Dallas Wings team officials today (Tuesday, Sept. 30) announced that Chris Koclanes has been “relieved of his duties” as the team’s head coach.
The announcement comes just over nine months after Koclanes was announced as the team’s new head coach on Dec, 23, 2024, replacing Latricia Trammell in that position, and less than a month after the team finished the 2025 season with a 10-34 record, tied with the Chicago Sky for the worst record in the WNBA this year.
Wings Executive Vice President and General Manager Curt Miller said in a press release announcing Koclanes’ firing, “On behalf of the Dallas Wings, I want to thank Chris for his many and immediate contributions to the organization this past season. With new team facilities being built, a youthful roster under contract and the rights to three first round draft selections over the next two seasons, including a lottery pick in 2026, the Wings are well-positioned for future success. As we enter a pivotal point in our team’s future, we felt a change in leadership at this time was best for our organization.
“The Dallas Wings remain dedicated to their pursuit of WNBA Championships and building upon the strong culture established on and off the court,” Miller said.
Previously known as the Tulsa Shock, the team moved to North Texas and changed its name to Dallas Wings in 2015, and has called College Park Center on the University of Texas at Arlington its home since the move. In April last year, the team and Dallas city officials announced that the Wings would be moving to new facilities at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas Memorial Auditorium, which was being renovated, as of the start of the 2026 season.
In June this year, however, officials announced that the move to downtown Dallas won’t happen until 2027, due to construction delays in the renovations.
Dallas Wings and city of Dallas officials on Friday, Sept. 26, celebrated the groundbreaking for the team’s new state-of-the-art practice facility at Joey Georgusis Park in west Dallas/Oak Cliff.
The new facility will serve as the permanent training home of the Dallas Wings, and is “designed to benefit both professional athletes and the community, offering multipurpose spaces for youth programs, local athletics, and special events,” according to a Dallas Wings press release.
The new 70,700-square-foot practice facility will include two courts, a 3,800-square-foot locker room, a player lifestyle suite with hair and nail salon, a content studio, a family lounge, mother rooms, more than 4,000 square feet of strength and conditioning space, a full-service dining facility and community space.
A tough season and a BIG bright spot
As ESPN reports, the Wings were plagued this season by a series of injuries, with only one player — veteran forward Myisha Hines-Allen — able to play in at least 40 games over the course of the 44-game season. ESPN also noted that the Wings’ defense was “a persistent issue,” ending the season ranked 12th out of 13 teams. The Sky were ranked 13th.
First year Guard Paige Bueckers was the main bright spot in the 2025 season for the Wings, having been named Rookie of the Year and as a starter in the WNBA All Stars game in July — only the 10th rookie in WNBA history named as an All Stars starter.
On Sept. 29, the Wings announced that Bueckers was named to the WNBA All-Rookie Team, as voted on by a national panel of sportswriters and broadcasters.
According to a press release from the team on Sept. 16 announcing Bueckers’ selection as rookie of the year, over the course of 36 games this season she averaged 19.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting .477 from the field and .331 from three. She racked up the third-most points (692) and assists (194) by a rookie in WNBA history, and posted the highest single-game scoring performance ever by a rookie with her 44-point outing at the Los Angeles Sparks on Aug. 20.
Bueckers’ 30-game double-digit scoring streak to start her career is the third-longest in WNBA history behind A’ja Wilson (33 games, 2018) and Candace Parker (32 games, 2008), and her 17 20-point games finish tied for fifth all-time, according to a Wings press release. She set rookie records for points, points per game, assists, assists per game and points-assists double-doubles and is the only player in the WNBA to finish in the top nine in scoring (fifth), assists (ninth) and steals (sixth). Her 20.3 efficiency rating was tops among all guards in the WNBA, ranked seventh overall, and she was the only rookie to finish in the top 19.
Her 44-point outing on Aug. 20 was the most points scored by any player since 2023, and she is the only player in WNBA history to score more than 40 points while shooting at least 80 percent from the field.
Bueckers is the only rookie in WNBA history to average at least 19 points per game while shooting at least 47 percent from the field, and just the second player in WNBA history, behind Candace Parker in 2015, to average at least 19 points, five assists and 47-percent shooting. She is the lone rookie in league history to average at least 19 points and 1.5 steals per game.
— Tammye Nash