November 19, 2024
The Dallas Wings will pick first in the 2025 WNBA Draft. What happens next?
By Arie Graham
A chance to reboot talent and culture in Dallas
For the new general manager and executive vice president of basketball operations, Curt Miller, the type of player that the Dallas Wings plan to select first overall in the 2025 draft will not necessarily be the best player in the class. For Miller, the selection will be the best player that will fit into the type of team he plans to build.
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“I still believe very much in the philosophy that championships are won in the locker room and with culture,” Miller told reporters on the Zoom call following the news of Dallas’ good fortune on Sunday. “And so adding a culture piece, someone that’s going to add to the locker room, is going to be such a big deal.”
The Wings have a lot of work between now and the draft. They need to hire a coach, and will be looking for a longer-term solution this time — the team has had a new head coach every two seasons since 2018.
With Miller’s active role in the front office and head coaching knowledge and experience, the Wings may have a chance to build a stronger foundation with the No. 1 pick and a successful head coaching hire. The last time Dallas had the first overall pick was in 2021 — they actually had the top two slots, selecting center Charli Collier, and forward Awak Kuier with those picks.
Collier is no longer in the WNBA and Kuier decided to forgo the 2024 season. Dallas expects different results this time around, with a deep crop of talent. And this is especially true at No. 1, with generational guard Paige Bueckers potentially available, should she choose to declare for the 2025 draft.
Forward Maddy Siegrist was Dallas’ representative at the draft lottery. She was drafted third by the Wings in 2023, a lottery pick that has worked out so far. The former Villanova standout made a leap from her rookie season to her second year.
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“I think we’ve seen how impactful lottery picks have been, especially past few seasons,” Siegrist said on the ESPN broadcast. “So we’re super excited.”
The trade of guard Marina Mabrey to the Chicago Sky in 2023 gave Dallas great odds of winning the first pick after gaining the rights to swap picks with the Sky in 2025.
Is Bueckers the best fit for Dallas?
The Wings need a more consistent scorer and a player who can alleviate some of the pressure off of the team’s leader in scoring, Arike Ogunbowale. She expressed her exuberance on X, formerly known as Twitter, after Dallas won the lottery.
Dallas has multiple interior options under contract with their 6’7 centers, Teaira McCowan and Kalani Brown. Satou Sabally resumed her elite play when she returned from injury for Dallas in the second half of the season, but her future with the Wings is uncertain — she is a free agent.
Miller talked about the importance of having a core of players to build around.
“This No. 1 pick has an opportunity to immediately be a part of a very important group, and also, again, in the head coaching search, as that search continues, this pick now will only add to those discussions and excitement about our job,” Miller said.
The draft will take place on April 14, 2025. The Dallas Wings are on the clock now.
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Written by Arie Graham
Arie Graham joined The Next in May 2021 as the beat writer for the Dallas Wings.
