Dallas Wings Injury Report: Uphill climb continues with triple injury blow for Paige Bueckers & Co. vs. LA Sparks (Aug. 15)

As the Dallas Wings reach the home stretch of their season, the injury bug continues to hound their chances of securing a strong finish. While the Wings are likely to field some star power against the LA Sparks on Friday, some of their key rotation pieces will be sidelined in this Western Conference showdown.

According to Wings beat reporter Grant Afseth, Arike Ogunbowale and Tyasha Harris will be out of action on Friday. Though the Wings would love to be 100% certain of the availability of prized rookie Paige Bueckers, the top pick in the 2025 WNBA draft has been deemed probable even as she deals with back issues.

In addition, reserve player Aziaha James (who is dealing with right foot issues) is considered probable for this game.

This will be the third consecutive outing that Ogunbowale won't be suiting up for. Her absence is particularly impactful as the three-time All-Star is second in points (15.5 ppg), assists (4.1 apg), and steals (1.3 spg) on the Wings roster this season.

Bueckers, meanwhile, is the team's leader in all those categories. Averaging 18.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, Bueckers will once again be counted on to lead Dallas to victory against the Sparks.

At 9-24, the Wings have all been ruled out of the playoffs this year. Their 2025 season has been affected in way or another by various injuries and roster transactions. Still, with Ogunbowale continuing to play at a high level and Bueckers being as good as advertised, the future remains hopeful for the Wings.

"We want Nola": Fans of Dallas Wings make their voices heard as HC Chris Koclanes exits home games

Not all supporters of the team, however, are quite optimistic when it comes to the head coach.

In a clip posted by Wings beat reporter last week, Wings fans can be heard chanting "We want Nola" as head coach Chris Koclanes exits the arena.

As Thomas noted, Nola Henry happens to be an assistant coach on Koclanes' staff. Apparently, if some Wings fans had their way, it would be Henry calling the shots for the team instead. At present, there is no confirmation from the Wings organization that this will be the case any time soon.

About the author

Simoun Victor Redoblado is an NBA and WNBA journalist at Sportskeeda with over 12 years of experience writing for publications such as Collider, ALL-STAR Magazine, and Sir Charles in Charge.

Simoun has a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education, Major in English and Minor in journalism. Thanks to the journalism courses that he took, Simoun understood the fundamentals of journalistic storytelling in the context of sports writing.

Passionate for the UP Fighting Maroons, Simoun is a fan of the NBA, PBA, UAAP, and FIBA.
His childhood team was the Chicago Bulls and Simoun was a longtime supporter of the Houston Rockets because his friends would say he looked like Yao Ming.

Simoun loves the systematic, tactical movement of the ball and the players, the stories behind each individual competing on the hardcourt and most of all, how basketball is a sport for life and all its struggles and lessons.

A father of two, Simoun spends his free time with his kids.

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Edited by Simoun Victor Redoblado