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Arike Ogunbowale Shakes Off Fan Criticism After Wings Win Paige Bueckers Sweepstakes

Dallas Wings star Arike Ogunbowale sent a clear message to her detractors after Paige Bueckers became her likely future teammate.

Grant Young

May 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) reacts during the first half against the Chicago Sky at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
May 15, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale (24) reacts during the first half against the Chicago Sky at College Park Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Dallas Wings WNBA franchise emerged from the 2025 WNBA Draft lottery on Sunday with the No. 1 overall pick of the 2025 WNBA Draft.

This most likely means that Dallas will be drafting UConn Huskies star Paige Bueckers with the top pick (as long as she decides to leave UConn after this season).

While some reports convey that Bueckers would have preferred to be drafted by the Los Angeles Sparks, there's no indication that she will forego the draft entirely in order to avoid going to Dallas.

Therefore, it appears that Bueckers will be teaming up with current Wings star Arike Ogunbowale next season.

Arike made her excitement about the lottery results apparent on Sunday when she wrote on X, "I just fell to my knees. THANK YOU LORD! 😭😭😭😭," minutes after the lottery ended.

However, since this post, many fans have been lamenting Bueckers potentially playing with Ogunbowale, who had the WNBA's second-most field goal attempts per game (19.2) in 2024 and is known for shooting the ball at will.

One X user went viral for posting a video of former LSU player Hailey Van Lith jumping up and down hoping to receive a pass with the caption, “ARIKE I’M OPEN”.

Another X user posted a video of Kendrick Perkins dribbling ad nauseum with the caption, "Paige : Arike I am open for a 3! Pass the ball please

"Arike:".

Although Arike appeared to convey that she's unfazed by this fan sentiment on Tuesday, writing on X, "idk why people don’t realize i never cared 💀 like not to b insensitive but I’m healthy, VERY happy, & get paid to hoop. & most importantly extremely blessed by God."

While it can't be said for certain, it appears that Arike is addressing any Bueckers-related detractors with this post.

Hopefully Bueckers' fanbase comes around to Arike by the time she and Paige are playing together.

Published
Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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