No. 8 Dallas is on the brink of history, gearing up to face No. 9 Portland in tonight’s Fire vs Wings game with a chance to break a three-year WNBA postseason drought.
The only two teams still in the running for this year’s eighth and final playoff berth, Dallas holds a steep 6.5-game lead over the Fire.
“If we’re talking about making a playoff push [even] next year, that doesn’t mean anything if we can’t improve our team defense,” Portland head coach Alex Sarama said, as the 2026 expansion team looks to curb a two-game skid.
The Wings hope to close the door tonight, as 2025 Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers aims to punch her first-ever WNBA playoffs ticket.
Bueckers stepped up this season, leading Dallas with 20.6 points per game while contributing a team-high 5.8 assists.
“I try not to be an outcome-oriented person, but winning just makes me so happy,” she said after Sunday’s 92-70 victory over last-place Seattle. “And losing freaking sucks. I hate losing.”
Dallas hosts Portland tonight at 8 PM ET (NBA TV).
