As Debbie Antonelli awarded her the Best Ticket Selling Award, it is simply undeniable that anyone who is a fan of basketball would be thrilled, to say the least, to see the scoring machine Arike Ogunbowale. What Could Have Been: Playoffs Arike.
Leading scorer for this season as a second-year player with 22.8 PPG, she took control of her Dallas Wings with such leadership like a long time veteran. In addition, she had four games scoring 30+ points this season.
There is no denying how great of a scorer she is and how impactful she is on her team. But in her sophomore year on the league, she showed she is more than ready to take on the next step of her WNBA career. A playoff appearance for a playoffs Arike.
Playoffs Arike was just a win away
Last Sunday night, the league’s final day of the regular season, Dallas had to win against the New York Liberty. A fairly easier team to beat considering their 2-19 record. To sum it up, it was not as easy as it looks on the scouting report. Giving Dallas a hard time especially in their scoring drought without Ogunbowale and Marina Mabrey making shots.
If you have been following Ogunbowale’s game in the WNBA, you would have not sweat it when you saw her efficiency in scoring in the first half of the game. She only scored 10 and all of it was scored in the first frame. But as to be expected, Arike stepped up big. Clutch.
She went on and scored 16 in the second half. More importantly, she scored a runner that gave the Wings the upper hand to eventually win the game. That is a playoffs bound Arike.
After the Dallas Wings won their game in their season-ender, they found themselves anxiously waiting for the result of the Washington Mystics vs. Atlanta Dream game.
Mystics won.
In the end, Dallas, at that point was not sure, if they played their last game of the season. Ogunbowale, as always led the team with a game-high 26 points.
How could we not say “so close!” to that game? Knowing that we could have witnessed something extraordinary this season. Players often feel more inspired, hungrier for glory, and extra motivated once they reach the postseason. Players who are born with that championship mentality and it’s not a secret that Ogunbowale is a champion at all levels.
Arike’s season in a nutshell
Year two for Ogunbowale was very special. In a way, she found ways to improve her great performance from last season. As the saying goes, there’s always room for improvement.
Arike’s biggest downside from last season was her efficiency. As a rookie, one might not be as mindful as the veterans in their shot selection. Especially for someone like Ogunbowale who has a next shot mentality. Last year her FG% was only at 38%, which does not seem too drastic, but she takes almost 17 shots a game for her team and only sank six on her average.
This year, she got her efficiency to a better percentage. She is shooting 41.3% on the floor with an average of 22.8 PPG. Still takes about 19 shots per game but this time around, she is sinking eight of them on a regular basis. Also distributing the ball better with 3.6 APG.
Just yesterday, the WNBA awarded her with the 2020 Peak Performer Award for scoring average. Ogunbowale averaged 22.8 points in 22 games in her second WNBA season, earning her first scoring title. Last season, she finished third in scoring as a rookie (19.1 PPG).
She topped the league-leading MVP candidates such as A’ja Wilson (20.5 PPG), DeWanna Bonner (19.73 PPG), Breanna Stewart (19.7 PPG), and even Diana Taurasi (18.7 PPG).
There is no doubt that Arike Ogunbowale would go down as one of the best players to ever play in the WNBA. As a sophomore player, she has beaten records, veteran players, and especially beaten a lot of buzzers.
As for her team, Dallas Wings has a lot to look forward to next season. With Satou Sabally, their phenomenal rookie, and Isabelle Harrison getting back healthy. Also with Marina Mabrey, Allisha Gray, Kayla Thorton, and the rest of their roster. Dallas is a young team and their potentials are beyond scary and a playoff appearance is surely on the horizon.
But for playoffs Arike, we will have to wait. For sure not long enough, but still, we just have to wait for it.
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