ARLINGTON, Texas — The Dallas Wings signed guard Kitija Laksa to a rest-of-season contract on Tuesday, the team announced. The WNBA granted Dallas a Season-Ending Injury Exception to make the signing after Azzi Fudd was ruled out for the rest of the year.
The exception covers Fudd’s spot for the rest of the season, and Laksa fills it as the 12th player under standard contract.
Laksa’s availability has not been determined. The Wings are working through the immigration process, according to the team. She will wear No. 33.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez coached Laksa for four seasons at South Florida and recruited her out of Riga, Latvia. He ran the USF program from 2000 through the 2024-25 season, and Dallas hired him in October.
Laksa scored 1,764 points for the Bulls, sixth on the program’s all-time list. Her 17.8 points per game rank third at USF. Her 89.6% from the free-throw line is first in program history, and her 39.1% from 3-point range is second. She was the unanimous American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in 2016. On Dec. 15, 2017, she scored 40 points against Southern and went 11-of-12 from 3-point range, and the 11 consecutive makes set an NCAA Division I single-game record. She tore her ACL three games into her senior season.
Kitija Laksa Reaches Dallas Six Years After the Draft
The Seattle Storm took Laksa 11th overall in the 2020 draft. She stayed in Europe and did not play in the WNBA until 2025. Dallas held her rights more than once earlier in her career, and she never came over.
Laksa averaged 5.9 points and 1.2 rebounds in 33 games for the Phoenix Mercury last season. She started 5 of them and played 19.0 minutes a night. She shot 31.7% from 3-point range and 81.3% from the free-throw line, and she appeared in 2 playoff games.
The Toronto Tempo took Laksa in April’s expansion draft and waived her before the regular season began. She has not appeared in a WNBA game this year.
Laksa has played for the Latvian national team since 2013. She helped Fenerbahçe win the EuroLeague and the Turkish Cup in 2024, then moved to Beretta Famila Schio in Italy and won the Italian league championship in 2025. She was an All-Europe First Team selection and All-Europe Shooting Guard of the Year that year. Over 22 games with Schio in 2025, Laksa averaged 11.9 points on 53.1% shooting and 39.2% from 3-point range.
Dallas ranks 11th in the WNBA at 8.1 3-pointers made per game, and the Wings are 10th in attempts at 24.0 per game.
Azzi Fudd’s Rookie Season Ends After 30 Games
Fudd has not played since Aug. 5. The Wings announced on Aug. 19 that she would undergo an arthroscopic procedure on her right knee in Connecticut.
Fudd averaged 13.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 30 games. She shot 39.7% from 3-point range and started 24 games after opening the season on the bench. Her 62 3-pointers are a Wings rookie record. She also averaged 1.7 steals, which led Dallas.
Dallas took Fudd first overall in the April draft, one year after taking Paige Bueckers in the same slot. Fudd tore the ACL and MCL in her right knee in 2019 and tore the ACL and meniscus in the same knee in 2023.
Dallas Wings Can Clinch a Playoff Berth Against the Portland Fire
Dallas hosts the Portland Fire at 7 p.m. CT on Tuesday at College Park Center. A win clinches the Wings’ first playoff berth since 2023.
The Wings are 22-16 and fourth in the Western Conference. Sunday’s 92-70 win over Seattle was the 22nd of the season and tied the franchise record for regular-season wins. Bueckers had 18 of her 32 points in the first quarter and went 6-of-6 from 3-point range. Jessica Shepard had 11 points and 11 rebounds. It was her 21st double-double, pushing the Wings single-season record she already owns.
Six regular-season games remain, four of them at home. Dallas hosts the Connecticut Sun on Aug. 30, then does not play again until Sept. 17 against the Los Angeles Sparks. Seattle hosts the finale on Sept. 23.
Development contracts sit outside the 12 standard spots. Dallas carries two, Haley Jones and Christyn Williams.
