The Dallas Wings claimed the eighth and final WNBA playoff spot Tuesday night with their 96-78 victory over the visiting Portland Fire, sending star guard Paige Bueckers to the postseason for the first time.
Dallas (23-16) will join Minnesota, Golden State, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Indiana, New York and Washington in the postseason. The Wings missed the playoffs the past two seasons but are back in coach Jose Fernandez's first year with Dallas.
The Fire join fellow expansion team Toronto outside the postseason, along with Chicago, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Connecticut and Seattle.
Bueckers, the 2025 No. 1 pick, was Rookie of the Year last season despite the Wings finishing tied for last at 10-34. This season has been a big turnaround.
"It means a lot, just in terms of all we've overcome throughout this season and how we did it together," said Bueckers, who had 22 points and 11 assists Tuesday. "We want to keep building and don't want to get complacent just clinching the playoffs."
This year, the Wings added free agent post player Jessica Shepard, who is having a career-best season, and another No. 1 pick in Azzi Fudd. Tuesday, Shepard had 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Guard Arike Ogunbowale, the longest-tenured Dallas player in her eighth season with the Wings, had 17 points. Forward Awak Kuier, the No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft who opted to play overseas the past two seasons but returned to the WNBA this year, had 12 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks.
Fudd is out for the remainder of this season due to an arthroscopic procedure on her knee, but she helped the Wings get this far by averaging 13.1 points in her 30 games.
"We're missing Azzi, who was our best perimeter defender and how she stretched the floor [on offense]," Fernandez said. "So, we're just a little different now in the way we're playing. I know Azzi was watching this, having the procedure that she [underwent]. After the World Cup break, she'll be back with the team and will enjoy the type of season that we've had."
The WNBA season will pause after Sunday's games for a break as the FIBA Women's World Cup is played in Germany from Sept. 4-13. Bueckers is one of the players on the U.S. team. The WNBA will resume play Sept. 17-24. While Minnesota (31-8) is close to securing the No. 1 seed, the rest of the playoff order remains up for grabs.
Dallas went through a difficult stretch after the All-Star Game, losing seven of nine from July 29 to Aug. 17. But this past week has made a big difference for the better, despite last week's news that Fudd was out for the rest of the season. The Wings have now won three in a row to clinch the playoff spot and look more confident.
"I think we just put action behind our words," Bueckers said. "We all know how to play. We all knew what we were lacking in that losing stretch, and we talked about it constantly. But to really put our foot forward and apply what we were talking about and do it on the court [mattered].
"Even just watching film and our connectivity on defense, and how we're scrambling for each other ... having conversations and holding each other accountable. Really just embracing the struggle, not hiding from it, and just fighting through it together."