The Dallas Wings have spent much of the season getting exposed by teams that control the paint, and Awak Kuier may have given them a reason to believe that can change. In a league where interior size keeps deciding games, Dallas finally saw a player who could alter that equation against the Atlanta Dream.
Kuier, 24, was the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, a selection that once pointed to a long future in the WNBA. After a two-year absence from the league, Dallas brought her back, and the timing now looks sharper than it did when the move was made. The Wings had been thin at center for months, with that lack of depth a talking point even before the 2026 WNBA draft, when Curt Miller chose Azzi Fudd with the first overall pick.
That decision gave Dallas another elite piece on the perimeter, but it did nothing to erase the roster question inside. The Wings are talented and still very much a work in progress, with Paige Bueckers, Fudd and Arike Ogunbowale giving them enough scoring to trouble almost anyone. The problem has been whether they can hold up against teams that rebound, post up and force the action near the rim. Too often, the answer has been no.
That is why Kuier’s performance matters beyond one game. Dallas has been searching for an established center since before the 2026 draft, and the need has only grown more obvious as opponents keep attacking the same weakness. Kuier’s showing against Atlanta suggested she may be able to fill that gap, or at least narrow it enough for the rest of the roster to play to its strengths.
There is still tension in the fit. Questions remained over Kuier’s role under head coach Jose Fernandez, and one strong night does not settle how she will be used or how stable her place in the rotation will be. But the Wings do not need another reminder that their interior issues are real; they need a solution. Against the Dream, Kuier looked like the closest thing they have found.
If Dallas is going to turn its talent into something more than a promising outline, it needs the paint to stop being a weak spot. Kuier did not solve that problem in one outing, but she may have shown the Wings where the answer has been all along.
