One viral photo was all it took for Dallas Wings fans to turn into internet detectives. Ahead of the Wings’ game against the Las Vegas Aces, multiple Dallas players appeared on the injury report due to illness. Around the same time, Paige Bueckers’ one harmless social media post spiraled quickly.
The guard shared a photo of teammate Jessica Shepard showing off her grilling skills during a team cookout. The fans connected the dots, and well, you know what happened next. But when the speculation grew too much, the Wings star had to address it directly during a recent appearance on The Ultimate Dallas Sports Show.
Advertisement
“We were talking about it before the game, how everybody was clowning her because we had some people out,” she said. “But I can say there was no correlation to the two things. But she was great on the grill.
“I love a good glizzy from the grill. Oh, gosh. So for her to put it down like that, we all enjoyed it.”
Bueckers is no stranger to pranking her teammates for fun. So, while she may have shared the post just because, there could be a hidden reason to stoke the fire. (If I may make some grilling jokes.)
Then, Alanna Smith was ruled out due to illness, missing Thursday’s showdown. Arike Ogunbowale was also listed as probable before being upgraded to available shortly before the tipoff. Paige Bueckers was on that report, too. However, that was for her left leg issue. Smith remains day-to-day.
So if you are one of the conspiracy theorists, please note that Shepard’s cooking was officially cleared of all charges. Because if anything, the veteran forward gave the Wings exactly what they needed that night — a win over one of the most dangerous teams in the league.
Advertisement
Paige Bueckers couldn’t stop praising Jessica Shepard
Be it by her grilling skills or her cooking on-court, Bueckers is left in awe by Shepard.
Against the Aces, the Wings’ forward did a little bit of everything. She finished the game with 22 points, 20 rebounds, and 10 assists as Dallas rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to secure a statement win over A’ja Wilson & Co.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
This jaw-dropping outing made Shepard just the second player in WNBA history to record a 20-point, 20-rebound triple-double. But what’s even more remarkable is that it came just over a week after she recorded another triple-double despite entering the season with only one in her entire WNBA career. For Paige Bueckers, however, the performance wasn’t exactly surprising.
Advertisement
“She does so much offensively and defensively. This is all stuff she was capable of, and we knew that going into free agency. It’s why we wanted her so bad. She just happened to be playing for the Minnesota Lynx and playing behind one of the best players in the world in Napheesa (Collier).
“So, it’s not like we didn’t expect this from her, but to see it, to play with it, to know what she’s capable of on any given night. She’s a monster, and she just affects the game on so many different ways… I can’t speak enough good words about her impact on basketball games,” she further added.
In the end, the only thing Shepard appeared guilty of was serving up one of the best performances of this season. Dallas ended the Aces’ road win streak and will look to carry that winning momentum in their next game against the Seattle Storm on June 1st.
Trending Articles
Advertisement
The post Paige Bueckers Addresses Teammates’ Involvement After Multiple Wings Players Fall Ill appeared first on EssentiallySports. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
