'She Just Makes Everybody Better': Paige Bueckers Returns as Dallas Wings Are Set to Face Phoenix Mercury

Earlier this season, Koclanes discussed how central Bueckers will be to the Wings’ offensive identity when she’s on the floor — a role that becomes even more important with point guard Ty Harris still unavailable.

“I think when they’re back, our identity will continue to just come to fruition in terms of—Paige is gonna be a primary ball handler,” Koclanes said in a recent interview with DallasHoopsJournal.com. “She’s gonna have the ball in her hands, and she’s gonna be in a lot of primary actions as the first facilitator. And nine times out of ten, she’s gonna make the right read.

“And that’s where she makes the first read, now we have the defense scrambling, we’re creating closeouts, and now everybody else is attacking or shooting,” he explained. “It just puts them—it puts them in more comfortable and easier situations to now exploit the defense.”

Continue Building Chemistry With Arike Ogunbowale

One key focus for the Wings will be helping Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale quickly resume their developing chemistry in the backcourt. The last time the two shared the floor — in Dallas’ May 29 game at Chicago — Ogunbowale erupted for 37 points, with Bueckers helping organize the offense and initiate early actions that freed up scoring opportunities.

Ogunbowale also knows that building chemistry with Bueckers is a process — one she’s embracing as the Wings continue adjusting to a new-look lineup and system.

“We’re still learning, but I’m excited about it,” Ogunbowale told DallasHoopsJournal.com following the Wings’ 109–87 road win over the Connecticut Sun earlier this season. “It’s not like it’s a new coach with the same team — everything’s new. I’m a competitor. You guys know what I do day in and day out. This has definitely been a hard adjustment, but I’ve been giving myself grace, giving the team grace. We know we’re going to stick with it. We couldn’t have thought it would just click overnight.”

In that game, Bueckers delivered a career-high 21 points and seven assists, while Ogunbowale scored 19 points and tied her career high with six steals. Their combined play helped fuel the team’s most complete performance of the season — a glimpse of the dynamic potential the Wings hope to rediscover with Bueckers now back in the lineup.

“She’s catching the flow of the WNBA,” Ogunbowale told DallasHoopsJournal.com of Bueckers. “It’s not easy — not at all — but she’s learning really fast. She’s a mature point guard. She’s getting us organized quicker and coming up with play calls faster. She’s definitely improving every game.”

Ogunbowale also spoke about learning to balance her scoring with the evolving structure of the offense — a key part of developing synergy with Bueckers as the primary facilitator.

“Yeah, it’s definitely a feel,” Ogunbowale told DallasHoopsJournal.com. “We have a lot of great players now. Whereas before I might have been able to shoot a bunch, now we’ve got players who can knock down shots too. So I’m just trying to feel it out, share the ball — and we can all score. I think we showed that today.”

That balance was on full display the last time Bueckers and Ogunbowale shared the floor. In Dallas’ May 29 game at Chicago — Bueckers’ last appearance before her absence — Ogunbowale erupted for 37 points, finding rhythm off Bueckers’ early setups and transition play. Recapturing that chemistry will be a top priority as the Wings look to get their offense clicking again.

Paige Bueckers Took Advantage of Time Away

Bueckers acknowledged that the enforced rest period, though frustrating, ultimately may have helped her recovery. The rookie guard had been navigating a demanding transition from her college season to the WNBA schedule, and the unexpected break provided a rare opportunity to recharge both physically and mentally.

“There’s no better medicine than rest,” Bueckers said. “Getting sick wasn’t ideal, but just to give your body a little bit of break. I know the turnaround was fast from the college season to here and, like you said, I never want to miss games, but you try to look at the positives of everything that happened to you. So to be able to get a little bit of downtime, I think it did wonders for my body.”

Bueckers also noted that watching from the sidelines gave her a valuable perspective on what the team can control going forward. Instead of simply focusing on the results, she paid close attention to the small details that often make the difference between winning and losing.

“Just a lot of stuff that happens in the game we can control, and sometimes I feel like we’re our biggest opponent in terms of stuff that we can do to contribute to winning,” Bueckers said. “So just coming back, having that perspective on how we can change things — and it’s just little things that we can clean up. Specifically like turnovers, vision, transition defense are a few things. But just looking at how much, internally, we’re hurting ourselves. So it’s definitely stuff that’s fixable.”

Koclanes emphasized that while team chemistry is still evolving, clarity is starting to take hold. With Bueckers returning to full strength and players gradually settling into more defined roles, the coaching staff is beginning to see the foundation for more consistent play take shape.

“We can compete. We’ve been competing in lots of stretches — we just haven’t been able to put 40 minutes together,” Koclanes said. “But as this season continues and our roles and the clarity comes with how we play with one another, which is happening, everyone is just going to get more comfortable and more confident in being who they are and knowing what they can do and how that can impact our team in a positive way.”

Koclanes added, “I know we haven’t seen it yet on the floor, but change is happening and I promise we’ll stick with it, and we’ll be consistent and it’ll eventually show up on the floor.”

Carrington said the team knows building cohesion will take time and collective effort.

“That’s what basketball is about. We have to play together. No one person, no two people, can win a game for us,” Carrington said. “Obviously, you know, we’re all trying to see our season turnaround, so we just have to lock in on the things that we need to do to do that.”

Phoenix Mercury Up Next

The Wings now turn their focus to Phoenix, a team Koclanes described as “playing really well” with multiple rookies contributing and veteran Satou Sabally anchoring the lineup.

“Phoenix — lots of rookies. We’ll see who’s back for them tomorrow, but they’ve been playing really well,” Koclanes said. “Shoot a ton of threes. Satou [Sabally] playing well. So yeah, we’ll have our work cut out for us there.”

The Mercury are expected to get key reinforcements on Wednesday, with Alyssa Thomas and Natasha Mack set to return to the lineup. Kaleah Copper, however, will remain sidelined.

Koclanes also pointed to the challenge of defending Sabally, who has taken on an expanded role for Phoenix in recent games.

“Yeah, she’s so versatile,” Koclanes said. “She’s technically starting at the five for them here in these last couple games, and she’s bringing the ball up almost half the time. So all that versatility — she can beat you in a ton of different ways. It’s going to be a team effort to slow her down and try to find some disruption on her.”

Bueckers is looking forward to stepping onto the court at Footprint Center, a building she called “the house that DT [Diana Taurasi] built.”

“I have my shorts like this and — oh, DT, DT — today. So it’s a long, short wave. They’re so ugly,” Bueckers said, laughing. “No, but that’s the house that DT built. Obviously she’s one of the GOATs of the game. I’ve been looking up to her since I was young. So it’ll be crazy to be in that environment and see all the people and the place she impacted. I’m so excited to be out there.”

As the Wings continue to battle adversity in the early part of the season, both Koclanes and Bueckers stressed the importance of staying positive and continuing to grow.

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be,” Bueckers said. “Battled some stuff, glad to be back. Excited to keep building, get back on the court.”

For a team in search of its second win and a reset in chemistry, Bueckers’ return couldn’t come at a better time.