Joining the WNBA as an expansion franchise in the league's second season, the Detroit Shock won three championships within their first 11 seasons, but have been relocated twice since then and are presently an up-and-coming franchise in the 
Dallas Wings.
Detroit Shock Championships and Bill Laimbeer Dynasty
The Shock's success didn't come immediately. They missed the playoffs with a 17-13 record during their inaugural season before enduring four consecutive losing seasons. After head coach Greg Williams went 0-10 to begin the 2002 campaign, Detroit Pistons legend Bill Laimbeer took over as the team's head coach to close out the year. The Shock finished with a league-worst 9-23 record in 2002, sparking rumors that the team could make an early exit from the league.
Laimbeer orchestrated a quick turnaround in 2003, fueled by second-year pro Swin Cash and Rookie of the Year Cheryl Ford, who was selected by the Shock with the third overall pick in the 2003 WNBA Draft. Detroit's physical style of play helped the team record a league-best 25-9 record to earn the top seed in the playoffs, and the Shock went on to win their first championship, taking down the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Sparks 2-1 in the WNBA Finals.
The Shock hovered around .500 over the next two seasons and exited in the first round of the playoffs each year, but they bounced back in 2006, going 23-11 and securing their second championship in a 3-2 series win over the Sacramento Monarchs. Detroit was more effective at maintaining its success this time around, losing 3-2 to the Phoenix Mercury in the WNBA Finals in 2007 before winning a second title in three years by sweeping the San Antonio Silver Stars in 2008.
The dynastic run came to an end in 2009, when Laimbeer announced early in the season that he was stepping down as the team's head coach due to family reasons and the desire to pursue coaching opportunities in the NBA. The Shock finished the year 18-16 as Rick Mahorn took over head coaching duties, but they fell one game short of a fourth consecutive WNBA Finals appearance. Following the season, it was announced that the team was being relocated to become the Tulsa Shock.
Musical Chairs
The Shock posted their two worst records in franchise history to begin their time in Tulsa, going 6-28 in 2010 and 3-31 the following year. The team missed the playoffs in each of its first five seasons in the city before going 18-16 in 2015, head coach Fred Williams' second year, to qualify for the postseason, which resulted in being swept in the first round. However, ownership announced midway through the 2015 campaign that the franchise would be relocated once again, this time moving to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to become the Wings.
The Wings went 3-1 to begin their time in Dallas but were inconsistent for the rest of the 2016 campaign, going 11-23 and missing the playoffs. While the Wings lost Odyssey Sims following the 2016 season, they retained Skylar Diggins and selected Allisha Gray with the fourth overall pick in the 2017 WNBA Draft. Dallas made the playoffs in 2017 and lost to the Washington Mystics in the first round. The Wings brought in Liz Cambage for the 2018 campaign but faced a similar fate, finishing below .500 but qualifying for the playoffs before making a first-round exit.
Diggins and Cambage didn't play for Dallas after the 2018 season, but the Wings drafted an elite guard in Arike Ogunbowale with the No. 5 pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft. Ogunbowale finished second to Napheesa Collier in Rookie of the Year voting in 2019 but proceeded to post 22.8 points per game during the COVID-shortened season in 2020 to earn the league's scoring title. The Wings missed the playoffs in each of Ogunbowale's first two seasons in the WNBA but showed improvement over the next three years, making three consecutive postseason appearances. They were eliminated in the first round in 2021 and 2022 but advanced to the second round in 2023.
Wings 2026 Playoff Contention and Young Core Outlook
The Wings have missed the playoffs in each of the last two seasons but have earned the No. 1 overall pick after each campaign, and the team selected Paige Bueckers first overall in 2025 and Azzi Fudd with the top pick in 2026. Jessica Shepard is also in the midst of a breakout season during her first year in Dallas this season, putting the Wings firmly in playoff contention under first-year head coach Jose Fernandez.
Despite the three championships won in Detroit, the story of the franchise that is now known as the Dallas Wings has been filled with change. Along with the three cities that the team has called home, no coaches other than Laimbeer, Fred Williams and Nancy Lieberman have spent more than two full seasons with the team. During Bueckers' second season with the team, the Wings are on the rise in 2026 and have aspirations of building some stability behind their young core.
