DHJ Quick Take: Jessica Shepard Pulls Off Historic Week
Jessica Shepard turned a record-setting performance into the first Player of the Week honor of her career and has become the engine of a surging Dallas Wings team. Through June 3, she is the only player in the WNBA averaging at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
- The Record Night: Shepard posted 22 points, a career-high 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a May 28 win over Las Vegas, becoming the first player in WNBA history with at least 22 points, 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a game.
- Western Conference Honor: The week earned Shepard the first WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week award of her career and the first by a Wings player since July 2023.
- The Do-Everything Hub: Shepard ranks second in the WNBA in rebounding (11.0) and fourth in assists (5.9) through June 3 while initiating much of the Dallas offense.
- Teammate Endorsement: Paige Bueckers, Azzi Fudd and coach Jose Fernandez each pointed to Shepard’s rebounding, passing and defensive versatility behind the Wings’ three-game winning streak.
LOS ANGELES — The Dallas Wings added Jessica Shepard last offseason for stability, a veteran to anchor a rebuilt frontcourt after five seasons with the Minnesota Lynx. Two months in, she has given them considerably more, emerging as one of the WNBA’s most complete players and pushing Dallas to a 6-3 start.
Her first individual honor followed this week, when Shepard was named WNBA Western Conference Player of the Week on June 2 for games played May 25-31, the first of her career and the first by a Wings player since July 2023.
Historic Triple-Double Against Las Vegas
Shepard delivered a statement with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting, a career-high 20 rebounds and 10 assists in a 95-87 win over the Las Vegas Aces, becoming the first player in league history to hit all three marks in a single game. With the Wings going undefeated in the week, she was in a prime position as the week’s top standout.
Shepard’s performance against the Aces was her second triple-double of the season and third of her career. She’s the only player to record a triple-double thus far this season. Her first triple-double of the season was on May against Chicago, an 18-point, 10-rebound, 12-assist night.
Afterward, Shepard credited her teammates, which enabled her to make the most of her impact as a natural connector.
“For me, I think I’m just a player that likes to play basketball the right way,” Shepard said. “When you’re surrounded by players who are really smart and like to play basketball the right way as well, it makes it really easy for me.”
The shooting around her, she said, is vital by pulling defenders out of the paint and leaving her room to operate inside.
“When you have great scorers on the perimeter, it opens up one-on-one matchups in the post, which allows you to get easier baskets,” Shepard said.
None of it surprised anyone inside the building, where Jose Fernandez had forecast multiple triple-doubles back in training camp, pointing to what Shepard had flashed in Minnesota.
“She had a triple-double with Minnesota last year, and I think she can get multiple of those in a season,” Fernandez said then. “I’m really excited for her, I think this is a great place for her.”
The Dallas Wings’ Do-Everything Hub
Shepard ranks second in the WNBA in rebounding at 11.0 per game and fourth in assists at 5.9 through June 3, and is averaging 12.6 points per game. She is the only player in the league averaging at least 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists.
Fernandez has leaned on her to start the offense by being aggressive on the boards and pushing on the break.
“I think it’s her court vision and being able to handle the ball, get it off the glass, and initiate offense,” Fernandez said. “She had a great month.”
For Paige Bueckers, having a facilitating big changes how she plays off the ball. Between her rebounding and defensive versatility, Bueckers has a strong appreciation for Shepard’s impact.
“I think rebounding is a really underrated aspect of basketball in terms of winning and how much that drives winning,” Bueckers said. “She has great court vision and IQ. Her ability to score in the paint and get to the rim at will. She creates so much for us. Defensively, she can guard one through five.”
Bueckers said the arrangement lets her attack without having to bring the ball up the court every play. Shepard’s direction and decision-making help early in the shot clock by alleviating pressure, while also serving as an option to turn to when a play stagnates.
“I don’t have to bring the ball up every single time when you have her,” Bueckers said. “Having her is very reassuring, and it gives you a lot of confidence in the half court.”
Azzi Fudd pointed to Shepard’s motor as a key driver of winning for the Wings. The combination of screening and passing savvy that Shepard brings opens the game up for perimeter threats to have an advantage on the catch to exploit.
“Her intensity. Just how hard she plays on both ends of the floor,” Fudd said. “She’s physical. She gets every single rebound offensively and defensively. The way she passes, screens, her court vision, just everything.”
Odyssey Sims said Shepard does whatever the team needs on a given night. Depending on what the situation calls for, whether it’s scoring or facilitating, Shepard reads the game and gets it done.
“She does everything for us, whether it’s scoring, if we need her to get 30 rebounds she will,” Sims said. “She’s getting it off the rim, taking it herself, kind of like being a guard post. Now we can just run more, and it doesn’t stop our flow.”
Running the Offense Through a Forward
Fernandez said the plan to use Shepard as a hub was in place when Dallas acquired her, a function of her time playing overseas. The starting point is the defensive glass.
“I think it starts when she gets it off the glass,” Fernandez said. “When she gets the rebound and pushes it herself so many times, now we’ve got to be able to add different things with her handling the basketball.”
That has meant building actions around a forward who can pass, including inverted actions leveraging perimeter players’ gravity as screeners.
“You have to decide where you can set your inverted screens from, what actions you can get into offensively, and what she feels comfortable doing as well,” Fernandez said.
Asked whether guards who do not typically screen have had to adjust to those inverted looks, Fernandez was brief: “They’re ready to go.”
Shepard said the work now is in the details of who fits where. With the Wings still being early in the regular season, the team has already made significant strides in this area.
“Just learning which pairs are really good in certain actions that we run,” Shepard said. “When I do bring the ball down the court, trying to get to those actions.”
Impacting a Surging Dallas Wings Team
Shepard’s dynamic impact has been instrumental in the Wings’ best start since the franchise moved to North Texas in 2016. Dallas has won three straight and ranks among the WNBA’s top defensive teams, sitting fourth in defensive rating (103.2).
She framed her own growth as a matter of comfort within the system and with her teammates.
“I think it’s just getting more comfortable on the offensive end and understanding where my teammates want to be, where they like the ball, and helping in whatever way I can,” Shepard said.
The Wings visit the Los Angeles Sparks on Friday at Crypto.com Arena with tip-off set for 9 p.m. CT and the game airing nationally on ION. With the frontcourt thinned by injuries, Dallas will lean again on the player who has done a little of everything.
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