2023 Dallas Wings season

The 2023 Dallas Wings season was the franchise's 26th season in the Women's National Basketball Association and the 8th season for the franchise in Dallas - after relocating from Tulsa and Detroit. This was the first season under head coach Latricia Trammell.

2023 Dallas Wings season
Coach	Latricia Trammell
Arena	College Park Center
Attendance	4,641 per game
Results
Record	22–18 (.550)
Place	2nd (Western)
Playoff finish	4th seed, Lost in the Semifinals 0–3 to Las Vegas
Team Leaders
Points	Arike Ogunbowale – 21.2 ppg
Rebounds	Teaira McCowan – 9.1 rpg
Assists	Arike Ogunbowale – 4.5 apg
← 2022 season 2024 season →

On September 19, 2022, the Wings announced that they would not renew the contract of head coach Vickie Johnson, effectively firing her.^[1] On November 7, 2022, the Wings announced that Trammell would be the new head coach for the organization.^[2]

The season began well, with the Wings winning their first two games and finishing 3–1 in the opening month of May. However, their good run of form did not carry over into June as they lost their first two games, before winning their next two. The team then went on a three game losing streak, and only managed to win two of their final four games in the month after the losing streak. The Wings finished June 4–7 overall, and three of those four wins came against Phoenix. The Wings turned things around in July where they won six of their first seven games in the month, including being only the second team to defeat the Las Vegas Aces at the time. They would lose two of their last three games, but finish July with a 7–3 record. August became a mixed bag for the team as they won their first game but then went on a three game losing streak. They followed this with a three game winning streak before losing two of their last three games to finish the month 5–5. After starting September with a win over the Indiana Fever, Dallas secured a playoff spot. After securing this spot, they lost their next two games. However, they won their last two games of the season to finish September 3–2. The Wings finished with an overall regular season record of 22–18. Their 22 regular season wins were a franchise best in Dallas, and best since 2008, when the franchise was still located in Detroit.

With their 22–18 record, Dallas was the fourth seed in the 2023 WNBA Playoffs. They would face off against the Atlanta Dream in the first round, with the first two games of the series being held in Dallas. In a back-and-forth game one, Dallas had a big fourth quarter and won the game 94–82. Game two began close, but the Wings dominated the second and fourth quarters to win 101–74 to sweep the first round series 2 games to 0. In the second round, the Wings faced off against the first-seeded Las Vegas Aces. The first two games of the five game series were in Las Vegas. Game one started as a tight affair, with Dallas trailing by only four points at halftime, but the Aces dominated the third quarter and won the game 91–84. In game two the Wings trailed for most of the game but mounted a comeback that fell short, losing 84–91. The series then moved to Dallas for a must-win game three for the Wings. Dallas took a five-point lead into halftime, but couldn't hold on in the second half losing 61–64 to end their season.

Transactions

WNBA draft

See also: 2023 WNBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	School/Team/Country	Nationality
1	3	Maddy Siegrist	United States	Villanova
1	5	Lou Lopez Sénéchal	Mexico/ France	UConn
1	11	Abby Meyers	United States	Maryland
2	19	Ashley Joens	United States	Iowa State
3	31	Paige Robinson	United States	Illinois State

