Now being almost a season removed from playing in the WNBA Western Conference Finals, losing to the inevitable champion Las Vegas Aces, the Dallas Wings are back and looking to launch themselves forward as contenders after a productive offseason.
Last season the Wings soared to new heights and established themselves as one of the league's upper end teams by winning 22 games.
Now head coach Latricia Trammell, Most Improved Player Award winner Satou Sabally, and All-Star Arike Ogunbowale will look to run it back in hopes of making it to the WNBA Finals this year.
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Offseason Moves
The Dallas Wings have significantly improved their roster during the offseason, especially through the WNBA Draft; taking Ohio State guard Jacy Sheldon with the No.5 overall pick and taking French product Carla Leite with the No.9 overall pick.
Sheldon will bring much needed depth to an already solid backcourt, as she has shown her versatility at Ohio State.
Dallas also signed free agent Jaelyn Brown, a player that the Wings are reportedly high on coming into the season.
Expectations
There are championship expectations in Dallas and here are the reasons why.
The Wings have leaned heavily on their elite frontcourt, which was dangerous on the boards last season.
Dallas center Teaira McCowan along with Kalani Brown, Natasha Howard, and Satou Sabally combined for 329 offensive rebounds last season.
Their dynamic backcourt of Arike Ogunbowale and Crystal Dangerfield are already amongst the best in the league, and now being joined by Jacy Sheldon and Jaelyn Brown to add some depth.
Ogunbowale thrived offensively last season, finishing fourth in the league by scoring 19.7 points per game, as she is a proven All-Star in the league,
One concern for the Dallas Wings is how the team will stay afloat without Satou Sabally.
Sabally will unfortunately miss the first half of the season after undergoing surgery to repair her shoulder.
When healthy, she is one of the best players on the Wings. Last season, Sabally averaged 18.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
If the Wings were to get Sabally back sooner rather than later, Dallas may have a real chance at closing the gap between teams like the Aces and the Liberty.
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