Recent Play of Former Dallas Wings Draft Pick Could Influence 2026 WNBA Draft

The Dallas Wings will have a big decision to make in the draft if this player comes back.

Sep 29, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings center Awak Kuier (28) runs back up the court during the second half against the Las Vegas Aces during game three of the 2023 WNBA Playoffs at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Dallas Wings hold the first overall pick in the WNBA Draft for the second year in a row. Unlike the 2025 Draft, there is no obvious selection for the top pick. There is no Paige Bueckers-like talent walking through that door.

However, their plans at the top of the draft could depend on whether or not one of their former draft picks returns to the WNBA. Awak Kuier was the second overall pick by the Wings in 2021, and she spent three years with the franchise, averaging just around 2.6 PPG and 2.5 RPG before going back overseas to the EuroLeague, where she said it was her dream to play.

The Wings still hold the rights for Kuier if she were to come back to the WNBA, and she's become a much better player overseas. She's averaging 11.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG, and 2.0 BPG for Turkey's Galatasaray in the KBSL this year while showing the ability to stretch the floor, going 17/52 from deep. She leads the EuroLeague in blocked shots and is second in double-doubles.

Awak taking over the EuroLeague ✨

No. 1 in blocks ✅
No. 2 in double-doubles ✅ pic.twitter.com/soUwyEwSFk

— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) January 27, 2026

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How Awak Kuier Could Impact Wings Draft Plans

It hasn't been confirmed whether or not she'll return to the WNBA, but the Dallas Wings keep posting things about her. When she first announced that she would forgo the 2024 season, the plan was for her to return for the 2025 season, but that didn't happen.

“While we will miss Awak this season, we understand and are supportive of her decision to take the summer off,” Wings President & CEO Greg Bibb stated. “We look forward to rooting for her as she completes her overseas season and welcoming her back to North Texas in 2025.”

Back in July, general manager Curt Miller said that Kuier remains in their plans. “We do like the youth that we’re adding and have available,” Miller said. “Even the fact that no one talks about Awak Kuier anymore — and such a young, dynamic piece that’s a part of our future also — is just exciting to think about.”

If Kuier were to return for the 2026 season, that may have the Wings looking in a different direction for the 2026 Draft, as two of the top prospects, Awa Fam and Lauren Betts, are centers. That would leave the obvious selection to be UConn's Azzi Fudd, who is an elite three-point shooter, and could provide the Wings the exact kind of spacing they need around Paige Bueckers, who happens to be dating Fudd.

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