Transactions

Date	Transaction
September 19, 2022	Fired Head Coach Vickie Johnson[3]
November 7, 2022	Hired Latricia Trammell as Head Coach[4]
November 17, 2022	Hired Brandi Poole as Assistant Coach[5]
January 9, 2023	Hired April Schilling and Courtney Paris as Assistant Coaches[6]
January 11, 2023	Extended Qualifying Offers to Marina Mabrey and Teaira McCowan[7]
January 16, 2023	Traded Kayla Thornton to the New York Liberty in exchange for Natasha Howard and Crystal Dangerfield, as part of a 3-Team Trade. The Wings also traded Tyasha Harris to the Connecticut Sun.[8]
January 21, 2023	Traded Allisha Gray to the Atlanta Dream in exchange for the #3 Overall Pick in the 2023 WNBA draft and a First-Round Pick in 2025[9]
February 1, 2023	Signed Teaira McCowan to a 3-Year Deal[10]
	Full Season Contract Suspension of Bella Alarie
February 2, 2023	Signed Crystal Dangerfield to a 2-Year Deal[11]
	Signed Kalani Brown to a Training Camp Contract
February 11, 2023	Acquired Diamond DeShields, a 2023 First-Round Pick (from Chicago), a 2024 First-Round Pick (from Chicago), and the right to swap 2025 First-Round Picks (from Chicago) in a 4-Team Trade involving the Chicago Sky, New York Liberty, and Phoenix Mercury[12]
February 22, 2023	Exercised the 4th Year Option on Awak Kuier
February 28, 2023	Signed Kitija Laksa[13]
April 12, 2023	Signed Maddy Siegrist to a Rookie Scale Contract
April 13, 2023	Signed Lou Lopez Sénéchal and Abby Meyers to Rookie Scale Contracts
April 15, 2023	Signed Ashley Joens to a Rookie Scale Contract
May 10, 2023	Suspended the contract of Kitija Laksa for the full season due to Overseas Commitments[14]
May 15, 2023	Waived Abby Meyers[15]
May 16, 2023	Declined Team Option on Charli Collier
May 17, 2023	Waived Kalani Brown and Charli Collier[16]
May 30, 2023	Signed Kalani Brown to a Hardship Contract[17]
June 2, 2023	Temporarily suspended the contract of Teaira McCowan due to Overseas Commitments
June 6, 2023	Signed Odyssey Sims to a Hardship Contract[18][19]
June 15, 2023	Released Odyssey Sims from the Hardship Contract[20]
June 20, 2023	Activated Teaira McCowan from her temporary contract suspension due to Overseas Commitments
June 28, 2023	Signed Odyssey Sims[21]
	Waived Jasmine Dickey and Ashley Joens[21]
	Released Kalani Brown from her Hardship Contract[21]
June 29, 2023	Signed Kalani Brown to a Hardship Contract[22]
August 6, 2023	Signed Ashley Joens to a 7-Day Contract[23]

Roster Changes

Additions Personnel Signed/Trade Former Team Natasha Howard Trade New York Liberty Crystal Dangerfield Trade New York Liberty Diamond DeShields Trade Phoenix Mercury Kalani Brown Free Agency Maccabi Bnot Ashdod Lou Lopez Sénéchal Draft Pick 2023 Draft Pick Maddy Siegrist Draft Pick 2023 Draft Pick Odyssey Sims Free Agency Connecticut Sun

Subtractions Personnel Reason New Team Kayla Thornton Traded New York Liberty Tyasha Harris Traded Connecticut Sun Allisha Gray Traded Atlanta Dream Isabelle Harrison Free Agency Chicago Sky Marina Mabrey Trade Chicago Sky Charli Collier Waived - Jasmine Dickey Waived -

Roster

2023 Dallas Wings roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Height Weight DOB From Yrs C 21 Brown, Kalani 6' 7" (2.01m) 245 lb (111kg) 1997-03-21 Baylor 3 G 12 Burton, Veronica 5' 9" (1.75m) 155 lb (70kg) 2000-07-12 Northwestern 1 G 11 Dangerfield, Crystal 5' 5" (1.65m) 130 lb (59kg) 1998-05-11 Connecticut 3 G 88 DeShields, Diamond  6' 1" (1.85m) 172 lb (78kg) 1995-03-05 Tennessee 5 F 6 Howard, Natasha 6' 2" (1.88m) 165 lb (75kg) 1991-09-02 Florida State 9 F/C 28 Kuier, Awak 6' 4" (1.93m) 168 lb (76kg) 2001-08-19 Finland 2 G 8 Lopez Sénéchal, Lou  6' 1" (1.85m) 155 lb (70kg) 1998-05-12 Connecticut R C 7 McCowan, Teaira 6' 7" (2.01m) 239 lb (108kg) 1996-09-28 Mississippi State 4 G 24 Ogunbowale, Arike 5' 8" (1.73m) 165 lb (75kg) 1997-03-02 Notre Dame 4 F 0 Sabally, Satou 6' 4" (1.93m) 175 lb (79kg) 1998-04-25 Oregon 3 F 20 Siegrist, Maddy 6' 2" (1.88m) 175 lb (79kg) 2000-05-22 Villanova R G 2 Sims, Odyssey 5' 8" (1.73m) 155 lb (70kg) 1993-07-13 Baylor 10 G – Robinson, Paige (DP) 5' 11" (1.8m) 2000-07-24 Illinois State –	Head coach Latricia Trammell (East Central) Assistant coaches Brandi Poole (Sewanee) April Schilling (Tennessee) Courtney Paris (Oklahoma) Athletic trainer Branay Hicks (UT Tyler) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth

Pos.	Starter	Bench
PG	Crystal Dangerfield	Veronica Burton Odyssey Sims
SG	Arike Ogunbowale	Lou Lopez Sénéchal
SF	Satou Sabally	Diamond DeShields
PF	Natasha Howard	Awak Kuier Maddy Siegrist
C	Teaira McCowan	Kalani Brown

