STWF Sports| ARLINGTON, Texas| September 24, 2026  — The Dallas Wings are headed back to the WNBA Playoffs, and their first-round opponent is now set.

Dallas will face the Golden State Valkyries in a best-of-three opening-round series after the Wings finished the regular season as the No. 7 seed with a 27-17 record. Golden State secured the No. 2 seed at 32-12 after rallying past the Los Angeles Sparks 76-75.

The series opens Sunday at Chase Center in San Francisco, with Game 2 shifting to College Park Center in Arlington on either Sept. 29 or Sept. 30. If a deciding Game 3 is necessary, the series will return to San Francisco on either Oct. 1 or Oct. 2.

For Dallas, the matchup marks the franchise’s first postseason appearance since 2023 and the first playoff meeting between the Wings and Valkyries.

Regular-Season Series Favors Golden State

Dallas Wings Prepare for Playoff Challenge

Golden State swept all three regular-season meetings against Dallas in 2026.

The Valkyries won 91-80 on June 17, 94-76 on Aug. 7 and 78-70 on Aug. 17. Golden State also owns a 6-1 advantage in the all-time regular-season series, with Dallas’ lone victory coming on June 17, 2025.

Those results underline the challenge facing the Wings.

Dallas averaged 75.3 points per game in the three meetings with Golden State, well below its final regular-season average of 89.4. The Wings also averaged just 14.0 assists against the Valkyries compared with 22.3 over the full season.

Golden State, meanwhile, averaged 87.7 points in the series and shot 37.9 percent from three-point range.

That gap in ball movement and perimeter efficiency will be one of the key areas to watch in the postseason.

Bueckers, Ogunbowale Lead Dallas Attack

Paige Bueckers averaged 17.7 points, four assists and one steal per game against Golden State this season while shooting 44.2 percent from the floor.

Arike Ogunbowale added 14.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists across the three matchups.

Dallas will likely need stronger production from its backcourt if it wants to reverse the regular-season trend.

Jessica Shepard averaged eight points and 9.3 rebounds against Golden State, while Awak Kuier contributed 1.7 blocks per game and could play an important role defensively around the rim.

The Wings enter the postseason with confidence after closing the regular season with a 103-91 win at Seattle. Dallas also finished the year with several franchise records, including marks for wins, winning percentage, points per game, assists per game, assist-to-turnover ratio, field-goal percentage and total three-pointers made.

Historic Turnaround Meets Playoff Test

The Wings’ return to the postseason follows one of the most dramatic turnarounds in league history.

Dallas improved by 17 wins from 2025, setting a WNBA record for the largest single-season improvement. Head coach Jose Fernandez also established the league mark for the biggest turnaround by a first-year head coach.

That regular-season success now gives way to a very different challenge.

Golden State enters the series with home-court advantage, a 3-0 record against Dallas this season and the league’s No. 2 seed. The Wings, however, arrive with momentum, a record-setting offense and a roster that has grown considerably since those earlier meetings.

The question is whether Dallas can turn that improvement into postseason results against a team that has already given it trouble three times this year.

The first answer comes Sunday night in San Francisco.