Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers is at the top of the key guarding Las Vegas Aces’ Jackie Young when all of a sudden, it hits her. Every rookie has their “Welcome to the W” moment, a reality check on just how competitive the League is. But for Bueckers, in her debut game, hers was literally a shoulder check straight to the chest.
With 7:17 left in the first quarter, Young, one of the best scorers in the W, drove right at the 6-0 guard and former UConn star. “[DiJonai] was there to get the jump ball so I could catch my breath for a second, but that was no joke. The slide to contain, stay in front on a closeout, just get checked. Yeah, that was real,” says Bueckers, who had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, with a smile. It’s May, and Bueckers is here with us at the University of Texas Arlington gym, where she and her new Wings teammates, Arike Ogunbowale and DiJonai Carrington, are posing for their first SLAM cover together.
Individually, they each have a swagger that’s undeniable. Arike, who was drafted by the Wings in 2019 at No. 5, is their captain and the second-longest tenured player on the team with a game so flashy and clutch it’s earned her All-Star and All-WNBA honors. Then there’s DiJonai, who was last year’s Most Improved Player and is bold and confident in everything she does, from guarding the best player on the floor to scoring over everybody and then hitting ’em with the seatbelt celly. As for the rook, Bueckers exudes an aura so captivating, she’s become beloved—from gracing our cover in high school to winning a national championship at UConn just two months ago to reinvigorating the Wings as the No. 1 pick. There are even hundreds of TikTok edits and fan pages obsessed with her every (dance) move. But like the braid she once wore in college, she’s leaving the hype in the past and embracing her new role as a rookie.
“It’s crazy, I went from being the oldest and I guess the vet on the UConn team to being the youngest here, or one of the youngest,” she says. “I’m [continuing] to stay humble, stay hungry and working to be the best teammate, best leader I can be, [and] working to find my voice. Obviously, I don’t have as much experience, but I still feel like I have a lot of knowledge and wisdom for the game and a lot of love for it.”
It’s here in Dallas that she’ll learn how to compete in the pros. And it’s together as a unit that she, Arike, DiJonai and their squad of standouts will look to show the entire League that the Wings can hold their own, too.
“New” is the theme this year for the Wings, who are now led by first-year head coach and former defensive coordinator Chris Koclanes, who, per the Dallas Hoops Journal, is emphasizing “playing fast…playing smart. Every action has to have purpose.” New is also the word Arike uses when asked about the team so far ahead of the season. “It’s just new, there’s a lot of new, [which is] something that I’ve wanted to happen and something that’s needed to happen for the city,” she says. “I think the front office did a great job bringing in the players they brought in, drafting the players they drafted, the trades that they made happen in free agency. So now I feel like this team is really ready and willing to compete, and we’ll have fun while doing it.”
Last season, the Wings were 9-31 and didn’t make the playoffs. But this year, they’ve got their sights on changing that. For Arike, who averaged 22.2 ppg and has experienced all the ups and downs over the years, including losing in the semis to the Aces in 2023 and three head coaching changes since she first arrived, her goal is to make everyone around her better. “Last year, Year 6, it was tough in the win column,” she says. “[My goal now is] just being better than last year, getting my teammates involved, going higher in every statistical category. But definitely more wins is the main thing for me.”
Her teammates will look for her to guide them. “She’s been a leader for the team, she’s captain of the team and she’s your voice,” Bueckers says. “She’s a bucket, of course. Everybody knows that. Just being around her, she’s super selfless, super welcoming.”
While it’s only been a few weeks since training camp started in late April, it’s obvious that the key to the Wings’ success this season will be their ability to develop chemistry quickly in a short amount of time. It’s all happening before our very eyes—from Carrington helping fix Bueckers’ hair mid-photo shoot to attending the SZA and Kendrick concert as a team (the Wings even got them a suite, says Arike). “We’re still finding our chemistry,” Arike says. “I think it helps that we like each other off the court. We’ve been to a couple dinners together, we’ve been to a concert together, we’ve hung out these last couple of weeks more than I think I have in the past couple of years, which is good. To build that type of chemistry and relationship off the court, it’s gonna transfer to on the court.”
In the Wings’ most recent exhibition game against the Toyota Antelopes at home, fans got a glimpse of just how flashy, energetic and most importantly, connected, their team can be on the floor—from Bueckers dishing a crisp, overhead dime to Ogunbowale that was so on target, you’d think they’d played together for years, to Ogunbowale’s buzzer-beater and Carrington’s ability to finish at the rim. The three of them, along with Myisha Hines-Allen, all finished the game in double digits.
“We’re all uptempo,” says DiJonai. “We like to play fast and just get out and have fun. It’s never too serious, which I like.”
For the 5-11 guard, the move from Connecticut, where she averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds last season, to Dallas serves as an opportunity to be in an entirely new environment that’s unlike anywhere she’s ever been before. “There are no similarities, actually, between here and Connecticut or here and Waco,” she says. Carrington also brings a level of competitiveness, energy and leadership to the team, as well as a fun-loving attitude, which is especially apparent in the way her teammates talk about her.
“Nai/DC/DJ, she doesn’t like DC or DJ [as nicknames], she only likes Nai…she’s great,” says Paige. “She’s like a baby vet because she’s still young. She’s just a fun time to be around. I’m always trolling her, making fun of her, annoying her. That’s been fun. She just has a heart and a passion for the game that you can tell.”
When asked about her first impressions of Arike and PB, Carrington dishes it right back. “Paige is God punishing me for how I bothered my vets when I was a rookie,” Carrington says, lovingly. “Rike, she’s cool. She’s a vibe. I already knew that, though.”
And just like that, the building blocks of a team are already in motion. As for what the Wings will accomplish this season, we’ll all have to wait and see, but as for what we can all expect: a lot of buckets, elite dimes and plenty of LeagueFits-worthy tunnel fits. It’s never been a more exciting time to be a Dallas sports fan.
“I’m sure big money NIL Paige will come correct and DiJonai as well, I know she’ll be fitted,” says Arike.
“I don’t know what they got going on, but I’m coming trim, Game 1,” says DiJonai, hinting at the looks she has planned. “I can’t tell y’all yet. Just know it’s gon’ be tea. I can’t spill it.”
“I do think we’ll have the best dressed team in the League,” adds Bueckers. “I’ll say that.”
Portraits by Atiba Jefferson.
The post With Paige Bueckers, DiJonai Carrington and Arike Ogunbowale, the Dallas Wings are Ready to FLY this season appeared first on SLAM.
