One team is the 2025 WNBA champions. The other team was bad enough to receive the No. 1 pick in the 2026 WNBA Draft.
And yet, when the Las Vegas Aces have played the Dallas Wings during the 2026 WNBA season, the formerly-woeful Wings look like the defending champs, while the dynastic Aces appear in need of an infusion of top talent.
In late May, the Wings won 95-87 over the Aces. Azzi Fudd, in the starting lineup for the first time, scored 22 points. Jessica Shepard not only matched that scoring total,
but also added 20 rebounds and 10 assists for the monster triple-double. Paige Bueckers put in 20 points as the final piece of the Wings’ offensive triumvirate.
Surely, the mid-June rematch would see the Aces reassert their superiority? Quite the opposite! The Wings absolutely rolled the Aces, romping to a 30-point win, 99-66, that provoked an honest assessment of the Vegas’ defensive deficiencies from head coach Becky Hammon and A’ja Wilson.
Arike Ogunbowale, after scoring a single point in the first game between the teams, assumed the starring offensive role with five triples and 22 points. Fudd missed just one shot as she scored 19 points, while Shepard almost notched another triple-double with 15 points, 15 boards and nine assists.
So now, in the third and final meeting between the two, Vegas has to restore order, right?
Hosting the Wings on their home floor (10 p.m. ET, NBA TV), there’s no excuse for the Aces not to take care of business, correct?
Or, does Dallas just have Vegas’ number, with the upstarts in line for a season series sweep over the champs?
The Wings will arrive in Vegas off an inspiring overtime win over the Seattle Storm, 112-110. Back-to-back No. 1 picks, Bueckers and Fudd, were the drivers of the gutsy, grind-it-out victory. Paige scored 27 points, with Azzi just behind her with 26 points. Both players earned postgame praise from head coach Jose Fernandez, who complimented Paige for rising to the moment and Azzi for her two-way consistency.
Shepard, subsequently minted the WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week, again approached triple-double territory with 14 points, nine boards and eight assists. Dallas’ reserves, especially Li Yueru and Aziaha James, also added crucial contributions.
The win was another indication, as Fernandez declared after the game, “The Dallas Wings ain’t sneaking up on anybody anymore. We’re going to get everybody’s best shot.”
That should be true in Vegas on Thursday night. But, as the Wings keep demonstrating, including against the Aces already, an appreciation what the Wings are capable of doesn’t come with a surefire strategy for stopping them.
Far from it.
The Wings are overflowing with weapons who almost perfectly fill different roles.
Bueckers is the steady hand at the controls, always calibrating (albeit not always perfectly) her instinct for setting up her teammates with her own scoring aggression. Fudd is a model of two-way reliably who’s going to hit open shots and defend her mark without fuss. Shepard unlocks another offensive dimension with her post playmaking, on top of her efficient finishing and consistent rebounding. Arike is a ceiling-raising offensive force whose explosions can take the team to another level. James, similarly, is a wildcard scorer, while Yueru’s size and soft touch can be a different kind of curveball. Awak Kueir is yet another source of two-way upside, thanks to her elite defensive length and expanding offensive game.
It’s a concoction of talent that, under the tutelage of Fernandez, whose personality and process is increasingly being proven correct, despite early skepticism, is hard to beat—even for the team considered to be the most elite.
So, will the Wings do it again, confirming that the have the Aces number as they creep closer to contender conversations? Or, do you expect the Aces to, finally, solve the Wings, providing a reality check for the younger team as they avoid the sweep?
Give us your take in comments.
