Last Updated on March 15, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

The Dallas Wings have a split personality as a franchise, and that is what makes this list interesting. The Dallas years have produced some huge individual stars, but the deepest part of the franchise history still runs through Detroit, where the Shock won three championships before the team moved to Tulsa and later to Dallas. So if you are doing this properly, you cannot treat the Wings as a brand-new team with no past. The full lineage matters, and that means title winners, MVP-calibre stars and modern Dallas-era cornerstones all belong in the same conversation. (WNBA)

1. Arike Ogunbowale

  • Years with Dallas Wings: 2019–present
  • Position: Guard
  • Notable achievements:
    • Franchise all-time leading scorer
    • Multiple-time All-WNBA selection
    • 2024 WNBA All-Star Game MVP
    • One of the best scorers in franchise history

Arike gets the top spot because she has become the face of the Dallas era and, at this point, one of the defining players in the entire history of the franchise. She arrived in 2019 with a huge rookie scoring season, then kept building until she passed the franchise scoring record in September 2024. That matters because she is not just a flashy guard who had a few big nights. She has already turned into the statistical standard-bearer for the Wings side of the franchise, and that gives her a real claim to the No. 1 spot. (Dallas Wings)

2. Deanna Nolan

  • Years with franchise: 2001–2009
  • Position: Guard/Forward
  • Notable achievements:
    • Three-time WNBA champion
    • 2006 WNBA Finals MVP
    • Multi-time All-WNBA selection
    • One of the greatest players of the Detroit Shock era

If someone wanted Deanna Nolan at No. 1, there is a fair argument for it. She was central to the best era this franchise has ever had. Detroit won titles in 2003, 2006 and 2008, and Nolan was not just along for the ride. She was one of the main reasons those teams were feared, and the 2006 Finals MVP puts a stamp on that. When you are a lead guard on a three-title run, your place in franchise history is secure. (WNBA)

3. Swin Cash

  • Years with franchise: 2002–2007
  • Position: Forward
  • Notable achievements:
    • Two-time WNBA champion with Detroit
    • Multiple-time All-Star
    • Multiple-time All-WNBA selection
    • Franchise cornerstone during the rise of the Shock

Swin Cash belongs near the top because she helped turn the franchise from an afterthought into a champion. Her WNBA bio lists her as a three-time league champion overall, and two of those titles came during Detroit’s best years. More than that, she had the kind of all-around game that made winning easier. She rebounded, defended, scored, and brought real star power to a team that was starting to look like a dynasty. (WNBA)

4. Cheryl Ford

  • Years with franchise: 2003–2009
  • Position: Forward
  • Notable achievements:
    • 2003 WNBA Rookie of the Year
    • Two-time WNBA champion
    • Elite rebounder
    • One of the best interior players in franchise history

Cheryl Ford has one of the strongest cases on the whole list because her peak was serious. She won Rookie of the Year in 2003 and immediately became part of a title team, which is a hard way to announce yourself. Detroit’s championship run was built on toughness and size as much as anything else, and Ford was right in the middle of that. She was the kind of frontcourt player who could change a game without needing everything run through her. (WNBA)

5. Skylar Diggins-Smith

  • Years with franchise: 2013–2019
  • Position: Guard
  • Notable achievements:
    • All-WNBA First Team selection
    • Multiple-time All-Star
    • Face of the Tulsa-to-Dallas transition era
    • One of the most important guards in franchise history

Skylar Diggins-Smith sits this high because she was the bridge between the old Shock identity and the Wings teams that finally gave Dallas a marketable star to build around. The Wings called her the driving force that made the team go, and that was not empty hype. She was the leader, the shot creator and the player who made the franchise feel relevant again during a transition period that could easily have gone nowhere. (Dallas Wings)

6. Ruth Riley

  • Years with franchise: 2001–2007
  • Position: Center
  • Notable achievements:
    • Two-time WNBA champion with Detroit
    • 2003 WNBA Finals MVP
    • Important defensive anchor for title teams
    • One of the foundational winners in franchise history

Ruth Riley deserves more love than she usually gets on lists like this. She was a massive part of the Shock’s first title team, and winning Finals MVP in 2003 gives her a place in franchise history that is impossible to ignore. Not every legend has to be the loudest star. Some are remembered because when the biggest games arrived, they delivered, and Riley absolutely did that. (WNBA)

