Season In Review: Tulsa Shock

As a part of a WNBA.com offseason series, we’ll be taking a look at the seasons of all 12 teams in the league and touching on some of the top reasons to look forward to their 2016 WNBA campaigns.

The Tulsa Shock franchise has relocated to Dallas and will be known as the Dallas Wings for the 2016 season, but the Shock didn’t leave without giving their fans something to feel good about in 2015.

After posting an 18-16 record, the Shock made the postseason for the first time since the team moved to Tulsa before the 2010 season. They were eventually defeated by the Phoenix Mercury in the first round, but the postseason berth was an achievement for an extremely resilient team.

For this young and promising team, however, the story shifts to the future, so let’s take a look at what you can expect in 2016.

Reasons To Look Forward To 2016

Where to begin? 

For starters, a new city, new arena and new team branding will undoubtedly bring energy to the WNBA’s newest fan base. 

Secondly, a loaded roster has this team poised to be a factor in the West for years to come. Skylar Diggins, a first-team All-WNBA selection in 2014, will return from a torn ACL that forced her to miss all but nine games last year.

 Diggins will form a potent backcourt combo with Odyssey Sims, who averaged 16 points per game in 2015. In fact, Diggins and Sims will be in the conversation for best backcourt in the WNBA once both are back on the floor.

Stacking strength on top of strength, Dallas will also rely heavily upon Riquna Williams. Williams thrived in a bigger role near the end of the season — averaging 17.7 points per game in August — and will give this team a ‘big three’ in their backcourt alone.

In the frontcourt, Dallas has the talent to match that of just about any team. Courtney Paris led the league in rebounding for the second straight year and Glory Johnson, who sat out the 2015 season while pregnant, is an All-Star caliber player who should make her highly anticipated return in 2016. And, if Dallas can find a way to get more out of 2015 No. 2 overall pick Amanda Zahui B., this frontcourt has the ability to be just as special as the backcourt.

Filling out the front court is a pair of steady veterans — Plenette Pierson and Karima Christmas — who have both made underrated contributions to the team on and off the court. Both have WNBA titles on their resume and they have helped turn this team into a roster filled with a lot of potential to a roster that knows how to win games.

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and 2016 could shape up to be a big year for the new team in Dallas.