Maskless Alanna Smith Starting 'To See' Signs of Wings Turnaround
Alanna Smith was one of the Dallas Wings’ marquee free-agency additions. The reigning co-DPOY promised to add rim protection and 3-point shooting to a Wings team trying to reinvent its identity and go from the bottom of the league to the playoffs. They are on track to achieve that turnaround with the sixth-best record in the league at the moment, but Smith has contributed little to that success.
Smith missed four games due to concussion protocol, played with a broken nose that required her to wear a mask, and put up some of the worst numbers of her career, averaging just 4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks in 15 minutes per game. Jose Fernandez replaced her in the starting lineup with Awak Kuier. Still, he remained optimistic that she would find her way once she no longer had to deal with the mask restricting her vision.
“Once she gets that thing [the mask] off, I think she’s going to be a totally different basketball player,” Fernandez said in mid-June after a 99-66 win against the Las Vegas Aces, per a video on the Wings’ YouTube channel.
It seems that he was right. Smith just played her best game of the season in an 86-83 win against the Connecticut Sun. She was on a minute restriction and only played 14 minutes off the bench, but could finally play without the mask. She made the most of her time on the court with 11 points on 4-6 shooting from the field and 2-3 from the 3-point line. She also grabbed three rebounds, including an offensive board against Brittney Griner.
“I don’t like blaming things on the mask,” Smith said after the game, per the Wings’ recording of the postgame media availability. “You want to play through adversity, but it’s pretty cool to be able to see.”
She also noted that she definitely hasn’t found her rhythm yet, but felt more like herself than in most games this season. So, hopefully, this is the start of a big turnaround for Smith.
Better production from Smith would give the Wings an extra boost
The Wings have been good even with Smith’s struggles. They have a 12-8 record, the same as the New York Liberty and better than the Indiana Fever. They have also secured wins against the Liberty and Las Vegas Aces, suggesting that they can give some of the best teams trouble when the playoffs come around.
But the Wings would be even better if Smith played as she did for the Minnesota Lynx last season, especially defensively.
The Wings allow 41.3 points in the paint per game, which is the fourth-worst mark across the league. Only the Toronto Tempo, Fever, and Los Angeles Sparks are worse at protecting the paint. Azzi Fudd leads the Wings in blocks per game with one, and Kuier is right behind her with 0.9. Jessica Shepard has been phenomenal offensively as a constant triple-double threat, but she doesn’t provide much defense. Smith averaged 1.9 blocks per game last season. If she can bring that kind of production to the Wings, it would go a long way for their defense.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Elaine Blum covers women’s basketball for On SI from Europe. She has been writing about women's hoops since 2023 and holds a Bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism and a master’s degree in American Studies with a focus on women’s and gender studies. She started playing basketball when she was 10 years old and won several league and state championships at the youth and senior level.