The cornerstone of the Dallas Wings has etched her name in the franchise history books. After a couple of free throws late in the blowout loss against the New York Liberty, Arike Ogunbowale emerged as the team’s all-time points leader. She overtook Deanna Nolan’s franchise record of 3971 points with her 11th point of the night. Though the Wings extended their misery with the 6th loss on the trot, Ogunbowale gave them a reason to celebrate, and Nolan heartily commended her worthy successor.

Deanna Nolan spent 9 years with the Detroit Shock, the past avatar of the Dallas Wings, en route to winning 3 WNBA championships. Unfortunately, her last championship victory in 2008 was also the franchise’s last. But that isn’t what today is about. When Arike Ogunbowale surpassed her all-time franchise points record, Nolan was in awe.

“Hey Arie, I know how much hard work and dedication you have put into getting to this point in your career. You’re a natural-born scorer. What I did in 9 years, you have done in 5 years,” she said in a video shared by the Wings on X. The cherry on top of the cake was her message being relayed in time for Ogunbowale post-game interview. Safe to say, the 4x All-Star was very grateful for Nolan’s words.

“I love it when legends and great players from the past give props and a lot of them do it. We wouldn’t be where we are without everybody that paved the way,” the 27-year-old emphasized as per ESPN. “So I appreciate her for giving those words.”

At 27, Ogunbowale has surpassed a legend of the game who was named in the WNBA’s 20 greatest and most influential players list. If this doesn’t make her worthy of a championship in the next few years, we don’t know what does. Moreover, this is only the beginning.

Arike Ogunbowale’s sensational achievement spree in 2024

In addition to claiming the scoring crown for the Dallas Wings, Arike Ogunbowale has broken a few more records this season. Fresh off of being snubbed from the USA’s 2024 Olympics team, the Wings guard had a point to prove in the Team WNBA v/s Team USA All-Star contest. And boy, did she do it in style.

The Notre Dame alum scored a record 34 points to beat her own record (26) from the 2021 All-Star game, to take her second MVP trophy home. To honor this achievement, the City of Dallas proclaimed August 28th, 2024 as Arike Ogunbowale Day. Moreover, in the week after that, she sank 9 three-pointers against the Indiana Fever to match the single-game record shared by Seattle Storm’s Jewell Loyd and the Fever’s Kelsey Mitchell.

Such stellar performances have placed Ogunbowale second in PPG (22.6), only behind A’ja Wilson. She will go down as one of the best Dallas Wings players ever. Having comprehensively made her mark at the pinnacle of basketball from being the fifth pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft, it is only a matter of time before she turns the franchise’s fortunes around.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.