Schedule

Preseason

2023 pre-season game log Total: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1)
May: 1–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 5 Chicago W 75–70 Teaira McCowan (17) Howard McCowan (8) Burton Dangerfield (4) College Park Center 2,004 1–0 2 May 13 @ Indiana L 83–90 Ogunbowale Sabally (18) Satou Sabally (9) Burton Howard McCowan Ogunbowale Sabally (3) Gainbridge Fieldhouse 2,084 1–1
2023 pre-season schedule

Regular Season

2023 game log Total: 22–18 (Home: 11–9; Road: 11–9)
May: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 20 Atlanta W 85–78 Arike Ogunbowale (27) Natasha Howard (10) Howard Sabally (3) College Park Center 5,588 1–0 2 May 26 @ Seattle W 95–91 Arike Ogunbowale (26) Satou Sabally (10) Arike Ogunbowale (6) Climate Pledge Arena 8,277 2–0 3 May 28 @ Chicago L 88–94 Arike Ogunbowale (27) Satou Sabally (8) Veronica Burton (6) Wintrust Arena 6,042 2–1 4 May 30 Minnesota W 94–89 Natasha Howard (25) Satou Sabally (11) Veronica Burton (9) College Park Center 3,484 3–1
June : 4–7 (Home: 3–2; Road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 5 June 2 @ Washington L 74–75 Ogunbowale Sabally (18) Satou Sabally (14) Satou Sabally (7) Entertainment and Sports Arena 3,294 3–2 6 June 4 @ Connecticut L 74–80 Satou Sabally (26) Satou Sabally (14) Veronica Burton (7) Mohegan Sun Arena 5,012 3–3 7 June 7 Phoenix W 84–79 Satou Sabally (24) Kalani Brown (15) Odyssey Sims (6) College Park Center 4,242 4–3 8 June 9 Phoenix W 90–77 Arike Ogunbowale (35) Satou Sabally (16) Odyssey Sims (7) College Park Center 6,251 5–3 9 June 11 @ New York L 93–102 Arike Ogunbowale (25) Satou Sabally (11) Odyssey Sims (8) Barclays Center 7,615 5–4 10 June 14 Los Angeles L 61–79 Kalani Brown (21) Satou Sabally (13) Burton Sabally (4) College Park Center 5,807 5–5 11 June 17 Seattle L 103–109 Arike Ogunbowale (41) Natasha Howard (10) Satou Sabally (5) College Park Center 5,020 5–6 12 June 20 Atlanta W 85–73 Natasha Howard (23) Kalani Brown (14) Crystal Dangerfield (5) College Park Center 3,392 6–6 13 June 23 @ Los Angeles L 74–76 Natasha Howard (23) Natasha Howard (12) Arike Ogunbowale (4) Crypto.com Arena 5,766 6–7 14 June 25 @ Los Angeles L 83–93 Crystal Dangerfield (18) Teaira McCowan (9) Arike Ogunbowale (8) Crypto.com Arena 6,380 6–8 15 June 27 @ Phoenix W 77–62 Arike Ogunbowale (23) Satou Sabally (12) Satou Sabally (6) Footprint Center 5,652 7–8
July : 7–3 (Home: 4–1; Road: 3–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 16 July 2 Washington W 89–72 Satou Sabally (27) Satou Sabally (15) Arike Ogunbowale (5) College Park Center 4,544 8–8 17 July 5 @ Las Vegas L 82–89 Natasha Howard (32) Natasha Howard (13) Arike Ogunbowale (7) Michelob Ultra Arena 10,177 8–9 18 July 7 Las Vegas W 80–78 Arike Ogunbowale (21) Teaira McCowan (12) Crystal Dangerfield (6) College Park Center 6,251 9–9 19 July 9 @ Indiana W 77–76 Arike Ogunbowale (28) Natasha Howard (8) Howard McCowan Sims (5) Gainbridge Fieldhouse 3,612 10–9 20 July 12 @ Minnesota W 107–67 Natasha Howard (28) Natasha Howard (14) Arike Ogunbowale (11) Target Center 13,531 11–9 21 July 19 @ New York W 98–88 Arike Ogunbowale (25) Teaira McCowan (12) Dangerfield Sabally (7) Barclays Center 9,012 12–9 22 July 22 Los Angeles W 98–84 Natasha Howard (28) Howard Sabally (11) Dangerfield Sabally (6) College Park Center 5,041 13–9 23 July 25 Connecticut L 83–88 Arike Ogunbowale (25) Teaira McCowan (15) Burton Howard Ogunbowale Sabally (3) College Park Center 4,222 13–10 24 July 28 Washington W 90–62 McCowan Ogunbowale (18) Satou Sabally (11) Satou Sabally (10) College Park Center 4,048 14–10 25 July 30 @ Las Vegas L 91–104 Teaira McCowan (25) Teaira McCowan (14) Arike Ogunbowale (5) Michelob Ultra Arena 10,213 14–11
August : 5–5 (Home: 1–4; Road: 4–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 26 August 2 @ Seattle W 76–65 Arike Ogunbowale (27) Natasha Howard (12) Dangerfield Ogunbowale (4) Climate Pledge Arena 7,421 15–11 27 August 4 Chicago L 89–104 Natasha Howard (28) Natasha Howard (12) Natasha Howard (11) College Park Center 3,762 15–12 28 August 6 Chicago L 96–104 Satou Sabally (25) Teaira McCowan (9) Satou Sabally (8) College Park Center 4,057 15–13 29 August 8 Las Vegas L 84–104 Satou Sabally (21) Kalani Brown (7) Veronica Burton (5) College Park Center 5,193 15–14 30 August 12 Connecticut W 91–81 Satou Sabally (28) Satou Sabally (8) Teaira McCowan (6) College Park Center 4,179 16–14 31 August 18 @ Connecticut W 95–75 Arike Ogunbowale (30) Teaira McCowan (11) Satou Sabally (5) Mohegan Sun Arena 6,584 17–14 32 August 20 @ Washington W 97–84 Arike Ogunbowale (17) Teaira McCowan (13) Satou Sabally (10) Entertainment and Sports Arena 4,200 18–14 33 August 22 @ Minnesota L 86–91 Satou Sabally (22) Teaira McCowan (16) Ogunbowale Sabally (7) Target Center 6,921 18–15 34 August 24 Minnesota L 81–90 Teaira McCowan (23) Teaira McCowan (18) Brown Dangerfield (4) College Park Center 3,931 18–16 35 August 27 @ Phoenix W 77–74 Arike Ogunbowale (29) Awak Kuier (9) Natasha Howard (3) Footprint Center 12,163 19–16
September : 3–2 (Home: 1–2; Road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 36 September 1 @ Indiana W 110–100 Satou Sabally (40) Burton Sabally (7) Veronica Burton (8) Gainbridge Fieldhouse 3,137 20–16 37 September 3 Indiana L 84–97 (OT) Ogunbowale Sabally (22) Teaira McCowan (10) Satou Sabally (5) College Park Center 5,058 20–17 38 September 5 New York W 94–93 Satou Sabally (27) Teaira McCowan (12) Dangerfield Howard Ogunbowale (5) College Park Center 4,195 20–18 39 September 8 Seattle W 106–91 Natasha Howard (23) Howard McCowan (9) Arike Ogunbowale (10) College Park Center 4,546 21–18 40 September 10 @ Atlanta W 94–77 Arike Ogunbowale (32) Teaira McCowan (10) Arike Ogunbowale (6) Gateway Center Arena 3,207 22–18
2023 season schedule

