New Dallas Wings head coach Jose Fernandez criticized his team’s attitude after a 90-86 loss to the Minnesota Lynx. At practice Saturday, Paige Bueckers detailed how she adjusted her play late, while also comparing her off-ball game to Stephen Curry. Dallas is
When the Dallas Wings fell to the Minnesota Lynx 90-86 on Thursday night. first-year head coach Jose Fernandez didn’t pull punches in the locker room.. “There’s selfishness in this locker room,” Fernandez said at his postgame press conference.. He followed with a direct message about accountability. saying players needed to “look in the mirror and be accountable for how you played. ” and not to get frustrated if they felt they “should have played more” or didn’t “play enough.”
Fernandez framed the criticism around what he considers winning’s real requirement. “Really good teams, they don’t give a [expletive] about that,” he said, before stressing what matters most: “They give a [expletive] about winning.”
Two days later. at practice Saturday. the Wings’ All-Star guard Paige Bueckers took a self-assessment approach. describing changes she made as the game wore on.. “I started off the second half aggressive,” Bueckers said.. She explained that Minnesota’s coverage looked like “a lot of single coverage. ” but late in the game the defense “was trapping and blitzing everything. ” forcing her to alter how she played.. “So [I had] to be able to play off of that and just read what the defense is giving me and be selfless. too.”
Bueckers has often been compared to UConn alum and retired WNBA legend Diana Taurasi. but she linked her own style to a different kind of offensive impact.. She compared her game to Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors point guard and four-time NBA champion.. “If you watch Steph Curry. he’s probably the best screener in the NBA. and he has the best gravity in the NBA. ” Bueckers told a teammate-development interviewer.. “So. sort of mimic after him and his off-ball movement. his off-ball screening. and his selflessness is something that I’ve actually learned from a lot.”
Three games into the 2026 WNBA season, the dispute between Fernandez’s words and the role Bueckers plays has felt unavoidable.. After an impressive win over the Indiana Fever in the season opener, Dallas has lost two straight games.. Against Minnesota. Bueckers produced 27 points on 7-for-13 shooting from the floor. including 3-for-4 from three. and added eight assists in the 90-86 defeat.
The pattern is plain: Fernandez demanded a cleaner, team-first standard after the Wings’ loss, and Bueckers’ comments focused on reading a late-game trap and turning that into “selfless” play while also modeling her off-ball work on Curry’s screening and gravity.
Dallas now gets a chance to reset quickly. The Wings will have their next opportunity against Washington on Monday night.
Paige Bueckers Dallas Wings Jose Fernandez Minnesota Lynx WNBA 2026 season Stephen Curry Diana Taurasi Washington Indiana Fever