Haley Jones Finding Her Groove with the Dallas Wings

At the start of the 2025 WNBA season, former Stanford star Haley Jones was in limbo, needing to figure out her next move after being waived by the Atlanta Dream in final roster cuts. Bouncing around the league, signing a hardship contract with the Phoenix Mercury before being cut from there as well, Jones was struggling to find a home. But now, things are much better for the 24-year-old guard.

Joining the Dallas Wings in late June, Jones initially joined the team on another hardship contract-- with the franchise dealing with a plethora of injuries. But, after putting together big performances, Jones has since signed a contract for the rest of the season, where she is expected to play a big role off the bench for the Wings.

In her last three games, Jones has been dominant, stringing together back-to-back-to-back double digit scoring games. In a 90-86 loss to the Las Vegas Aces on July 16, Jones played 19 minutes and scored 12 points while adding five rebounds and four assists.

Then in the following game, Jones played starter minutes, 31 total, in an 87-63 win over the Seattle Storm, scoring 10 points in the process. Jones, who has shown tremendous growth on both sides of the ball, has proven that she can be a big time player when called upon.

In the Wings' July 25 matchup against the Golden State Valkyries, Jones played 28 minutes in the 86-76 loss, scoring 10 points with four rebounds and three assists, providing good depth off the bench for Dallas. Overall for the season, Jones is averaging 5.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists and has been able to significantly improve her numbers since joining the Wings.

The Wings, who finished 9-31 last season, are struggling once again in 2025. Sitting 12th in the league with a 7-18 record, Dallas has a lot of work to do if they want to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2023. With 15 games left, the focus will be for the team to win as much as they can so they put themselves in position to make a run.

A four-year star at Stanford, Jones played a key role in the program's 2021 national championship run, starting all 32 games while averaging 13.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists. Her best season came when she was a senior in 2022-23, where she averaged 13.5 points, 4.0 assists and 9.0 rebounds, helping the Cardinal make it to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Jones was then drafted sixth overall in the 2023 draft by the Dream, and while she was expected to evolve into a star for the franchise, she was unable to reach her full potential--averaging only 3.8 points in two seasons in Atlanta. But, Jones is still young and has plenty of time to prove that she can be a star in the WNBA.