Dallas Wings head coach Chris Koclanes directs players during the second half against the Chicago Sky at the Wintrust Arena. Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images

Wings struggling while searching for their identity

By Kendrick E. Johnson | Last updated Jun 6, 2025 9:33 PM ET

If the Dallas Wings are going to turn around their disastrous start to the 2025 season, they must find an identity, commit to a style of play and simply get healthy.

Add in the fact that star guard and rookie sensation Paige Bueckers has missed the last two games with a concussion and will not play in Friday's game at home against the Los Angeles Sparks, and it’s easy to see why many fans in Wings Nation are hitting the panic button only three weeks into the season.

Chris Koclanes must pick a style of play

After being a very strong offensive team for the last couple of seasons, it’s very hard to tell what type of style the Wings are going to play in 2025. They have shown flashes of being a solid team that can be a problem by getting the ball up and down, along with being a team that can rely on their defense and consistently get stops.

“We got to find a tempo that we can be successful at and this was our first game out without a true point guard, so it felt a little clunky at times,” Wing head coach Chris Koclanes said after a recent loss to the Chicago Sky.

If Koclanes had his way, the Wings would be the team that played elite defense and consistently beat teams by slowing down the best offenses of the WNBA, as he’s a big defensive coach at heart. Unfortunately for him and the Wings, this roster doesn’t have the talent to consistently win that way as they always seem to have a quarter where they get outscored by double digit points and let the game get away from them which is one of the many reasons they sit at 1-7 with the worst record in the league heading into Friday's game.

Through eight games, Dallas has allowed 30 points or more in a quarter four times and has been outscored by double figures in three of those four quarters. The Wings have been outscored by double figures six times in 32 total quarters, which is a major recipe for disaster.

Also, despite her immense talent and the ability to play in any system, it’s very easy to see that the only way we are going to see the best version of Bueckers is for her to play in an up-tempo system. This would allow her to be more aggressive offensively while giving her more opportunities to leave her imprint on games.

At the end of the day, the Wings are a work in progress with a bright future, but are in the midst of taking their lumps in this full rebuild of a season.