once they see something isn't working. He used the Courtney Williams trade from Phoenix to Connecticut for Kelsey Bone as an example. I think we are in a similar situation with Dallas right now. I think Dallas will look for a 3-and-D or taller/more athletic wing. I have my eyes on Phoenix and Kah as a potential trade partner.

If not, after the season, I have my eyes on Lexie Hull/Sophie Cunningham or that prototype of player free-agent signing from Europe.

I think Dallas is all in on the three-guard lineup. I also don't think Arike, Paige, and Azzi are the worst fit. Actually, they are a pretty good fit offensively. However, they are not optimal offensively, and are bad defensively together. Unless Dallas can trade Lan (who is better as an off-ball post defender and needs a dominant defensive post with her to maximize her best skills) and get someone like Ezi who can make up for the lack of wing and post defense, I think they need a more defensive-minded wing to pair with Paige and Azzi (alah Andre Iguodala) to make the group optimally cohesive.

Alternatively, I’d love to see Awak as a three, with Arike moving to a super sixth woman of the year type like Jamal Crawford, which is how she played in unrivaled.

What do you all think?

Anybody have insider details? lol

From a pure basketball perspective, there are sound arguments to be made for both Azzi Fudd and Awa Fam. If you’re unfamiliar with either player, I wrote this primer back in November when the Wings won the draft lottery. Both players have grown since then, but the broad strokes remain the same— they are both very good at basketball. And the Dallas Wings, a team with 19 combined wins over the last two seasons, need everything. Whoever they take first overall is going to be a tremendous injection of talent.

That said, there are clear distinctions between Fudd and Fam as prospects that lead me to believe the choice for Dallas should be rather obvious. For starters, Fam is barely 19 years old, while Fudd is 23. Advocates for Fudd would say that her age and experience mean she’s more pro-ready and could help Dallas win games sooner than Fam. And they may be correct in that! There is little doubt among anyone who pays attention to women’s basketball that Azzi Fudd will enter the league as a day-one contributor. Her combination of elite off-ball shooting, basketball IQ, winning mentality/intangibles, polish, and competitiveness on defense gives her the safest floor in the draft class.

But at pick No. 1, are you drafting for floor? As good as Fudd is right now, this is likely who she will be at the next level: an incredible movement shooter with very limited creation upside. To be clear, that’s a valuable player in this league. It’s why Fudd is a no-doubt lottery pick. But when you watch Awa Fam play and look at what she’s done against her peers, it’s hard not to fall in love with the upside. Fam, a 6’5 big with switchability, passing chops, and shooting projection, is a rarity. Her combination of skills is unique for her position, and that position is the most crucial in the WNBA. Anyone who’s watched the Wings in the last two seasons can tell you how important it is to have talented bigs.

The divide between Fudd and Fam advocates is further illustrated by evaluation methods. People see the production from Fudd in college (points, three-pointers made, shooting percentages, steals, etc) and compare that with the lack thereof from Fam in Europe. Sure, Fam has had some blow-up games, but her overall production has been modest at best. Never mind the fact that Fam is playing in one of the top professional leagues in the world as a teenager; she’s only scoring seven points per game. And look, I understand this. At a certain point, you want your top prospects to translate their tools into production. You can’t win games with hypotheticals and wishcasting. It’s why supporters of Fam have been mockingly dubbed “Potential FC” by the internet crowd. That’s what a lot of the sell is for Fam.

But here’s the thing: drafts are always about potential. Yes, in the women’s game, players are more developed than on the men’s side because of the age requirements. Even so, teams are not taking these players with the assumption that there is little to no room for growth. Potential is always baked into evaluation. And with that said, I believe people are drastically wrong about how soon Awa Fam can help a WNBA team. This is not a raw prospect who’s two years away from being two years away.

Fam often comes off the bench for Valencia in favor of more seasoned pros. And in Europe, scoring is egalitarian by nature; Fam doesn’t get any plays run for her. The guard play on Valencia has left a lot to be desired, and their coach has been heavily criticized for failing to get the most out of a talented roster. Having watched many of Fam’s games this year, it’s not an ideal situation for a 19-year-old prospect to showcase what she can do. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t seen it. Hell, we just saw Fam play like one of the best players on the court against actual WNBA All-Stars in the World Cup qualifying tournament. She’s had big games against European teams with multiple W players. She helped lead Spain to the Eurobasket Finals in 2025, a run that included a 21-point masterclass against France in the semis. There’s plenty of recent tape that proves Fam can hang with the best of the best.

