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.
Laksa’s signing puts the Wings at 12 standard contracts. Dallas is still working through the immigration process, making a potential debut game date to be determined. She will wear No. 33.
Wings coach Jose Fernandez recruited Laksa from Riga, Latvia, and coached her four seasons at South Florida. He led that program from 2000 until the 2024-25 season before Dallas hired him in October.
Laksa left USF with 1,764 points, sixth on the school’s all-time list. Only two Bulls have averaged more than her 17.8 a game. Her 89.6% at the free-throw line still stands as the program record. She was the unanimous American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year in 2016. On Dec. 15, 2017, against Southern, she made 11 straight 3-pointers, finished 11-of-12 from the arc, and scored 40 points. The 11 in a row were an NCAA Division I single-game record. Three games into her senior season she tore her ACL.
Kitija Laksa Waited Five Years for Her First WNBA Game
The Seattle Storm selected Laksa 11th overall in 2020; however, she never played for them. Dallas repeatedly held her rights afterward, but she continued her career in Europe.
Laksa debuted in the WNBA in 2025 with the Phoenix Mercury, averaging 5.9 points and 1.2 rebounds over 33 games. She started 5 games, played 19.0 minutes per game, and shot 31.7% from 3-point range.
In April’s expansion draft, the Toronto Tempo selected Laksa but waived her on May 7, before she appeared in any game for them.
Laksa has played for Latvia since 2013. She won the EuroLeague and Turkish Cup with Fenerbahçe in 2024, then joined Beretta Famila Schio in Italy, winning the league in 2025. In 22 games that season, she averaged 11.9 points with 53.1% shooting and 39.2% from 3-point range. She was named to the All-Europe First Team and All-Europe Shooting Guard of the Year.
Dallas has made 8.1 3-pointers a game this season, 11th in the WNBA. The Wings rank 10th in attempts at 24.0.
Azzi Fudd’s Rookie Season Ends After 30 Games
Fudd’s last game was Aug. 5. Two weeks later, the Wings announced she would undergo an arthroscopic procedure on her right knee in Connecticut.
In 30 games, she averaged 13.1 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.8 assists, starting 24 and shooting 39.7% from 3-point range. Her 62 3-pointers set a Wings rookie record. She led the roster with 1.7 steals.
Dallas took Fudd first overall in April, one year after taking Paige Bueckers in the same slot. She tore the ACL and MCL in that right knee in 2019, then tore the ACL and meniscus in it again in 2023.
Dallas Wings Can Clinch a Playoff Berth Against the Portland Fire
Tip-off against the Portland Fire is 7 p.m. CT on Tuesday at College Park Center. A Dallas win clinches the Wings’ first playoff berth since 2023.
Dallas is 22-16 and fourth in the Western Conference. Sunday’s 92-70 win over Seattle was the 22nd of the year and tied the franchise record for regular-season wins. Bueckers put up 18 of her 32 points in the first quarter and went 6-of-6 from 3-point range. Jessica Shepard finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. That was her 21st double-double this season, the most in Wings history.
Six games remain, four at College Park Center. The Connecticut Sun visit on Aug. 30. Dallas’ next game is Sept. 17 against the Los Angeles Sparks. The season ends Sept. 23 at Seattle.
The Wings also have Haley Jones and Christyn Williams signed to development contracts.
