DHJ Quick Take: Awak Kuier’s Arrival
- Regular Season Preparation: Head coach Jose Fernandez has identified Tuesday as the formal start of “Regular Season Preparation.” With Awak Kuier nearing her arrival in North Texas, the Wings move from a shorthanded evaluation phase into a fully integrated tactical build ahead of the May 9 opener in Indianapolis.
- Frontcourt Versatility: The 2026 version of Kuier is a significant departure from her 2023 profile. Returning as the Euroleague blocks leader while shooting 40.9% from deep with Galatasaray, her development into a reliable perimeter threat provides the mechanical necessity for Curt Miller to deploy her as a wing in jumbo lineups.
- Roster Architecture: The veteran additions of Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard serve a dual purpose: anchoring the interior defense and creating offensive gravity. Their presence in the post allows Fernandez to leverage Kuier’s 6-foot-6 frame in space, creating significant matchup advantages against traditional WNBA wing rotations.
- Star Integration: While Arike Ogunbowale remains sidelined with a right ankle injury, her participation in the Moody Center shootaround alongside Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd is a pivotal milestone. For the first time this season, the Wings’ core talent can collectively work on the chemistry-building phase.
AUSTIN — Awak Kuier is set to join the Dallas Wings after Sunday’s preseason finale against the Las Vegas Aces at the Moody Center, head coach Jose Fernandez confirmed at Sunday morning’s shootaround. The 6-foot-6 forward/center finished her season abroad with Galatasaray, where she completed a Turkish league finals run and a championship-caliber Euroleague campaign. However, she had been awaiting progress in the immigration process to complete the requirements before joining the team in North Texas, which prevented her from participating with the Wings at the start of training camp.
Fernandez shared the update while detailing the Wings’ return-to-market outlook. He considers Tuesday’s practice the start of the team’s regular-season preparation since the team is expected to have its full roster in the market.
“Shepherd will play tonight, how many minutes, we’ll see. Arike will be out, and Awak will be back in Texas,” Fernandez said. “Tuesday’s practice will really begin our regular season preparation. We want to compete and make the fourth quarter meaningful so we have a chance to close it out like we did in the first exhibition.”
Jessica Shepard is set to make her Wings preseason debut on Sunday against the Aces. Arike Ogunbowale, who traveled with the team to Austin and was on the court during Sunday morning’s shootaround, is out for the preseason finale with a right ankle injury. She was on the court during the open portion of shootaround and went through a workout afterward.
Curt Miller’s Recruiting Priority Pays Off
General manager Curt Miller identified Kuier’s two-way impact, three-level scoring development, and the length-and-athleticism defensive profile as the specific traits that made bringing her back to Dallas an offseason priority.
“Recruiting Awak back to Dallas and the WNBA was a huge priority for our staff during this offseason,” Miller said. “Awak’s game has continued to grow since last playing in the WNBA. She impacts the game at both ends of the court. Offensively, she can score at all three levels while defensively, she impacts the game with her length and athleticism. We are truly excited about Awak’s return to Dallas.”
Miller had flagged Kuier as one of the most exciting pieces of the Wings’ rebuild months before the re-signing was finalized.
“One of the most exciting players to talk about is Awak Kuier, who isn’t here,” Miller told Dallas Hoops Journal in August 2025. “There’s just a lot of young people to continue to build with in the future.”
That future has now arrived.
Awak Kuier Provides Frontcourt Versatility
Miller framed Kuier’s positional flexibility as a roster-building lever, identifying her ability to play the three as a tactical option that required the Wings to invest in post depth elsewhere.
“We needed that depth because of Awak’s versatility; we can play her in a lot of different places, including the three. Awak enjoys playing the three, but you have to have the post depth in order to play a talented player like her not at the four,” Miller told Dallas Hoops Journal.
