Wings Coach Assesses Brutal WNBA Start With Blunt 1-Word Message

The Dallas Wings have not been good to start the 2025 WNBA regular season. After their June 6 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, Dallas now holds a 1-8 record and is in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Their only victory is against the Connecticut Sun, who also have just one win on their record, and Dallas' 108.4 defensive rating is the third-worst in the league right now.

The Wings hired former USC Trojans women's basketball assistant coach Chris Koclanes this past offseason. Prior to his time with the Trojans, he worked as a defensive coordinator for the Connecticut Sun and the Los Angeles Sparks.

This is surely not the start Koclanes wanted for his coaching career. And after Friday's defeat, he got blunt when asked how his Wings coaching has gone to this point.

"Poor," Koclanes said, per an X post from Dallas reporter Landon Thomas. "Just trying to figure it out, and it seems we can’t get everybody on the same page. No, I’m not going to make excuses, I won’t chalk it up.

"It hurts when you don’t have a Paige [Bueckers] and a Ty Harris, who are people that really bring organization on the offensive end. It challenges you in different ways, and Myisha [Hines-Allen] has struggled here the last couple days, haven't been able to help her find a groove, so that hasn't helped either," Koclanes continued. "So now you're asking DiJonai to play point guard, and she was great the last two games. Tonight, she struggled."

He then added, "Just got to stick with it. And so it starts with me, and it starts with our staff. I'm not gonna make excuses, and I'm gonna continue to show up for them, and continue to serve them and put them in positions. And we'll continue to fight and believe, and we will turn the tide."