Finishing with an 8-14 record in 2020, the Dallas Wings entered this year's draft with a huge haul of early picks.
Holding the second pick after the lottery, the Wings then acquired to top selection by trading forward Katie Lou Samuelson and a second-round pick in 2022 to the Seattle Storm. The Storm first acquired the No. 1 pick, alongside a 2022 first-round pick and a 2022 second-pick from the Liberty for former Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Howard.
Let's recap which talented young prospects the Wings took with their early picks.
1. Charli Collier, C — Texas
No suprises here, with the 6'5" Collier a no-brainer selection at number one.
Collier averaged 19.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks across 31 appearances with Texas last season, and spent three seasons in college.
The athletic big is expected to take some time to develop, but the Wings needed front court depth and she certainly fits the bill.
𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘. 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄.@CharliCollier has been selected by the @DallasWings with the 1st overall pick! 🤘#HookEm | #WNBADraft pic.twitter.com/6bxpkFzwRr
— Texas Women's Basketball (@TexasWBB) April 15, 2021
2. Awak Kuier, F — Finland
Speaking of front court depth, the Wings went straight back to the centre pool with pick No. 2, taking Kuier out of Finland.
A little bit of an unknown commodity coming from overseas, many draft experts have pegged the 19-year-old as having the most potential out of any prospect in the draft.
First player 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑 from Finland to be drafted in the #WNBA! 🇫🇮#TakeFlight pic.twitter.com/rP6OyxeOs4
— Dallas Wings (@DallasWings) April 16, 2021
5. Chelsea Dungee, G — Arkansas
Dungee is one of the best scorers in the draft class, scoring 30+ points on 12 seperate occasions for Arkansas in 2020-21.
A 5'11" guard, Dungee has solid range from the outside which will come as a welcome boost to a Dallas squad that struggle from 3-point land last season.
The future looks bright for the @DallasWings!
— espnW (@espnW) April 15, 2021
They select Chelsea Dungee with the No. 5 pick of the WNBA draft. pic.twitter.com/rYxseuJB1i
13. Dana Evans, G — Louisville
Another scoring guard, Evans averaged 20.1 points per game for the Cardinals on 35.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Finishing her college career with 1,715 points, the 5'6" guard finished ninth all-time for scoring in school history.
Dana ➡️ Dallas!
— ACC Women's Basketball (@accwbb) April 16, 2021
The @DallasWings select 2x ACC POY @Danaaakianaaa at pick No. 13! @UofLWBB | #WNBADraft pic.twitter.com/v8s1B4DJF9
Dallas tip-off their 2021 season against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 14.
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