Last Friday night felt like a dream come true for the Dallas Wings for most of Game 3. They had a massive 16-point lead against the Golden State Valkyries, looking set to punch their ticket to the semifinals for the first time since 2023. But then, it just melted away, point by agonizing point, until Gabby Williams sank a go-ahead jumper with barely a minute left, ripping that dream right out of their hands.
The Tears and the Grind
The immediate aftermath was brutal. Paige Bueckers, in her sophomore campaign and postseason debut, couldn’t even keep it together at the podium. Asked what stood out about her team, she choked up, burying her head in a towel, the tears just flowing. You gotta feel for her. She battled all season, even with a patellar tendinitis flare-up in her right knee that had been messing with her since the World Cup. That injury clearly took its toll, too, with her scoring just 27 points on 27 shots in those final two games as the Valkyries’ defense just kept coming. It was a heartbreaking end to what was, by all accounts, an All-WNBA-caliber season from her.
From Worst to First (Almost): A Season of Wild Swings
Look, despite how it ended, this 2026 Wings campaign was a massive success, no doubt about it. This team only won 19 games TOTAL in 2024 and 2025 combined. NINETEEN! So, to pull off the biggest single-season turnaround in WNBA history? That’s insane. They went all in last offseason, ditching Chris Koclanes for Jose Fernandez, signing Jessica Shepard and Alanna Smith in free agency, and grabbing Azzi Fudd with the No. 1 overall pick. Oh, and they re-signed franchise staple Arike Ogunbowale.
There were real questions back in the spring, though. Like, how would Fernandez, after two decades in college ball, handle the pros? Would Shepard and Smith actually fix the frontcourt? Was Fudd, who is in a relationship with Bueckers, the right pick at No. 1? And bringing Ogunbowale back after her worst season ever into an already crowded backcourt? Yikes. Fernandez didn’t help either, going on a postgame rant calling his players selfish after a 1-2 start. Talk about lighting a fire! But the team responded. They won six of their next seven games and by late July, they were sitting pretty in fourth place. A huge part of that? Jessica Shepard. She had a breakout season and snagged Most Improved Player, proving to be way more impactful than Smith.
The Injury Bug Bites Hard
Then the wheels wobbled a bit. They stumbled on both sides of the All-Star break. And then came the gut punch in late August: Azzi Fudd was ruled out for the rest of the season, needing knee surgery. With Fudd gone, the Wings were stuck in eighth place and had to fight off the expansion Portland Fire just to grab that final playoff spot. Everyone expected them to make it, sure, but without Fudd, hope for anything beyond that was thin. Still, they showed grit, winning seven of their final eight games just to sneak in.
So, how do you even follow up a season like that? A historical turnaround, incredible individual performances, major adversity with injuries and coaching drama, all ending in a brutal, gut-wrenching playoff collapse. That’s the real question facing the Wings now. They’ve gotta figure out how to build on this, how to shore up that supporting cast, and how to get past the heartbreak of that Game 3 loss. It’s a long offseason ahead, but you know they’ll be back, ready to show what they’re made of.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
Leave a Reply