Dallas Wings sign promising player as injuries mount

The Dallas Wings have signed forward Amy Okonkwo to a seven-day hardship contract, the team announced on Thursday. Okonkwo, a 6’2 forward, is a two-time FIBA AfroBasket MVP and a longtime Nigerian women’s basketball team star, joins a shorthanded Wings team that has already been eliminated from playoff contention.

The signing comes just two days after the Wings announced center Li Yueru was out for the season with an ACL sprain, and that guard Arike Ogunbowale was out indefinitely with right knee tendonitis. In Wednesday’s loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, rookie JJ Quinerly left the game in the fourth quarter after suffering a left leg injury.

Okonkwo is an elite outside shooter and versatile forward. She played at the University of Southern California (USC) for one season, and then at Texas Christian University (TCU) for three seasons, where she earned Big 12 Sixth Player of the Year honors.

Okonkwo is also a two-time Olympian, playing with the Nigerian women’s national team in the 2020 Tokyo and 2024 Paris Olympics. This past winter, she played with the Bourges professional basketball team in France, averaging 14.2 points and 5.2 rebounds, and shooting 48 percent from beyond the arc.

She then signed a training camp contract with the Connecticut Sun and appeared in two preseason games, averaging 7 points and 4 rebounds.

If Quinerly is out, the Wings are down to 8 active players: guards Paige Bueckers, Grace Berger, Aziah James, and Haley Jones; center Luisa Geiselsoder; and forwards Myisha Hines-Allen, Diamond Miller, and Maddy Siegrist. t 28 years old, Okonkwo will have her first regular-season on-court opportunity in the WNBA.

Okonkwo will be available for Friday’s game against the Seattle Storm.