DHJ Quick Take: The Defensive Focus
- The Unrivaled Carryover: The most practical takeaway from the first week of camp is Paige Bueckers‘ conditioning. She noted that the constant isolation reps and lack of “off possessions” in Unrivaled prepared her for the defensive workload that Jose Fernandez requires.
- Backcourt Balance with Odyssey Sims: Curt Miller’s addition of Odyssey Sims and other ball handlers serves a specific tactical purpose: reducing the physical burden on Bueckers. By having Sims handle full-court ball-handling duties, the Wings can keep Bueckers fresh enough to focus on point-of-attack defense.
- Developing Leadership: Bueckers‘ role as a vocal leader in Year 2 has emerged through what she calls “mirror-first” accountability. By allowing herself to be coached hard by Fernandez and taking cues from veterans like Alysha Clark, she is helping build the “mutual respect” that Miller wants to define the locker room culture.
- System Foundation: The Wings‘ defensive system under Fernandez starts with stopping the ball and limiting transition threes. With Alanna Smith expected to be back on Saturday to anchor the paint, the perimeter defenders are being tasked with keeping the ball in front to force contested looks. Bueckers is positioning herself as a tone-setter for that aggressive identity.
ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Wings have spent the first week of training camp pounding home a single message: defense comes first. And reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers has made it clear she intends to be the player setting that tone.
Bueckers said her defensive mindset coming into year two is a direct carryover from her WNBA offseason being spent at Unrivaled, where the three-on-three format and constant isolation reps left no possessions to coast through.
“It’s just competing,” Bueckers said. “It honestly started with Unrivaled. Having to guard in isolation, being in three-on-three, you’re never out of a play and never resting on defense. It’s about conditioning, learning the schemes, and having the will to compete. I know I have to set the tone, and we have to set the tone as a team that defense comes first. That’s our mentality here, and we’re trying to grow in that every day.”
Bueckers averaged 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.6 steals per game across 36 starts as a rookie, earning Rookie of the Year, All-Star, and All-WNBA Second Team honors.
Jose Fernandez Wants the Dallas Wings Defined by Defense
Wings head coach Jose Fernandez has used the early days of camp to install both ends of the floor with the players on site, while several key contributors remain overseas finishing out international commitments. The volume of installs has been high, but the priority Fernandez has stressed most is a defensive identity.
“Installing and playing defense is a priority every day,” Fernandez said during Day 2 of training camp. “I want people to talk about the Dallas Wings based on how hard we compete and how hard we play defensively.”
Fernandez said the identity he wants Dallas to build is rooted in containing the ball and forcing opponents into shots they are not used to taking, with the point of attack as the starting point of the defensive system.
“You’ve got to take pride in keeping the ball in front. This is a pick-and-roll league and a transition league,” Fernandez said. “So how do we stop the point of attack? How do we take away threes in transition? How do we protect the basket? Defensively, we’re going to defend aggressively and make other people beat us, force them into shots they’re not used to taking.”
For Bueckers, who will be one of the primary defenders at the point of attack in Fernandez’s system, that emphasis arrives at a useful moment. Her rookie season featured the typical defensive growing pains of a young guard adjusting to the WNBA’s size and pace. Stepping into a new system, under a new coaching staff, with an offseason of Unrivaled reps in her legs, she said she came back ready to be more than just a scorer and playmaker.
“I’ve always looked in the mirror first and never ask something of somebody else that I don’t do myself,” Bueckers said. “I hold myself to the highest standard, and I’m my toughest critic. That’s how we want to be as a team, holding each other accountable. If I tell someone to box out, I expect them to get on me if I don’t do it. Having that mutual respect and those relationships where you can have tough conversations is crucial.”
Paige Bueckers Will Be Asked to Defend More Than Ever
Wings general manager Curt Miller said the franchise’s offseason additions, particularly the signing of veteran guard Odyssey Sims, were made in part to position Bueckers to take on a heavier defensive workload than she carried as a rookie.
“Yeah, we talked a little bit about Odyssey’s veteran leadership. But when you think about her, it’s really important that we get Paige off the ball at times,” Miller said. “It’s really hard in this league to be picked up 94 feet time and time again and then asked to score and do what we ask of Paige. And then we’re going to ask her to defend more than ever.”
