WNBA star who just won MVP in March could signal great things to come in Dallas

Maddy Siegrist secured the Athletes Unlimited pro championship on Sunday.

Dallas Wings forward Maddy Siegrist won the Athletes Unlimited Pro championship on Sunday afternoon — meaning she racked up more individual points in the offseason basketball league than any other player in the 40-person league.

Siegrist, who is entering her third year in the WNBA, tallied 7052 total ‘points’, edging out her former Wings teammate Odyssey Sims. Both WNBA players opted to play in Athletes Unlimited this offseason, a five-week professional women’s basketball league that maintains an individual leaderboard that computes wins, made shots, rebounds, assists, turnovers, and a slew of other statistics.

Players in AU Pro switch teams weekly, with the top four players on the leaderboard serving as captains and drafting their teams accordingly. Siegirst, Sims, Crystal Bradford, and Maya Caldwell finished as the league’s top four ranked players.

“I couldn’t be more happy to play with all these players,” Siegrist said in the press conference celebrating her victory. “This has been an amazing experience and getting to compete against so many great players and learn from them has been great.”

Siegrist said shooting more threes and being able to score off the dribble were both major points of emphasis for her — and she showed noticeable improvements in both of these categories.

Megan Perry, the vice president of Athletes Unlimited, praised Siegrist for her work ethic during the championship press conference.

“To know Maddy Siegrist, she’s someone that does everything with intention,” Perry said. “She is the consummate professional. And what I’ve seen from Maddy over the past year is just this growth and confidence, She comes in every day, works hard, skips nothing, and I think what we’ve seen, the product of this season, is just the confidence that she’s built these past couple weeks, and beyond that.”

Could Siegrist be due for another big leap next season?

Maddy Siegirst was drafted third overall by the Wings in the 2023 draft and went on to average 3.7 points in 8.2 minutes per night in her rookie season.

She took a substantial leap in her sophomore season, starting nearly half her games and averaging 9.4 points in 23.9 minutes a night.

But, a broken finger cost her 8 weeks, and she returned seemingly out of rhythm. While she scored in the double-figures in 11 of her 13 games pre-injury and was an early candidate for Most Improved Player, she reached double-figures in only 3 games the rest of the way.

Siegrist’s performance in Athletes Unlimited seems to signal that she may be due for another productivity jump in Dallas.

“You all see what she does on the court, but the leader that Maddy is, how she connects with people, brilliant basketball mind — just a really smart, savvy leader, to be quite honest,” Perry said.

If she can blossom into the star she was in college, that could mean great things for a Wings organization that has shuffled out several key players this offseason. The Wings lost two of their most productive players last season in Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard, and instead acquired DiJonai Carrington, Ty Harris, and NaLyssa Smith, among others.

Arike Ogunbowale will steer the ship, but Dallas will need a secondary scoring option alongside the franchise scoring leader, and based on her production this offseason, Siegrist appears poised to make that type of leap.

Athletes Unlimited to stay in Nashville

AU Pro was held in Nashville, Tennessee for the first time this season, and after record-breaking attendance, the league has agreed to stay in the city until 2026 and beyond.

Siegrist said she thoroughly enjoyed the experience of playing in Dallas.

“The facilities have been great, where we’re staying is great, it’s been a first-class experience,” she said. “The way the city of Nashville has shown up has been huge.”