Playoffs

2023 playoff game log
First Round vs. Atlanta Won Series: 2–0 Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 15 Atlanta W 94–82 Satou Sabally (32) Teaira McCowan (14) Arike Ogunbowale (7) College Park Center 5,053 1–0 2 September 19 Atlanta W 101–74 Arike Ogunbowale (24) Teaira McCowan (16) Arike Ogunbowale (7) College Park Center 4,798 2–0
Second Round vs. Las Vegas Lost Series: 0–3 Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 September 24 @ Las Vegas L 83–97 Satou Sabally (16) Teaira McCowan (8) Satou Sabally (7) Michelob Ultra Arena 9,784 0–1 2 September 26 @ Las Vegas L 84–91 Arike Ogunbowale (24) Howard McCowan (10) Odyssey Sims (5) Michelob Ultra Arena 9,286 0–2 3 September 29 Las Vegas L 61–64 Arike Ogunbowale (18) Teaira McCowan (15) Veronica Burton (6) College Park Center 6,251 0–3
2023 playoff schedule

Standings

#	Team v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Conf.	Home	Road	Cup
1	x – Las Vegas Aces	34	6	.850	–	18–2	19–1	15–5	9–1
2	x – New York Liberty	32	8	.800	2	16–4	15–5	17–3	7–3
3	x – Connecticut Sun	27	13	.675	7	14–6	13–7	14–6	7–3
4	x – Dallas Wings	22	18	.550	12	11–9	11–9	11–9	6–4
5	x – Atlanta Dream	19	21	.475	15	11–9	11–9	8–12	6–4
6	x – Minnesota Lynx	19	21	.475	15	12–8	9–11	10–10	5–5
7	x – Washington Mystics	19	21	.475	15	9–11	12–8	7–13	5–5
8	x – Chicago Sky	18	22	.450	16	5–15	7–13	11–9	3–7
9	e – Los Angeles Sparks	17	23	.425	17	9–11	10–10	7–13	5–5
10	e – Indiana Fever	13	27	.325	21	5–15	6–14	7–13	2–8
11	e – Seattle Storm	11	29	.275	23	8–12	4–16	7–13	4–6
12	e – Phoenix Mercury	9	31	.225	25	2–18	8–12	1–19	1–9

