The Wings need a shot in the arm after finishing with the second-worst record in the WNBA last season.
The ping-pong balls fell the Dallas Wings’ way on Sunday at the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery, giving Dallas first crack at UConn star Paige Bueckers’ draft rights with the No. 1 overall pick.
Dallas finished the 2024 season with the league’s second-worst record, at 9-31. The Wings entered the Draft Lottery with the second-best odds (22.7%) to receive the first pick, behind the Los Angeles Sparks (44.2%).
Bueckers, a 6’0” guard, is considered a generational talent and, if selected, would immediately send Dallas Wings stock soaring for the upcoming season. The Wings announced the hiring of new general manager Curt Miller after the 2024 season ended and still need to hire a new head coach after Latricia Trammell was fired a month earlier.
Bueckers averaged 21.9, 5.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game in her redshirt junior season at UConn and is the most exciting prospect to arrive on the WNBA scene since Caitlyn Clark brought millions more eyeballs to the women’s game with a record-setting rookie season for the Indiana Fever. Bueckers would fit right into the Wings’ starting lineup alongside two legitimate stars already on the roster in point guard Arike Ogunbowale (22.2 points, 4.6 assists, 5.1 rebounds per game last year) and forward Satou Sabally (17.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists).
First name greatest, last name ever.
We officially have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 @WNBA Draft. pic.twitter.com/qPHb3bqT4D
— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) November 17, 2024
Dallas last had the first pick in 2021 and chose Charli Collier, who is now out of the league. The Sparks will select second in the 2025 WNBA Draft, and the Chicago Sky, Washington Mystics and the expansion Golden State Valkyries will round out the top five picks.
On offense, Bueckers is a true combo guard. She’s solid with the ball in her hands and can attack off the dribble and break down defenses in the pick-and-roll. She’s a patient and unselfish passer, always looking to make the right play instead of forcing a bad shot. She has never shot below 52 percent from the field in a season — an impressive mark for any college player. Off the ball, she’s a sharpshooter with a quick release, knocking down 41.6 percent on 3-point attempts during her redshirt junior season. She is lethal off the catch and has impressive range.
On the other end, Bueckers is a defensive playmaker. She has a nose for the ball with high-level anticipation and quick hands to come up with steals. Her activity and positioning also led to a career-best 1.4 blocks per game in her redshirt junior season.
Other top prospects in the 2025 WNBA Draft pool include 6’3” USC power forward Kiki Iriafen, 6’1” LSU forward Aneesah Morrow, 5’10” UConn guard Azzi Fudd and 5’10” Notre Dame point guard Olivia Miles.