The frontcourt the Wings assembled was designed to ensure ample floor spacing and versatility in the half-court, leveraging the team’s perimeter firepower while also utilizing Kuier’s skills in space. Alanna Smith signed a three-year max contract as the centerpiece of the Wings’ free agency class. Shepard joined on a multi-year deal after leading the WNBA in field goal percentage in 2025. Li Yueru was retained as the team’s traditional center option. Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu was added through camp after a Serbian Cup run with Crvena Zvezda.
That depth gives Fernandez the freedom to deploy Kuier as a stretch four or, in select matchups, as an oversized three, as Miller described.
A Galatasaray Season That Set a New Career Bar
Kuier’s most recent season abroad gives the clearest evidence of what she will bring when she returns. Across 24 games with Galatasaray, Kuier averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2.0 blocks, and 1.0 steals while shooting 59.3% from the field and 40.9% from 3-point range.
Her Euroleague work was even more striking. Across 17 Euroleague games, Kuier averaged 12.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.6 blocks, and 1.0 steals while shooting 65.4% from the field. She led the Euroleague in blocks, finished second in double-doubles with six, and ranked fifth in efficiency and sixth in field goal percentage.
She earned All-Turkish League Third Team recognition in 2026; All-Italian League First Team and All-Defensive Team honors in 2025; Italian League Finals MVP and All-Italian League Second Team in 2024; and an All-Italian A1 Honorable Mention in 2023. She won the Italian Serie A1 Championship in 2024 after finishing runner-up in both 2023 and 2025.
Overseas Development Pays Off for Awak Kuier
The version of Kuier returning to Texas is not the same player who left after the 2023 season. Selected No. 2 overall by Dallas in 2021 — the first player from Finland to play in the WNBA — Kuier averaged 2.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks across 11.1 minutes per game off the bench during her three seasons in Dallas before returning to Europe. Her European production since has reset that career baseline. She turned 24 in November.
“The biggest thing is confidence. She’s added strength and really committed to improving her game,” Miller said of Kuier. “We recruited her hard to come back, and she wanted more time to develop. Now she’s returning as a more confident and improved player, and we’re excited to have her back.”
Fernandez named integration the central concern of the Wings’ preseason runway after Thursday’s 95-80 win over the Indiana Fever, identifying the absent group as starter-tier pieces whose availability is the gating factor in what the Wings are building.
“We’re missing key players right now who will play big minutes for us, so we’re looking forward to getting them back into the fold and integrated into what we’re building,” Fernandez said.
Kuier was central to that group. Her return to Texas, with Tuesday’s practice as the operational pivot point, gives the Wings a clear runway to begin integrating her before the May 9 regular-season opener in Indianapolis.
Up Next
The Wings tip off against the Aces at 6 p.m. CT Sunday at the Moody Center in Austin, with national coverage on ION. Dallas opens the regular season May 9 in Indianapolis against the Fever.
More Wings Coverage on Dallas Hoops Journal
- ‘They Did a Great Job Assembling This Team’: Jessica Shepard Details Joining Dallas Wings, Ready To Play vs. Las Vegas Aces
- ‘It’s A Process’: JJ Quinerly Cleared For First Dallas Wings Game Since Knee Surgery
- What Dallas Wings Rookie Azzi Fudd Took From Her First WNBA Preseason Game
- Dallas Wings Open Preseason With 95-80 Win Over Indiana Fever Behind Paige Bueckers, Maddy Siegrist Double-Double
- Jose Fernandez Details Indiana Fever Backcourt Test, Dallas Wings Minutes Management
- Stephanie White: Dallas Wings Have ‘A Lot to Be Excited About’ After Pairing Azzi Fudd, Paige Bueckers
- ‘The Goal Is To Win’: Alanna Smith, Jose Fernandez Preview Dallas Wings’ Preseason Opener At Indiana Fever
- ‘She’s Going To Be Special’: Inside Azzi Fudd’s Early Impression At Dallas Wings Training Camp
- ‘A Dream Come True’: Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd Realize Decade-Long Journey To Dallas Wings Backcourt
