The 2026 season, which started with so much promise for the new-look Dallas Wings, has turned sour since the All-Star break. After a 78-70 loss to the Golden State Valkyries on Monday, the Wings are now 2-7 since play resumed and have plummeted to eighth place at 20-16.
Though Dallas remains four and a half games ahead of the expansion Portland Fire, and will almost certainly still make the playoffs for the first time since 2023, the hope that they could make a postseason run has faded, especially given that their first-round opponent if the season ended today would be the league-leading Minnesota Lynx.
Wings' pre/post All-Star splits
| Period | Record | Off. Rtg. | Def. Rtg. | Net Rtg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre All-Star | 18-9 | 111.9 | 106.8 | +5.1 |
Post All-Star | 2-7 | 104.6 | 100.3 | -5.7 |
Ahead of Thursday's showdown with Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever, let's take a closer look at what's gone wrong for the Wings in recent weeks.
Injuries causing issues
No. 1 overall pick Azzi Fudd notably came off the bench to begin her WNBA career, but was inserted into the starting lineup in late May and quickly became a key contributor on both sides of the ball. In 30 games, she's averaging 13.1 points, 1.8 assists and 1.7 steals, while shooting 39.7% from 3-point range.
Fudd, who is fourth on the Wings in scoring and leads them in both 3s and steals, has been sidelined since Aug. 5 due to a right knee injury and has missed their last five games. It's unclear if she'll play against the Fever, and though this current issue does not seem serious, there has been understandable concern given her previous knee problems.
In high school, Fudd tore the ACL and MCL in her right knee, an injury that required multiple surgeries. She then tore the ACL in her right knee again, as well as her meniscus, early in her junior season at UConn. Additionally, a minor right knee sprain kept her sidelined for multiple weeks during her senior season.
Most Improved Player candidate Jessica Shepard, who leads the Wings in rebounding and is third in scoring and second in assists, also missed multiple games during this stretch due to an ankle injury. She returned to action on Monday against the Valkyries, but did not look like herself and managed just four points on 1 of 4 shooting in 26 minutes.
Shepard's return is a welcome sign for the Wings, but Fudd's continued absence is a bigger issue. She is their best 3-point shooter, and the spacing she provides for Paige Bueckers and Co. is crucial for the Wings' offense. On the other side, the team misses her weakside defense and ability to jump into passing lanes.
Including this stretch, the Wings are 19-11 with Fudd this season and 1-5 without her. Here's a look at how much better their offense is with Fudd on the floor.
| Fudd's Status | Minutes | Off. Rtg. | TS% |
|---|---|---|---|
ON | 935 | 114.2 | 56.2% |
OFF | 451 | 108 | 53.1% |
Furthermore, the Wings shoot 35.5% from 3-point range with Fudd on the floor and 29.7% with her off. And thanks in part to better spacing with Fudd, they also shoot 70.2% at the rim when she's on the floor and 60.5% with her off.
The injuries to Fudd and Shepard have also significantly impacted the Wings' depth. Post-All-Star break, the Wings' bench is scoring just 17 points per game, which ranks 14th in the league.
Bueckers not at her best
Bueckers, the 2025 Rookie of the Year, got off to an excellent start this season and was named an All-Star for the second time in as many years, but she has not been at her best since the All-Star break. Her numbers are down across the board, aside from her turnovers, which are up, and she's shooting significantly worse from 3-point range.
| Period | PPG | RPG | APG | TPG | FG% | 3P% | TS% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pre-All-Star | 20.9 | 4.2 | 6.2 | 2.1 | 51.3% | 39.7% | 61% |
Post-All-Star | 19.3 | 3.7 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 48.2% | 32.5% | 57.6% |
Since the All-Star break, Bueckers has produced:
- Her lowest-scoring game of the season (six points on Aug. 2 vs. Sun)
- Her three highest turnover games (seven on Aug. 17 vs. Valkyries, six on Aug. 9 vs. Lynx and five on July 29 vs. Dream)
- Three of her eight least efficient outings (33.3% FG vs. Sun, 38.9% FG on Aug. 12 vs. Tempo and 40% FG on Aug. 5 vs. Mystics)
Furthermore, Bueckers has not been as dominant late in games as she was early in the season. Prior to the All-Star break, Bueckers was scoring 6.7 points per game in the fourth quarter on absurd 61.1/46.7/85.7 shooting splits. Her 154 total fourth-quarter points led the league, and she had just 12 fourth-quarter turnovers in 188 min.
Since play resumed, Bueckers is averaging 4.9 points in the fourth on 48.4/20/100 splits, her 44 total fourth-quarter points rank eighth and she has seven turnovers in 68 minutes. Those aren't terrible numbers by any means, but they are part of the reason why the Wings are 1-3 in clutch games since the break.
The Wings have played six games against the league's top-four defenses during this stretch, and Bueckers has spent most of that time operating without one or both of Fudd and Shepard -- the Wings' second and third-most important offensive players -- so some of the slippage is understandable.
But if the Wings want any hope of climbing up the standings or winning a playoff series, they need Bueckers to get back to the All-WNBA First Team level she was at before the break.
A tough schedule that will get easier... until the playoffs
It's worth noting that the Wings have had a difficult schedule since the All-Star break. They alternated home and road contests for their first eight games, and have only played two lottery teams since play resumed (they won both). Meanwhile, they've played two games apiece against both the Washington Mystics and Valkyries, and have also faced the Atlanta Dream, Lynx and Fever.
And their schedule is about to get a whole lot easier. Thursday's game against the Fever will start a six-game homestand, and following the matchup with Indiana, Dallas will only play lottery opponents the rest of the way. As bad as things have been lately, they still have a chance to climb out of eighth place.
Entering Tuesday, the Wings are one game back of the seventh-place Mystics and two games back of the sixth-place New York Liberty and fifth-place Dream. Among those teams, the Wings have the easiest remaining schedule, with an opponent winning percentage of .346.
But while an easier schedule down the stretch may boost the Wings' record and playoff seed, their inability to beat good teams is a real concern for their postseason hopes. The Wings' 0-7 record against top-eight opponents during this stretch continues a season-long issue. Here's a look at their record against the seven teams above them in the playoff picture.
- Lynx: 0-4
- Valkyries: 0-3
- Aces: 2-1
- Fever: 1-1
- Dream: 0-3
- Liberty: 2-1
- Mystics: 1-2
All told, they're 6-15 against other playoff opponents and 14-1 against lottery opponents.
Postgame comments raising eyebrows
After the Wings' loss to the Fever on Aug. 14, during which they were outscored by 14 in the fourth quarter, first-year coach Jose Fernandez gave a strange response when asked about Awak Kuier, who had finished with eight points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
"She's got a good opportunity to go to Golden State and rebound and defend and protect the basket," Fernandez said, following a long pause.
Kuier did shoot 2 of 6 that night, but she was a team-best -1 in a game they lost by 11, and has been one of their best defenders during a stretch when they've really struggled on that side of the ball, so it was a puzzling comment. It was also not the first time that Fernandez's postgame comments have made headlines.
Most notably, Fernandez put his team on blast after just the third game of the season, when he called out "selfishness in the locker room."
Following the Wings' loss to the Valkyries on Monday, Alanna Smith's response to a question about lineups also received plenty of attention.
"That's probably a question for coach, I think. Yeah. We just do what we're instructed," Smith said.
It's unfair to read too much into these recent comments without being inside the locker room, but it does seem clear that frustration is mounting in Dallas.
