Odyssey Sims helps Wings defeat Lynx and end the season debut slump

Odyssey Sims Returns to Wings, Breaks Losing StreakOdyssey Sims Returns to Wings, Breaks Losing Streak Dallas Wings guard Odyssey Sims made her season debut on Thursday, leading the team to a 94-88 victory over the Minnesota Lynx. The win ended the Wings’ 11-game losing streak. Sims, 32, signed a contract with the Wings earlier this week after starting player Maddy Siegrist broke her finger. She made an immediate impact, scoring 18 points. “When the season started, I knew I wasn’t done playing in the league,” Sims said. “I still have something left in the tank.” Sims’ addition bolsters the Wings, who have been dealing with injuries this season. Forward Satou Sabally is sidelined with a shoulder injury, while forward Natasha Howard missed 12 games with a broken foot. “She gave us that energy, that spark, that pace that we are looking for,” said Dallas coach Latricia Trammell. Sims played for the Wings from 2016 to 2017 and returned last year after a stint with the Las Angeles Sparks, Lynx, Atlanta Dream, and Connecticut Sun. She is a native of Irving, Texas, and had been attending Wings home games as a spectator before rejoining the team. “It helps a lot knowing her; she finished the season with us last year,” said Wings star guard Arike Ogunbowale. “We communicate a lot when we’re on the field. She’s not bitter even though we didn’t pick her up.” With Sims’ return, the Wings hope to turn their season around and improve their 4-13 record.

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  Michael Voepel, ESPN.comJune 28, 2024, 6:44 am

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  Michael Voepel covers the WNBA, women’s college basketball and other college sports for espnW. Voepel began covering women’s basketball in 1984 and has been with ESPN since 1996.

Led by 18 points from veteran Odyssey Sims — who made her season debut on Tuesday after signing with Dallas — the Wings won for the first time in a month, ending an 11-game losing streak with a 94-88 victory over the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday.

The Wings signed Sims to a rough contract earlier this week after starting player Maddy Siegrist broke her finger on June 18. Siegrist is expected to be out until after the Olympic break.

Sims, who turns 32 in July, was hoping to be on the Wings roster at the start of this season. But she stayed ready in case she was arrested.

“When the season started, I knew I wasn’t done playing in the league,” Sims said. “Obviously, I’m getting older, but I still have something left in the tank. Every day I wake up and go to the gym. And I have a son. So even if I wanted to give up, there are days where I feel like I’m defeated, I still have to push through it because I have a son who looks up to me to make him proud.”

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Sims said she was competing in Paris this weekend when she got the call from the Wings.

“I played in a streetball tournament they have every year, a sponsored Jordan Brand event,” Sims said. “When I got home I was a little jet lagged. I trained on Tuesday and yesterday. I just had to get my legs back under me and get ready to play today.”

Sims, who won the 2012 NCAA championship with Baylor, was the No. 2 pick in the 2014 draft by Tulsa and remained with the franchise when it moved to Dallas in 2016 to become the Wings.

From 2017 she played with the Los Angeles Sparks, Lynx, Atlanta Dream and Connecticut Sun. She came back to the Wings last year when she was signed during the season.

Sims played in 28 of the Wings’ 40 regular season games in 2023 and five playoff games.

Sims is originally from the Dallas area (Irving, Texas) and had been attending Wings home games this season as a spectator until Thursday afternoon, when she returned to Dallas.

“It helps a lot knowing her; she finished the season with us last year,” said Dallas star guard Arike Ogunbowale, who led the Wings with 23 points and 9 assists on Thursday. “So I know how she plays, she knows how I play. We communicate a lot when we’re on the field.

Odyssey Sims was a spectator at Wings home games this season until Thursday afternoon, when she took the field again for Dallas. Tony Gutierrez/AP

“She also came to every home game this year and she supported us even though she wasn’t on the team. That’s a testament to who she is as a person — she’s not bitter even though we didn’t pick her up. She was ready for any team to pick her up.”

The Wings have dealt with several significant injuries this season, in addition to Siegrist. Forward Satou Sabally, an All-WNBA first-team selection in 2023, is rehabbing a shoulder injury and is not expected to join the Wings until after the Olympics, where she will play for Germany. Forward Natasha Howard missed 12 games with a broken foot she suffered in the season opener before returning on June 20.

Before Thursday, the Wings’ last win came on May 26 in Los Angeles. Dallas had a tough opponent in the Lynx, who won the Commissioner’s Cup trophy on Tuesday in New York. But Sims helped the Wings (4-13) get back in the win column.

“I told them after the game, ‘Tough times don’t last, but tough people do,’” Dallas coach Latricia Trammell said. “(Odyssey) is a veteran, she’s a baller. She can just go in and play the game. She gave us that energy, that spark, that pace that we are looking for. I love that she comes in and is so confident. “