REPOST: Jessica Shepard Reaching Full Potential as Wings Post Historic Start
Player of the Week Jessica Shepard fuels Wings’ best start since the team relocated to Texas.
Jessica Shepard had a busy offseason, playing in the EuroLeague with Famila Basket Schio, where she earned All-EuroLeague Women Second Team, while also being a part of the most biggest free-agent markets in league history. With the new CBA implemented and a most of the WNBA players set to hit free agency, the Dallas Wings were aggressively searching for players who could elevate the franchise into a winning team.
With superstars like A’ja Wilson, Napheesa Collier, Breanna Stewart and Alyssa Thomas expected to return to their teams, Dallas had Shepard at the top of their list as one of their main targets.
The Wings saw Shepard as a player whose game had another level to reach. Dallas believed increased minutes, a permanent starting role, and greater responsibility within the offense would allow her to fully unlock that level in the WNBA. That vision has quickly become reality. Shepard signed with the Wings on a two-year deal worth $2,050,000 and has quickly emerged as a central piece of the Wings’ early season success, helping lead the Wings to a 6-3 start, their best record through the first nine games of a season since the franchise relocated to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in 2016.