Jessica Shepard’s first season with the Dallas Wings has changed the shape of her WNBA career. The 30-year-old forward has earned her first All-Star selection, recorded five triple-doubles, and helped Dallas secure a playoff spot. Her rise has not caught her off guard.
Shepard and those around her have long seen the passing, rebounding, and playmaking skills that now have a bigger stage.
A Bigger Role in Dallas
Shepard entered the season knowing she could fit next to elite scorers Paige Bueckers and Arike Ogunbowale. That opportunity has turned into one of the strongest seasons of her career.
Heading into Wednesday’s regular-season finale against Seattle, Shepard was averaging 14.3 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. She and Atlanta’s Angel Reese were the only players averaging at least 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Her five triple-doubles also tied Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas for the league lead this season. Shepard has nearly doubled her scoring average from her first five WNBA seasons.
“It’s not anything that I’m like, ‘Oh, wow, I’m doing something I didn’t think I could do,’” Shepard said. “No, I knew what I was capable of doing since I’ve been a pro.”
Shepard credited the environment around her for giving those abilities room to show.
“Just being in the right situation, having people around you that support you, that believe in you, makes a huge difference,” she said.
Bueckers Saw It Coming
Paige Bueckers already knew what Shepard could provide before they became teammates in Dallas. She remembered Shepard’s first WNBA triple-double with Minnesota last season.
With Napheesa Collier unavailable, Shepard posted 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists against Indiana. That performance offered an early look at the all-around game she has displayed more often in Dallas.
Bueckers also watched Shepard play overseas and during her time with the Minnesota Lynx.
“Watching her with the Minnesota Lynx, watching her overseas, it was just all about opportunity with her,” Bueckers said.
Shepard opened this season with five straight double-doubles. Two came as triple-doubles, including one in which she recorded a career-high 12 assists.
Alanna Smith initially joined Shepard in the starting frontcourt. Injuries later affected Smith’s availability, and Shepard took on an even larger role.
Bueckers described Shepard as “the hub” of the Dallas lineup and called her “a winner through and through.”
The Right Moment
Dallas assistant coach Mike Neighbors has known about Shepard’s ability for years. Before Shepard played for Nebraska and later transferred to Notre Dame, Neighbors watched her as a ninth-grader and remembers pointing her out from the stands.
Now, he sees the pieces coming together.
“Her mentality, her conditioning, her understanding, her maturity, her voice, all those things have come together,” Neighbors said.
He also pointed to the combination of players, coaching, and system in Dallas. Still, Neighbors stressed that Shepard had already prepared herself for the opportunity.
For Shepard, the timing has matched her growth as a professional.
Choosing Dallas
Shepard spent her WNBA offseasons playing overseas and even skipped the 2024 WNBA season to finish her season in Italy. Minnesota selected her No. 16 overall in the second round of the 2019 WNBA Draft.
During her time with the Lynx, she produced around eight points and seven rebounds per game in consecutive seasons. Last year, she played a career-high 40 games while posting similar numbers.
Free agency gave her a chance to find a different role.
Dallas immediately stood out because of Bueckers, Ogunbowale, and Azzi Fudd, who joined Bueckers as another former UConn standout and second consecutive No. 1 pick for the Wings.
“When you’re in free agency, you hear from all the staffs, you hear from players,” Shepard said. “I think just the investment that they had in trying everything they could to get me here, made me feel they want to play alongside me.”
A Long Road Back
Shepard’s path to this point included a major setback. She tore the ACL in her right knee early in her rookie season and missed the shortened 2020 season.
She returned in 2021 but averaged only 11 minutes across 22 games. Minnesota later went through its only two losing seasons since 2010, including a first-round playoff loss in 2023.
The Lynx reached the WNBA Finals the following year without Shepard and lost to the New York Liberty in five games. Minnesota then reached the semifinals in 2024, when Shepard returned to the postseason rotation.
Now she enters the playoffs with Dallas in a much larger role.
Neighbors has watched that growth closely and believes Shepard’s patience helped her reach this point.
“When you see a player like that start to blossom, you just want to help them any way they can,” he said. “She’s been a big part of everything that we’ve done.”
Shepard’s breakout season reflects more than a jump in scoring. Her rebounding, passing, durability, and decision-making have made her a central part of the Wings’ attack. The move to Dallas also gave her the opportunity to play beside high-level perimeter scorers while taking on greater responsibility inside.
Her first playoff run as a leading player begins Sunday. After years of injuries, changing roles, overseas seasons, and steady development, Shepard finally has the kind of opportunity she believed was possible all along.
