By Jamal Baker
NDG Contributing Writer
The Dallas Wings won the WNBA Draft Lottery for the first time in team history this past Sunday. The Wings’ last lottery pick came in 2023 when they selected Maddy Siegrist with the No. 3 overall pick.
The 2025 WNBA Draft will be held Monday, April 14, 2025. Securing this year’s No. 1 pick sets up Dallas to potentially select UConn superstar Paige Bueckers—she does however have one more year of college eligibility.
Rebuilding sometimes requires tearing down as the Wings hired Curt Miller to be their next General Manager and Executive Vice President of basketball operations. Miller is a two-time WNBA coach of the year and former WNBA Basketball Executive of the Year.
He will be tasked with finding the next head coach of the Dallas Wings this offseason to lead a talented group that features Arike Ogunbowale and Teaira McCowan. With a chance to draft an extraordinary talent in Bueckers, the job now carries some added appeal around the league.
“For someone like myself who’s just started the head coaching search, what an opportunity to be out talking to coaching candidates to take over the Dallas Wings coaching job—knowing that we have the upcoming number one pick. So I can’t begin to tell you how much this just injects energy [and] enthusiasm as we head into the 25’ season,” Miller stated following the 2025 WNBA Draft Lottery.
If and when Bueckers decides to declare for the 2025 WNBA Draft, the Wings will be getting a generational talent to build the organization around. She stands six feet tall and plays the point guard position with fluidity and high basketball IQ. Featuring a complete skillset on both ends of the floor, Bueckers contributes to winning in every facet of the game. Her playmaking ability would allow Ogunbowale to play more off the ball where she thrives. Ogunbowale made her excitement known on X writing, “I just fell to my knees. THANK YOU LORD!”
Bueckers has the potential to have a similar impact to that of Caitlin Clark who took the league by storm in her rookie season. Putting her injuries in the rearview mirror, Bueckers is now fully healthy and will look to help the UConn Huskies win their first national championship since 2016.
“This is my last year to get what I came here for,” Bueckers said this summer.
The Wings will benefit in more ways than one upon Bueckers’ arrival to the city of Dallas. Clark set the precedence by showing how generational No.1 overall picks can boom the economy of the city they are drafted by. The Indiana Fever led the WNBA in attendance for the first time in team history and local businesses saw their profits skyrocket.
The Wings are planning to move from Arlington to play in an arena that is part of the Dallas convention center by the start of the 2026 season. It is an exciting time for the Dallas Wings who are on the precipice of building something special.