Notes

(#) – League Standing

x – Clinched playoff berth

e – Eliminated from postseason contention

Source: Overall standings and Commissioner's Cup Standings

Playoffs

See also: 2023 WNBA Playoffs

	First round Best-of-3					Semifinals Best-of-5					Finals Best-of-5
	1	Las Vegas Aces	2
	8	Chicago Sky	0
						1	Las Vegas Aces	3
						4	Dallas Wings	0
	4	Dallas Wings	2
	5	Atlanta Dream	0
											1	Las Vegas Aces	3
											2	New York Liberty	1
	2	New York Liberty	2
	7	Washington Mystics	0
						2	New York Liberty	3
						3	Connecticut Sun	1
	3	Connecticut Sun	2
	6	Minnesota Lynx	1

• Bold – Series winner
• Italic – Team with home-court advantage

Statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage	TO	Turnovers per game
PF	Fouls per game		Team leader		League leader

Regular Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Arike Ogunbowale	40	40	37.2	.398	.343	.876	3.4	4.5	1.7	0.1	21.2
Satou Sabally	38	38	33.1	.435	.361	.874	8.1	4.4	1.8	0.4	18.6
Natasha Howard	39	39	33.1	.458	.299	.815	8.0	2.6	1.3	1.2	16.5
Teaira McCowan	30	29	26.1	.551	.000	.586	9.1	1.5	0.5	1.2	11.9
Crystal Dangerfield	35	32	27.8	.425	.290	.815	2.9	3.1	0.9	0.2	8.2
Kalani Brown≠	32	5	16.4	.629	.000	.802	4.5	1.0	0.2	0.7	7.8
Maddy Siegrist	39	0	8.2	.509	.333	.931	1.6	0.2	0.2	0.2	3.7
Awak Kuier	37	4	10.8	.396	.087	.778	2.5	0.5	0.2	0.6	2.6
Veronica Burton	40	13	13.9	.294	.271	.912	1.8	2.2	0.7	0.3	2.4
Jasmine Dickey‡	14	0	6.2	.382	.000	.500	0.8	0.1	0.3	0.1	2.1
Odyssey Sims≠	28	0	12.0	.304	.133	.550	1.3	2.2	0.4	0.0	2.0
Ashley Joens‡	9	0	1.6	.250	.000	.250	0.2	0.0	0.1	0.0	0.3

^‡Waived/Released during the season
^†Traded during the season
^≠Acquired during the season

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Arike Ogunbowale	5	5	37.8	.388	.351	.643	4.8	5.2	1.6	0.0	19.6
Satou Sabally	5	5	33.6	.359	.391	.778	5.2	4.2	1.4	1.2	15.8
Natasha Howard	5	5	34.2	.364	.350	.833	8.4	2.2	1.6	1.4	12.0
Teaira McCowan	5	5	30.4	.622	0.0	.522	12.6	1.6	0.8	1.4	11.6
Odyssey Sims	5	2	18.6	.406	.333	.600	1.0	2.4	0.8	0.0	6.4
Kalani Brown	5	0	8.6	.583	0.0	.400	2.2	0.4	0.6	0.2	6.0
Crystal Dangerfield	5	3	11.6	.533	.333	1.00	1.4	1.0	0.2	0.0	4.6
Awak Kuier	5	0	10.4	.643	.286	.000	1.4	0.2	0.6	0.8	4.0
Maddy Siegrist	4	0	4.8	.667	1.0	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	3.5
Veronica Burton	5	0	11.0	.154	.111	.800	1.2	2.2	1.6	0.0	1.8

Awards and honors

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Arike Ogunbowale	Western Conference Player of the Week	May 30	[24]
	Player of the Month - May	June 2	[25]
	WNBA All-Star Starter	June 25	[26]
Satou Sabally	Western Conference Player of the Week	June 13	[27]
	WNBA All-Star Starter	June 25	[26]
	Most Improved Player	September 21	[28]
	All-WNBA First Team	October 15	[29]
Natasha Howard	Western Conference Player of the Week	July 13	[30]