In a season marked by struggle and inconsistency, the Dallas Wings failed to qualify for the playoffs, closing out the 2025 WNBA campaign with a 10-34 record.
Despite offseason roster changes and chemistry challenges, the Wings couldn’t find their rhythm on the hardwood.
However, the organization has still managed to turn heads, not for what they accomplished on the court, but for a stunning and historic off-court achievement, and it’s all thanks to their rookie star, Paige Bueckers.
Drafted as the No. 1 overall pick, Bueckers brought more than just skill, she brought attention. Known for her dynamic playstyle and relaxed demeanor, she quickly became a magnet for fans and media alike.
The result? A massive surge in the Wings’ social media presence. According to Blinkfire, the team led all major U.S. pro sports teams in engagement per follower this season, a staggering accomplishment for a WNBA franchise with one of the league’s smallest digital staffs.
With just five full-time social media personnel, the Wings expanded their audience to over 850,000 across platforms like X, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube, a growth of 400,000 since April. Much of that credit goes to Bueckers.
“She’s an amazing catalyst for growth,” said Wings’ CMO Elyse Slayton.
“What we do with her is what defines our story as a brand… But we don’t just want to have tunnel vision. One incredible player has the opportunity to change the trajectory of the team in terms of our notoriety and people that are paying attention, but we need to get people to stay by becoming fans of the sport and the rest of the team.”
Bueckers’ Court Presence Fuels Fan Frenzy and Attendance Records
The digital momentum started early. In the season opener between the Wings and the Minnesota Lynx, over 612,000 viewers tuned in, a 121% spike from the previous year.
In another standout moment, Bueckers returned to Connecticut, where she once dominated as a UConn Husky, and dropped 21 points in a 109-87 win over the Connecticut Sun.
The homecoming game sold out, with fans wearing her No. 5 jerseys from both UConn and the Wings, and she received a raucous ovation.
Even losses couldn’t dim the spotlight. During a home game against the Indiana Fever on June 27, the team set a new benchmark for women’s pro basketball in Texas with 20,409 fans filling the American Airlines Center, more than any WNBA game in Texas history.
Fans weren’t the only ones preparing for her arrival. “It’s exciting,” said season ticket holder Casey Washburn-Barksdale.
“Dallas has the number one pick, and we want to be a number one team. Her, along with a lot of the other great players we already have, we’re looking forward to the chemistry they can have on the court.”
Local businesses are already seeing ripple effects, with University of Texas at Dallas economics professor Kurt Beron commenting, “I would anticipate an increase in spending on nearby restaurants and bars… I suspect ticket prices will be going up, and that’s just natural.”
Behind the scenes, the Wings‘ social media team is as relentless as the players. From content producers like Amaya Lacy to graphic designer Jaylen Miller, the digital crew coordinates with PR staff in real time.
One key moment? When Bueckers passed A’ja Wilson for the third-most points in a rookie season, the team moved swiftly to memorialize the stat online.
Their platform strategy is deliberate: storytelling on Instagram (now at 338K followers), real-time stats on X, updates on Facebook, and fun behind-the-scenes content on TikTok.
“If you can get everything on one platform, people will only look at the Wings on one platform,” Slayton explained. “But we want people to engage… on multiple platforms.”
“We’ve learned that we don’t need to be posting 15 to 20 times a night, because our engagement tanks if we do that… If we’re putting it on our feed, it’s going to live forever. So we need to be intentional about what we post,” added Nelson from the media team.
While the Wings are still rebuilding on the court, their social success story suggests a promising future, one where Paige Bueckers is front and center, not just as a player, but as a brand-defining force.
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