To say that the last several months have been a very interesting one for Dallas-Fort Worth sports is….an understatement.
If one is a North Texas sports fan, one remembers exactly where they were that fateful day…when they saw across their timelines that the Dallas Mavericks had indeed traded Luka Dončić to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis.
At first, many an NBA fan had to believe that this deal – engineered by Mavs general manager Nico Harrison – was a prank. This had to be an NBA Centel post gone wrong. But as more and more media outlets began to confirm that the trade was indeed reality, many Mavs Fans For Life felt completely backstabbed by the franchise.
After all – it was only last year that Dončić – along with Kyrie Irving – led the Mavericks to the NBA Finals. Dallas lost in said Finals to the Boston Celtics as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and company forever etched themselves in Celtics lore.
Dončić’s arrival with the purple and gold has completely changed the outlook of the season for many a Lakers fan. With Dončić in tandem with LeBron James, many Lakers aficionados began daydreaming that this season would see another championship brought to Southern California – and another Lakers parade through Tinseltown’s streets.
Meanwhile – back in Dallas – jilted Mavs fans phoned into sports radio, protested outside of the American Airlines Center and even changed “fire Nico” at Dallas contests.
As Mavs fans are still processing how Dončić was unceremoniously sent packing from the Metroplex, another basketball superstar is preparing to make her grand debut in the DFW.
Paige Bueckers.
Fresh off concluding her collegiate career in UConn by bringing the Huskies its 12th national championship in history, the Dallas Wings had no problems selecting her with the first overall pick in the recently completed WNBA Draft.
The Wings recently welcomed Bueckers at a press conference along with the rest of Dallas’ draft class – which included Aziaha James of NC State, Ole Miss’ Madison Scott, West Virginia’s JJ Quinerly and Baylor’s Aaronette Vonleh.
It was a star-studded event that not only included Wings coach Chris Kolcanes, general manager Curt Miller and CEO Greg Bibb – but Dallas mayor Eric Johnson and City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert.
In many ways, Dončić walked so Bueckers can run.
The future of the DFDub’s NBA franchise is anything but certain. Its WNBA franchise is another story entirely. With the Wings welcoming Bueckers into its family, Dallas appears to have the face of its franchise for the next 15 years.
One problem is that the Wings have not been the best team at keeping marquee players.
Exhibit A – Skylar Diggins-Smith.
Exhibit B – Liz Cambage
Exhibit C – Natasha Howard
Exhibit D – Satou Sabally
Not to mention Arike Ogunbowale is a free agent following this season. Does Ogunbowale want to stay to be a backcourt mentor to Bueckers? Or will she test the free agent waters and possibly head to a team like the Chicago Sky which may or may not have Courtney Vandersloot in 2026.
If Ogunbowale bolts, then it becomes obvious that Bueckers is the face of the Dallas franchise – a franchise that has played its entire existence at the College Park Center in Arlington. That will soon change when the Wings move out of Tarrant County and into Dallas proper when the Wings will call the Dallas Memorial Auditorium – part of the Dallas Convention Center – its new home.
The Wings inked a 15-year pact with the city of Dallas that will see the team relocate into the city limits starting with the 2026 season – a season that is set to be the first year of the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement with the WNBPA and a season that will see two new teams (Toronto Tempo and Portland) enter the W’s ranks.
It was not that long ago that the Wings reached a high point in the franchise’s history. Dallas was a WNBA semifinalist only to run into the buzzsaw that was the Las Vegas Aces. While the Wings’ championship hopes were dashed at the hands of A’ja Wilson, Chelsea Gray, Kelsey Plum and Jackie Young, it was a sign that Dallas belonged in the same category with teams such as the Aces and the New York Liberty.
Then last season happened – and it was a huge disappointment from a Dallas perspective. The team did not even make the playoffs, was one of the four teams set for the lottery and its former coach in Latricia Trammell was let go. In addition, the Wings suffered a massive front office loss with Amber Cox – one of the most respected names in WNBA circles – took the general manager job with the Indiana Fever.
Even with all of the topsy and the turvy happening with the Wings, the franchise knew the draft would be the beginning of the ship being righted in Dallas. Drafting a generational talent such as Bueckers is a far distance from when it selected first overall in 2021. The Wings drafted Charli Collier – who is not even playing in the WNBA currently.
The Wings, the Dallas-Fort Worth community and the WNBA as a whole need to roll out the orange carpet for Bueckers and company the same way it rolled out the orange carpet for Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, Cameron Brink, Rickea Jackson and Kamilla Cardoso prior to the 2024 season. Ironically enough, the Wings’ first game will be against the Minnesota Lynx – in Arlington.
This was obvious scheduling bricked shot on the part of the W. In a perfect world, Dallas vs. Minnesota would be at Target Center given Bueckers played her high school basketball in Hopkins. The Wings will be at Minnesota on May 21 – but not an ABC/ESPN broadcast. Another bricked shot scheduling-wise.
Regardless of what happens with Ogunbowale, teams that draft generational talents like Bueckers usually reap the rewards within a few years. The Aces eventually did so when they drafted Wilson and the same is happening to the Fever with the tandem of Clark and Aliyah Boston.
The arrival of No. 5 plus the move into the Dallas city limits could not have come at a more opportune time for the Wings.
The most popular chant in Dallas sports nowadays is “fire Nico.” The Metroplex may have lost Dončić but can give a heartwarming Lone Star welcome to its new hero.
