“What I did in 9 years, you have done in 5 years,” said an awestruck Deanna Nolan after Arike Ogunbowale broke her franchise points record. The retired 3x WNBA champ commended the 27-year-old “natural-born scorer” who secured her 3,972nd point for the Dallas Wings. But that isn’t all. In doing so, Ogunbowale has scaled a unique mountain that only two other multiple Olympic gold-winning WNBA legends have.

Before tonight’s game against the top-seeded New York Liberty, Arike Ogunbowale had already surpassed Deanna Nolan in two categories – most free throws (778) and most three-pointers (489) made for the Wings. Despite her uncharacteristically low 11-point game in the Liberty loss, she claimed the overall scoring crown for the Wings.

Only two other players in WNBA history have achieved these three feats for their franchises – the league’s only 6x Olympic gold winner Diana Taurasi, and her teammate on four of those six occasions – Tamika Catchings. At 42, Taurasi still leads the Phoenix Mercury in points amassed – 10592. Shockingly, she is over 5000 points clear of Brittney Griner in second. Catchings, albeit retired, boasts of a similar lead. The retired star scored 7,380 points in her 15-year Indiana Fever career, over twice that of Kelsey Mitchell in second with 3,869 points.

While Catchings’ record is already under threat with Caitlin Clark routing through her rivals, Taurasi and Ogunbowale are on safer land. But let’s talk more about the superwoman of the hour and her Dallas Wings legacy.

Arike Ogunbowale gives a humble response after shattering a Dallas Wings record

Raised in a family full of sportspersons, many could say Ogunbowale was destined for greatness. She made history with Notre Dame in 2018, scoring consecutive buzzer-beaters in the semifinals and the finals to win the NCAA championship, sending the crowd absolutely bonkers. Wearing the number 24 jersey, she awakened her inner Kobe Bryant, the legend she idolized. In fact, she even broke the franchise scoring record in Nike Kobe 6 Protro ‘BHM’.

Though her current Dallas Wings stint is nothing like the winning Notre Dame days, she remains thoroughly consistent, and most importantly, humble. “I just love basketball. Win, lose, or draw, I’m gonna play my game and I’ve been having fun in Dallas,” the 6-year guard said in the post-game press conference. “Just to get that record is definitely cool. It has been a tough season, but this is definitely something that I look back on and be like, ‘I was able to do that with my team.'”

The Milwaukee native is rightfully on the rise. Though the chatter around her has reduced, courtesy of A’ja Wilson, Caitlin Clark, and Angel Reese, Ogunbowale remains the woman to watch out for. Unfortunately, the Dallas Wings barely got anything right in 2024 with an undesirable 9-28 record. Synergy is the need of the hour for the team that was fighting in the 2023 semifinals.