Wings Coach's 'Selfishness' Comment Signifies Early Growing Pains in Dallas
The Dallas Wings (1-2) dropped their second straight game of the season after falling to the Minnesota Lynx 90-86 on Thursday.
All wheels were turning in their season opening win over the Indiana Fever, but since then, the pieces have not quite come together. Head coach Jose Fernandez, who is in his first season at the helm for the Wings, didn't hold back on criticizing his team following their loss.
"I mean, it's real talk and it's accountability. That's what I told them, I know there's selfishness in this locker room," Fernandez said.
"There is, and you gotta look in the mirror and be accountable on how you played, and don't get upset if you think you should have played more, or you didn't play enough, or you didn't get the shots that you think you should have gotten," he added.
It's uncertain on who or what particular situation Fernandez may have been referring to. The expectation in Dallas this season is to consistently compete at the highest level and make the playoffs. They certainly have the talent to do so, but these comments from Fernandez may signal early turbulence. He further emphasized that his team's mentality doesn't currently align with what great teams do in order to be successful.
"Really good teams, they don't give a s*** about that. Know what they give a s*** about? Give a s*** about winning, because that's what matter," Fernandez said.
It's a 44-game season so, there's no real reason to be overly concerned about the recent two-game skid, but one thing about the WNBA is it moves quickly and good teams have to adapt accordingly. The Wings have a solid rotation of veteran pieces and young talent to do so successfully, but it's clear some adjustments need to be made—and fast.
How Can the Wings Fix Their Early Issues?
The Dallas Wings' losses have come by just five points or fewer. Their talent was on full display against Indiana just under a week ago and it showed fans and the entire WNBA what they can become. But things have changed since then.
The Wings' offense dished out an impressive 16 assists in the first half (11 in the first quarter) against the Lynx, but they finished the entire second half with just 6. Dallas led Minnesota 48-40 at halftime behind Maddy Siegrist's 17 points, which would end up being her game total. The Wings were held to just 38 second half points. They also allowed the Lynx to shoot at a 60.3% clip.
Fernandez highlighted what his team needs to focus more on rather than being "so much in their feelings" and worrying about who is taking the shots or coming off the bench.
"We got to continue, guess what, doesn't matter how much I score, doesn't matter how much I play, if this thing's going to change, right? It's gotta change first in everything that we do, right? It was all fun, and it's all excited. We're scoring 90, 100 points. Everybody's having a good time. Everybody's playing. Now, it's a lot different, right?"
"You gotta go through adversity if you're not playing well yourself on the other things that you need to do. I saw a changing in the middle of that fourth {quarter} when the ball didn't get in the basket, you gotta get stops, and you got to get stuff on the glass," Fernandez added.
Three games certainly don't determine the direction a season is going to go, but for the team voted to be most improved in 2026 by WNBA GMs, it would appear that there may be some needed identity-searching.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Lindsay Burke covers women’s basketball for Indiana Fever On SI and Women’s Fastbreak On SI. She graduated from Purdue University Fort Wayne with a Bachelor's Degree in journalism and a minor in media production. Early in her career she covered ECHL hockey, the NFL and college football and has since expanded her expertise to the WNBA and the Fever franchise.
Follow lindsay_burke94