After a difficult opening stretch to the 2026 WNBA season, Paige Bueckers is staying confident in the Dallas Wings despite back-to-back narrow defeats. The Wings suffered a 90-86 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday, marking their second consecutive setback after another tightly contested fourth quarter. Now sitting at 1-2, Dallas may be off to a shaky start, but Bueckers emphasized after the game that the team remains composed and far from discouraged.
“We’ve had actually, like, three pretty close ones to start,” Bueckers said after the loss. “We won the first one, and it’s like, that’s what this league is all about. Close games, learning how to finish.”
That perspective says a lot about where Dallas is mentally right now. The Wings are still trying to build chemistry with a reshaped roster, and despite the record, they have been competitive in every game they have played.
Paige Bueckers continues looking like a franchise superstar
Despite the loss, Bueckers continued to show why she is viewed as one of the WNBA’s brightest young talents. The former UConn star delivered an impressive performance with 27 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, shooting 7-of-13 from the floor while hitting three of her four shots from three-point range. After three games this season, she is averaging 20.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game.
For the Wings, the main challenge now is figuring out how to finish games against seasoned opponents. The Lynx once again demonstrated their late-game composure, with five players scoring in double figures. Natasha Howard paced Minnesota with 26 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three blocks.
Even so, Bueckers remains optimistic, expressing confidence that Dallas is progressing and laying the foundation for future success rather than unraveling during the early part of the season.
“Obviously, we’re a new team,” she said. “It’s going to take time and reps, and it’s only our third game of the season. We don’t want to panic, but we also want to hold ourselves accountable to the standard that we want to set.”
Dallas Wings still searching for consistency
That message may matter as much as the stat line. The Wings entered the season with significant expectations surrounding Bueckers and fellow young talent like Azzi Fudd, but the opening stretch has shown just how difficult consistency can be in the WNBA. Dallas has been competitive enough to win each game, yet small mistakes late have made the difference.
Even so, Bueckers already sounds like the type of player capable of steadying a team through adversity. Rather than overreacting to a 1-2 start, she is focused on growth, accountability, and learning how to finish games when the margins tighten.
For a young roster still figuring itself out, that mindset could end up mattering just as much as the points she puts on the board.
