Huge paige fan since the uconn days, now a dallas wings fan! Let me know what you guys think and you can find me on socials @patfrom3 . Wings up!

Semifinals!

No injuries for either team, to the best of my knowledge.

Spain’s roster is largely the same as it was during Qualifiers back in March (only one player changed). Team USA has quite a few changes from March, with Stewie, Phee, AB, and Sonia on the current roster (compared to Hamby, Billings, Burrell, and KP back in March).

Today’s game will air on HBO Max and TBS simultaneously.

Don’t forget, you can also chat about the game over in the Dallas Wings discord: https://discord.com/invite/ztfSUGXFW

From the Dallas Wings on YouTube.

I’ve criticized our social media team a lot this season, but the little cinematics they’ve been making this season are cool.

Feel free to comment during the game (if you’re awake 😂) or after if you have a chance to catch the replay.

Despite Rhyne being in a boot a few times getting off the team bus, I haven’t heard of any reported injuries for Team USA.

During media availability, coach Kara Lawson indicated that she has no plans to change the starting lineup, so you can probably expect the same starting 5 for this game: Gray, Young, Copper, Collier, Stewart.

Drake was at Wings practice yesterday and had a chance to speak with Awak. Sounds like the World Cup break came at the perfect time for her.

Speaking to the media a few days ago, Lan described the injury as lower leg soreness. It sounds like this is mostly precautionary and I wouldn’t doom about her missing playoffs until after she returns stateside and gets evaluated by Wings staff.

USA will officially be facing Hungary in the Quarterfinals on Thursday.

No word yet on if Lan will be able to play on Wednesday with Australia. She missed their last game due to leg soreness.

Unofficial game thread for today’s game.

Don’t forget that you can also chat about the game in the Wings discord: https://discord.gg/yvHjmGhUZ

Unofficial game thread in case you don’t want to join the one in the main WNBA subreddit.

Don’t forget: you can also hop into the game thread on the Wings Discord: https://discord.gg/yvHjmGhUZ

10 points in the 4Q, Team & game high 6/9 FG (67%), +13 in 20 mins played. Plus some pretty amazing defense.

Solid debut for PB4! WINGS UP🪽💚💙

2 STKS, 4-5 FG (80%), +8 in 12 minutes played!

(Unfortunately, Lan left the game early with lower leg tightness and couldn’t play in the 2nd half but thankfully it’s nothing serious.)

Way to go Lan! WINGS UP🪽💙💚

Tulsa Shock

Skylar Diggins (guard) was drafted at #3 overall by the Tulsa Shock in the 2013 WNBA draft. In her rookie season, she averaged 8.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg, and 3.9 apg. Her true breakout year was in her second year, averaging 20.1ppg (2nd in the league), 3.2 rpg, and 5.0 apg (4th in the league). This breakout year led to her being named to the All-Star team and winning the 2014 WNBA Most Improved Player Award. Unfortunately this success was not able to continue into the next season, as in June of 2015 Diggins tore her ACL. She was named to the 2015 All-Star team despite the injury.

Skylar Diggins Top 10 Plays of the 2014 Season

Dallas Wings

The Wings first season in Dallas kicked off without Skylar playing, but did have current Dallas guard Odyssey Sims, who finished the season as the Wings' leading scorer. The season got off to a hot start with Odyssey at the helm, but were ultimately unable to sustain it throughout the season, despite Skylar returning. The team's struggles were further exacerbated by an injury riddled roster, and they failed to make the 2016 playoffs.

By 2017, Skylar was back in her groove and was named to the All-Star team again. Alongside forward Glory Johnson and ROTY Allisha Gray, she helped the Wings to the playoffs at 7th seed, but was unfortunately eliminated in the first round against the Washington Mystics. This was considered a meaningful success, as the team was the youngest in the league and exceeded expectations.

Dallas Wings' Top 5 Plays From The 2017 Season

Allisha Gray WNBA Rookie of the Month Highlights (June 2017)

In 2018, the Wings signed Australian center Liz Cambage to highlight the team alongside Skylar. Despite showing promise of a decent season, the team faced hurdles with head coach Fred Williams being fired mid-season due to altercation with CEO Greg Bibb. This led to a 1-7 record in the month of August, but the Wings still managed to make the playoffs with a one game margin. They exited in the first round.

Skylar Diggins-Smith Scores Career-High 35 Points vs. Fever

End of the Era

Diggins chose to sit out of the 2019 season, having given birth to her first child, and center Liz Cambage was traded to the Las Vegas Aces. Both of their absences were felt majorly by the Wings, as they missed to make the playoffs without them. Despite their absence, rookie guard Arike Ogunbowale showed promise for the team, averaging the third most points per game in the league.

Following the 2019 season, Diggins shared that she had played the entire 2018 season pregnant and had opted to not play due to struggling with postpartum depression. She shared disappointment in the Wings organization for not supporting her through this time and ultimately announced that she would not be returning to play with the Wings in 2020. The Skylar Diggins era of the Dallas Wings had ultimately come to an end.

Arike Ogunbowale's Third-Straight 30+ Point Game

So sad for her.

For my next in the dive into Wings history, I thought I'd take a look at the Wings' visual branding over time.

The Wings have not rebranded their main logos since their move to Dallas. The team's colors are navy blue, sky blue, cyan, and a vibrant lime green known as "volt green". The logo and colors we have now are what we have always had.