“So getting her off the ball, she’s elite coming off wide pin-downs and high actions off the ball, you have to have a great point guard to be able to move Paige around.”
Miller said the Sims signing was a third pillar of the offseason plan alongside post additions and the Azzi Fudd draft selection, designed to give the Wings a true facilitator while preserving Bueckers’ energy on the defensive end.
“Adding post players in free agency, adding a veteran point guard, we knew JJ Quinerly was coming back off a knee injury. Tyasha Harris was going into free agency, coming off a knee surgery. And so that was a really important piece,” Miller said. “For us to be able to convince Odyssey to stay home and stay in the DFW market was really important.”
“So excited about what she brings on both sides. She’s a two-way player. She can really help our defense. But offensively she can go score and be a second-unit scorer for us and obviously move Paige off the ball and keep our tempo up.”
Conditioning as the Foundation
Bueckers said one of her biggest offseason priorities was getting her body ready for the demands of a full WNBA season after the abrupt college-to-pro transition she went through last year.
“The little things, taking no possessions off, being in better shape, and being prepared for a long season,” Bueckers said. “Coming off college and going straight into the W season was tough, so getting my legs and conditioning back was important.”
“As a leader and returner, it’s the little things, boxing out, talking, getting in passing lanes, running the floor, being selfless. Those set the tone for everything else.”
That checklist reads like a defensive identity in miniature. None of those items show up on a stat sheet in the way scoring does, but they are the connective tissue of the team Fernandez is trying to build, and Bueckers has positioned herself as the player most accountable for them.
Leaning on the Veterans
While Bueckers has accepted the responsibility of setting the defensive tone, she also said she leans heavily on the veteran voices around her, including Alysha Clark, Odyssey Sims, and Lindsay Allen.
“They’ve been really impactful,” Bueckers said of the team’s veterans. “They have respect across the league and championship DNA. They’ve seen everything.”
“We trust them and listen to them because they understand the league inside and out. Being able to lean on those voices has been great.”
Bueckers said the relationships she has built across the league through Unrivaled have given her a network of players she can call on at any time, even as a second-year player.
“I’ve built close relationships with a lot of players. Basketball has given me relationships I cherish on and off the court,” Bueckers said. “The way we competed with each other is the highest form of respect. To have those vets you can lean on, even as a second-year player, and to be able to call them anytime, it’s really important. And competing against them is the best part.”
Leadership That Grew Organically
Bueckers said the leadership role she has stepped into this camp was not assigned; it emerged on its own after a full season in the league, an offseason at Unrivaled, and stronger relationships with her teammates.
“Organically,” Bueckers said when asked how her leadership role has developed. “They wanted me to be a voice last year, and now with a year under my belt, stronger relationships, and more confidence, it’s happened naturally.”
That growth has not gone unnoticed by the front office. Miller said Bueckers’ voice has stood out as one of the defining takeaways from the early days of camp.
“I love the competition and enthusiasm. Players are buying into Jose’s system,” Miller said. “You can see leadership; Paige’s leadership stands out, and the addition of veterans like Alysha Clark and Odyssey Sims has already made an impact.”
Fernandez echoed that on Day 1 when asked what he wanted to see from Bueckers in year two.
“Continue to be great in leadership. I like the way she creates for others,” Fernandez said.
The role she plays on a given night, Bueckers said, will adjust based on what the team needs. The mentality behind it will not. The group is learning a new system on both offense and defense, while also learning teammate tendencies. As a leader, the goal is to get the best out of the collective.
“I think it’s just whatever the team needs to win on any given night,” Bueckers said. “We have a new roster, a new offensive system, and a new defensive system. I’m just trying to find who I am in that and who I want to be as a leader and as a teammate, and making everybody around me better.”
“Everything for me and this team is geared toward winning. So whatever role that is, it might be different on any given night. But being more aggressive, more assertive, more of a leader, and more vocal is something we’ve talked about.”
The Wings continue training camp ahead of their two-game preseason slate, beginning with an April 30 road matchup against the Indiana Fever.
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