In Arlington, Texas, the arrival of Paige Bueckers has infused new energy and anticipation into the Dallas Wings and their supporters long before her official selection by the WNBA team.
The excitement began with a viral clip featuring newly appointed Wings general manager Curt Miller, who expressed sheer elation when the franchise secured the top spot in the draft lottery just days after he assumed his role. “I absolutely lost my mind… We knew what that meant at that moment,” Miller recalls with enthusiasm.
This pivotal moment occurred in November, at a time when Bueckers had just embarked on her final season at UConn as a three-time AP All-American. Her impressive journey concluded triumphantly with the Huskies clinching their 12th national title under Coach Geno Auriemma and marking his sixth No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft.
Days following the draft lottery — months ahead of the April 14 draft and the season opener on May 16 — the Wings successfully filled all available season tickets. They also expanded their regional TV coverage to reach 6.2 million homes and announced plans to relocate to a newly renovated arena in downtown Dallas for the next season.
Bueckers is stirring the same excitement around the Wings that Caitlin Clark did when she became the No. 1 pick for the Indiana Fever last year, guiding them to their first playoff appearance in eight years and subsequently winning WNBA Rookie of the Year and AP2024 Female Athlete of the Year.
“She’s going to impact us, and she just impacts winning,” said Miller, referring to Bueckers as a humble superstar destined to influence the Dallas Wings.
Arike Ogunbowale, the team’s fifth overall pick in 2019, concluded last season as the All-Star Game MVP, ranking second in the WNBA with a scoring average of 22.2 points per game. She is one of the few returning players, as the Wings aim to improve from their 9-31 record and reenter postseason play.
The Wings have acquired DiJonai Carrington, last season’s Most Improved Player, from Connecticut in a multiteam deal and signed Myisha Hines-Allen, a seasoned seven-year pro and 2019 WNBA champion, in free agency.
“There’s a lot of new, there’s going to be a new facility, new arena, new GM, new coaching staff…mostly an entire new team,” said Bueckers. “So just to build from where we are now, continue to build for the future… Dallas is a sports city, so you feel the love already and the support and the excitement.”
Before the commencement of their training camp, Bueckers and the Wings’ other four draft picks were introduced during an event at Dallas City Hall, attended by the mayor and numerous fans. This rally-like presentation was located near the historic arena undergoing renovations for the team, in line with a 15-year deal approved by the Dallas City Council to facilitate the Wings’ relocation.
While the expectations are high for Bueckers, she remains focused on personal growth rather than succumbing to external pressure. “The best thing I did last year was build my approach to the game and my ability not to care about expectations and not set any expectations because then you set a ceiling of what you can accomplish,” she expressed.
“Maximizing who I am every single day, trying to get better every single day, trying to get better as an organization, as a team, as an individual player, and growing every day, is all that I’m really worried about.”
Bueckers will need to adapt to the WNBA, with challenges like new rules and the league’s heightened speed and physicality looming ahead. “Caitlin was one of the outliers where the adjustment was quicker for her,” Miller noted. “There’ll be an adjustment, there’ll be a spotlight on her, but she’s handled so much of that throughout her young career already.”
Bueckers has a strong network, particularly among UConn alumni, offering guidance as she embarks on her professional journey. “I mostly talk to a lot of the UConn alums, and being a part of that network,” Bueckers shared. “They’ve been through every single thing that you can imagine, so leaning on them a lot and embracing your own journey.”
The Dallas Wings have secured strategic deals, including a new television carrier in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, aligned with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, now stretched across 12 markets in Texas – the largest local broadcast footprint in WNBA history.
Furthermore, the Wings announced the largest sponsorship arrangement in their history with financial services provider Albert, securing an eight-figure deal over the next five years, featuring an official jersey patch.
Exciting matchups lie ahead, such as the June 27 game against Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever at the 20,000-seat American Airlines Center, home of the Mavericks. Clark played in the Final Four there with Iowa two years ago. When the Fever return on August 1, the venue will shift to the Wings’ normal arena at the UT-Arlington campus, holding 6,251 spectators.