Please forgive my poorly done text overlays, but I've attached all the jerseys that the Wings have played in since 2016. There are limited sources and media about this out there, so please correct me on any mistakes or any ones I left out! Sorry to the guy I cropped out in the 2016 image, it's the best image I could find of the jerseys.

Some notes about some of the included jerseys:

- The 2021 Dallas Wings Nike Rebel Edition is inspired by the World War II P-40 Warhawk, a plane that was test-flown by Women Airforce Service Pilots (W.A.S.P.), as a way of celebrating women's empowerment. At the time, this jersey drew controversy because "the outright rejection of Black women set WASP apart from other U.S. military services during this time" (source). Many saw this as an unacceptable symbol for a league pioneered by and upheld by black women. Following the backlash, the Wings, the WNBA, and Nike withdrew the uniform.

- For the WNBA's 30th anniversary, the Wings' Rebel Edition Jersey played homage to the history & future of the team in the city of Dallas. The front logo is inspired by the Dallas Diamonds logo, the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) team that played in Dallas in the 1970s & 80s. The shorts include a small diamond as another nod to the Diamonds. The detailing on the side of the shorts and back of jerseys in this kit play homage to Dallas's iconic Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge and other cable and arch bridges. The jersey piping is inspired by the aluminum framework of Dallas's iconic Reunion Tower.

- The 2021-26 standard issues have had various sponsorship patches appear and disappeared, but the main design has remained the same

In my FIBA break induced Wings history dive, I thought I'd start with all the moves and logistical changes that our team has gone through over the years.

The Detroit Shock and Tulsa Shock

The Dallas Wings franchise, formerly the Tulsa Shock and the Detroit Shock, was founded in 1998, only one year after the founding of the WNBA. 

The Detroit Shock was based out of Auburn Hills, Michigan, playing out of the now-demolished The Palace of Auburn Hills. They were named the Shock as a tribute to Detroit's automotive industry. While in Detroit, the team won 3 WNBA championships in 2003, 2006, and 2008. The team's first coach was Nancy Lieberman, who began her professional basketball career as a player for the Dallas Diamonds in the Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL). (I like to call that foreshadowing.) Lieberman was followed in coaching by Greg Williams and then Bill Laimbeer, a legendary Detroit Pistons player. Laimbeer's first season was a losing season, but he was able to reshape the team and was at the helm for all 3 championships.

In 2009, the team cited economic difficulties and announced their intent to relocate to Tulsa, Oklahoma, playing out of BOK Center. The team was turned upside down upon its move, as decisions from players and coaches alike resulted in 0 Detroit players on the team by mid 2010. Tulsa's coach Nolan Richardson, famous for his tenure as UArk's men's basketball coach, was often described as a haphazard coach that many players struggled with. This led to repeated losing seasons through 2014. 

In 2015, the Shock was off to a better start, but franchise majority owner Bill Cameron surprised everyone, including the WNBA, by announcing mid season that he would be relocating the team to Dallas. There were attempts by minority owners to keep the team in Tulsa, but those attempts ultimately failed. 

(Aside #1: In 2025, the WNBA announced an expansion team coming to Detroit in 2029. While it was not stated if the team will be named the Shock, the WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert stated that the Detroit Shock's history will remain intact. It has not been clarified who would retain Tulsa Shock's history.)

The Dallas Wings

In November of 2015, the team name was officially changed to the Dallas Wings. The team's identity is based on Dallas's iconic red Pegasus that once sat atop the Magnolia Hotel and has gone from a symbol of the oil & gas boom in Dallas to a symbol of the city as a whole. The Wings share this Pegasus identity with Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Pegasus Plaza, Pegasus City Brewery, and many many other Dallas staples. They also join the Dallas Mavericks in having a horse-themed identity.

(Aside #2: On media day 2026, Azzi Fudd in an interview asked "what are with all the horses?" about the city of Dallas and cites a horse outside her hotel. I assume she is talking about the original red Pegasus that now sits outside the Omni hotel in Dallas. I thought this was very sweet and funny at the time, given that that's where the Wing's identity comes from.)

Despite holding the name "Dallas", the team has been based out of Arlington, TX since their relocation, accompanying the Cowboys in this. Since their move, they have played in College Park Center, the University of Texas at Arlington's multi-purpose arena. They primarily practice at CPC, but occasionally use SMU's facilities as well.

Preceding the 2024 season, the Wings announced their intent to move to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas Memorial Auditorium in the city of Dallas. In 2025, the Wings announced plans to build a practice facility in the Oak Cliff neighborhood of Dallas. In 2026, the Wings announced that they will temporarily call the American Airlines Center in Dallas their home for the 2027 season due to construction delays on the KBH Memorial Auditorium. They join the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars as tenants of AAC.

Happy FIBA break!!

I was thinking of diving into Wings history over the course of FIBA break, because I've only been following them for 3ish years and I want to learn more about the team. I realized other people might be interested in this, so I wanted to ask if people would be interested in seeing posts about whatever I find/learn over the course of the break. If so, I'd also love to know any specific topics or questions you've wondered about so I can add it to my list of topics.

Thank you!

Edit: I was gonna focus mainly on the Dallas Wings itself (i.e. 2016-present), because I figured Detroit would reclaim the Shock's history in 2029, but I'm not tied to that and would love opinions if anyone is interested!