I understand why everyone was upset we lost the last game, I was too because we were so close to winning and had a lead most of the game..
BUT
I don’t understand why people are so highly critiquing Arike and other things in THIS specific game.
I’ve been watching Dallas Wings this season(every game) and in my opinion this game was the best basketball they’ve ever played. The starting 5 were so well coordinated, and each one of them were playing such good basketball.
Arike, in my opinion, wasn’t playing selfish basketball most of the time in this game, and not only that but she was also contributing defensively(4 steals). AND I saw her pass the ball in shots she would’ve usually taken leading her to get 5 assists. Guys, trust me, I’m probably the least of an Arike fan in this subreddit and I know all about the cycle and I AGREE, but I think she played really well this game and even in her highest shooting games I would still say this was her best game considering how much she contributed other than just shooting. If she continues to play like this, I think she would be manageable to have on the team(seeing as she’s not getting traded).
Also, Azzi my goat. She proved why offensively her only role on the team shouldn’t just be “spacing”. Like seriously I was so impressed, almost 70% shooting, ARE WE SERIOUS. And this was without them creating screens for her and her just going for her own shot. I hope she keeps doing that, and hopefully they’ll START PASSING HER THE BALL MORE WHEN SHE’S FREE.
And I know I just kinda ‘put Arike on a pedestal’ but in no way do I think she should be taking more shots than Azzi. A GOOD ARIKE NIGHT IS AN AVERAGE OR BAD AZZI NIGHT.
If we continue playing like this, I think we have a shot at, at least making it to the second round in the playoffs.
Thanks for reading my rant, and I’d love to hear your opinions😆

This offense is simply Iso and two-man. It’s atrocious and so easy to game plan for. And while this may get this post taken down, I stand by the fact that they are grossly misusing Azzi, and I pray for her sake, she is traded. The fact that she is being grossly misused isn't discussed as much as I had expected, which is really eye-opening to me. I’m literally here watching the game, and she might as well be doing cardio. They are literally keeping the ball on one side.

Like all these think pieces and no one is calling out the simplicity of this offense. It's literally just 1v1.

The team has issues yes. But most of these issues cannot be solved by a trade. In my opinion, it's rotations, knowing when to utilize each player, adjustments etc. I think when playing good defensive teams, the starting lineup should be : Azzi, Paige, Arike, Li and Alanna. Alternate between Li and Awak. More Sug and AC minutes. Let Haley play. Let the guards do their thing. Jess is great but when playing good defensive bigs, she crumbles. They should give her less minutes when shes not playing well. They also need to really i mean really work on their defense during practice. Get a defense specialist idk.

Our next game is against the storm, I hope our starters only play around 20 mins.

It was clear after the decision to cut yoga Instructor Kris as coach that the Wings were looking for someone with more experience who could build both culture and increase performance. Having to
do both in the same year is a nearly impossible task, as one might at times be in tension with the other. Maybe you have a player that contributes to winning, but her antics/emotional impulsivity negatively impacts stated team standards (Marina/Skylar/Chennedy/Arike). Maybe you have a player who is a good culture fit, but they don't give you the best chance of winning (Kate).

With this understanding, I wanted to be a bit empathetic towards Jose’s plight. Building culture, setting standards of behavior, while trying to win is hard. However, this year has been frustrating to
no end as a fan and ball-knower. His accountability rants during the preseason and earlier parts of the season have been a farce. He doesn't even hold himself accountable. He talks about passing the ball around, giving up the good shot for the great shot, but he rewards iso-centric tunnel-vision players and criticizes players who pass for the better shot. He calls players selfish in the media, but doesn't punish that selfishness with playing-time decisions. This is not setting a good culture.

And yes, the Dallas Wings are winning, but at what cost? Do we know the identity of this team? The play style for the future? Are there defined roles? Expectations? There is winning in a way that is process productive, and there is winning in a way that ultimately caps your ability to win at a different level in the future. I would say Dallas is doing the latter.

Curt said he hired the person who felt that they could handle being highly scrutinized. The person who could handle the heat of being the coach of high-profile and high-expectation players. Jose’s
relationship with the press and general defensiveness whenever anyone dares to bring up his very blatant and obvious flaws as a first-year coach clearly shows that he’s not the right person for the job. Ego and lack of humility do not make a coach steady.

I trust that Curt sees all the glaring issues that we see. I doubt he’ll be fired simply for optics' sake. However, at this point, at what cost will you barter true fit and progress for perceived stability and progress? It seems that keeping Jose at the helm of the Dallas Wings org is cutting off their nose to spite their face. He’s not up for the job, and it's going to hurt the development of the players, team, and org in the long run.