7. Liz Cambage

  • Years with franchise: 2011–2013, 2018
  • Position: Center
  • Notable achievements:
    • 2018 WNBA scoring champion
    • All-WNBA First Team
    • WNBA single-game scoring record holder
    • One of the most dominant single-season players in franchise history

Liz Cambage was not with the franchise as long as others, but her 2018 season was too outrageous to leave out. Dallas announced that she made All-WNBA First Team after leading the league in scoring at 23.0 points per game, and that was also the season she dropped 53 points in a game, which set a WNBA record. Her case is driven by peak value more than longevity, but that peak was enormous. (Dallas Wings)

8. Satou Sabally

  • Years with Dallas Wings: 2020–2024
  • Position: Forward
  • Notable achievements:
    • 2023 WNBA Most Improved Player
    • 2023 All-WNBA First Team
    • Multi-time All-Star
    • Key piece of the Wings’ best recent teams

Satou Sabally makes the list because she gave Dallas something it badly needed: a genuine star forward who could do a bit of everything and change games on both ends. In 2023 she won Most Improved Player and made All-WNBA First Team, which is a serious season by any standard. Injuries interrupted parts of her run, but when she was healthy, she gave the Wings matchup problems all over the floor and helped lift the team back into relevance. (Dallas Wings)

9. Plenette Pierson

  • Years with franchise: 2005–2010, 2015–2016
  • Position: Forward
  • Notable achievements:
    • Two-time WNBA champion with Detroit
    • 2007 WNBA Sixth Woman of the Year
    • Valuable frontcourt presence across multiple franchise stops
    • Important contributor to title-winning teams

Plenette Pierson is the kind of player who can get lost on casual lists, but people who remember those Detroit teams know exactly why she belongs. She was a winning player, a tough matchup and a huge bench weapon, which the 2007 Sixth Woman of the Year award confirms. She also later came back during the Tulsa era, which gives her a wider footprint across the franchise than a lot of people realise. (WNBA)

10. Allisha Gray

  • Years with Dallas Wings: 2017–2022
  • Position: Guard
  • Notable achievements:
    • 2017 WNBA Rookie of the Year
    • All-Rookie Team selection
    • Reliable two-way guard
    • Important piece of the early Dallas rebuild

Allisha Gray rounds out the top 10 because she was one of the first genuinely successful draft-and-develop stories the Dallas Wings had. Winning Rookie of the Year in 2017 gave the franchise something solid to build on, and she backed that up by becoming one of the team’s steadiest players over the next few seasons. She may not have had the same star ceiling as Arike or Skylar, but she mattered, and Dallas was better because she was there. (Dallas Wings)

Honorable mentions

  • Katie Smith
  • Elaine Powell
  • Glory Johnson
  • Maddy Siegrist

Katie Smith and Elaine Powell were both important to the early Detroit years, while Glory Johnson had a stronger Tulsa run than people sometimes remember. Maddy Siegrist is not there yet, but if she keeps building on her Dallas start, she could get into this conversation later. (WNBA)

Sources:

Dallas Wings — Wings’ Ogunbowale Becomes Franchise’s All-Time Leading Scorer
Dallas Wings — Arike Ogunbowale Garners All-WNBA Second Team Honors
Dallas Wings — Arike Ogunbowale Sets Scoring Records, Named WNBA All-Star Game MVP
Dallas Wings — AO1
WNBA — All-Time WNBA Champions
WNBA — WNBA History Timeline
WNBA — All-WNBA Teams
WNBA — Swin Cash Bio
WNBA — Deanna Nolan Profile
WNBA — Cheryl Ford Profile
WNBA — Ruth Riley Profile
Dallas Wings — Skylar Diggins-Smith Named To The 2017 All-WNBA First Team
Dallas Wings — Leaders of the Pack: Skylar Diggins-Smith
Dallas Wings — Liz Cambage and Skylar Diggins-Smith Named To 2018 All-WNBA Teams
Dallas Wings — Dallas Wings Satou Sabally Wins 2023 Kia WNBA Most Improved Player
Dallas Wings — Satou Sabally Named To 2023 All-WNBA First Team
WNBA — Plenette Pierson Bio
Dallas Wings — Dallas Wings Guard Allisha Gray Named WNBA Rookie Of The Year