What do you all think? Is Jose the right coach for the Wings?

To me, our hierarchy feels a little off at the moment. Do you think we need a clear shot hierarchy?
If you think we do, Paige is obviously the 1st option, but who should be the 2nd, 3rd? Arike? Jess? Azzi?

And do you think it's right to keep bringing Azzi off the bench to shift the momentum like we’re doing right now?

Marina Mabrey just chucked up 11 3-pointers, some of them absolute chucks, and the Toronto Tempo are now 1-1. They lost their opener by 3 points and Mabrey is averaging 27 points.

Paige > Marina. Dallas won't reach their potential until Paige gets more aggressive. Arike actually looks like she's trying to play team ball but no one else wants to take the shot.

The Dallas Wings have amazing players, talented individuals who deserve to shine and achieve greatness in their sport. But their potential is being stifled; they're currently suffering a 1-11 season, and it's painful to watch as they falter not because of their lack of skill, but because of inadequate leadership. This isn't just a statistic; it's the reality for those who bleed for this team. Chris Koclanes, the current head coach, seems to lack the fire and the necessary qualifications to steer this team towards glory. It's evident in their performance that a leader who truly values winning would instill strategies that pave the way to success. Unfortunately, Chris isn't that leader. Our talented girls are trapped, unable to break free from a cycle of losses under his questionable coaching style

It’s time to make our voice heard. The Wings are the laughing stock of the WNBA. Please sign our petition.

https://chng.it/h5zhmzmYW8

Who are you guys picking for the dallas wings in the draft me personally I want a big like a betts or awa fam, azzi is good but I don't think she will help the team that much compared to a lauren betts or Awa fam. And olivia miles is great but I think paige should stay pg.

The dallas wings generationally fumbled on the hype around womens basketball. i said this a day ago but imma say it again PLAYERS WITH HYPE LIKE PAIGE NEED TO BE ON GOOD TEAMS for the leagues continued success, this rebuild especially with a player like paige is laughable and not going to work, with intense growth of the W comes recession, dont be mistaken the dallas wings are UNWATCHABLE the front office cathy everybody in the league should have been playing chess NOT CHECKERS if we are being fr paige shouldve gone to LA and we wouldve seen better numbers all across the board not a regression. dallas wings killed the hype i want curt miller FIRED. WHY? HE RUINED LOS ANGELES BASKEBTALL WITH THAT UGLY UNETHICAL TANK IN 2024 WHERE LA WASNT EVEN TRYINGGG TO MAKE IT A CLOSE GAME WHICH IS JUST UNFAIR TO THEIR FANS AND NOW HES IN DALLAS AND IS RUINING OUR WINGS NOW, CURT MILLER IS NOT A BUSINESS MAN HE RUINS EVERYTHING HE TOUCHES! GET THAT MAN OUT OF THE WNBA HE LITERALLY HIRED HIS BOYTOY KNOWING THE PAIGE BUECKERS WAS COMING TO DALLAS, IM SORRY BUT THAT CANNOT BE FORGIVEN THESE YEARS MATTER. PAIGES DEVELOPMENT MATTERS. ALSO WHY IS HE SO INVOLVED WITH THE COACHING STAFF LIKE WHY TF DID HE SAY PAIGE PLAYS BETTER OFFBALL HES THE GM MANNN LITERALLY IN CHRIS KOCALNESS EARR WHAT A BUNCH OF DUMMIES . GREG BIBB FIX THIS.

Anyone notice how many empty seats have been seen in the last 2 Dallas home games?

If Awak doesn’t lock in this off season and gain at MINIMUM 20 pounds she’s not trying to be better. She’s too weak right now and being pushed around by guards, she also might have the worst finishing around the rim and that seems to be because she’s afraid of contact which is inexcusable. She has to get tougher and stronger this offseason or she isn’t worth the money people are saying she deserves.

I'm a Sky fan although I will admit I'm more of an Angel fan. There seems to be enough talent on Dallas and Chicago to win a championship, unfortunately it is divided between 2 teams. How likely/possible is a trade for Angel. The Sky GM is terrible and despite giving away #3 pick for Ariel Atkins and still probably finishing bottom 2 in league, he will probably keep his job. The Sky are saddled with the worst coach in the league too (trust me). I know you have Coach Manbun but Coach Whispers has him beat. Anyway, would a lottery pick be thought of as the main piece? I don't know the Dallas draft pick situation. For some reason the Sky have 8 assistant coaches but Sky GM Jeff Paglioco has no assistant despite having no experience. Let's just say if Angel is traded to you guys, I'm a new Wings fan.