Dallas Wings Press Release

ARLINGTON, TX – The Dallas Wings have hired two-time WNBA All-Star Vickie Johnson to serve as the team’s head coach, the organization announced today. Johnson joins the Wings after serving as an Assistant Coach with the Las Vegas Aces franchise.

“After an extensive search and interview process, I’m pleased to introduce and welcome Vickie Johnson as the head coach of the Dallas Wings,” President & CEO Greg Bibb stated. “We conducted a competitive search process and we were diligent in how we approached this important hire. While there were a number of highly qualified and impressive finalists for the position, it became clear Vickie was the right person to lead our team moving forward.”

Johnson, 48, helped guide Las Vegas to the best record in the WNBA this past summer. The Aces made the team’s second consecutive trip to the WNBA Playoffs and earned a berth in the 2020 WNBA Finals.

“I would like to thank Greg Bibb, Bill Cameron and the Wings ownership group for having faith in my ability to lead this team forward,” said Johnson. “Greg and the basketball operations department have done a tremendous job of drafting top talent over the past four years. I am excited to be able to work with a promising group of young and talented players. My goal is to build a strong foundation and a championship team. I know that it will take time, hard work and dedication, and I am up for the challenge. I have established Dallas as my home base since 2004 and I have been an active member of this community. I am now thrilled to be able to coach in the city that I love. “

Johnson was drafted twelfth overall by the New York Liberty during the inaugural WNBA season of 1997. She became a two-time WNBA All-Star (1999, 2001) and the first player in franchise history to record 2,000 points. Johnson would go on to score 3,000 points with the Liberty in eight seasons before finishing her career with the San Antonio Sliver Stars from 2006 to 2009, winning the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award in 2008. In 2011, Johnson was hired by the Silver Stars as an assistant coach. She served in that role for seven years before spending one year as the head coach in San Antonio. When the Silver Stars relocated to Las Vegas in 2018, Johnson was retained as an assistant coach on Bill Laimbeer’s staff.

“I’m really excited about Coach Johnson coming on board,” Dallas Wings guard and 2020 WNBA leading scorer Arike Ogunbowale stated. “She has a great reputation and it will be exciting to be coached by someone who played in the WNBA. We’re a young team, and I know I’m looking forward to her leadership.”

A Louisiana native, Johnson was a two-letter athlete in high school before beginning her collegiate career at Louisiana Tech University in 1992. She was the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year in 1995 and a two-time All-American, leading her team to the NCAA Championship game in 1994. Johnson ended her collegiate career with 1,891 points and 831 rebounds, earning an induction into the Louisiana Tech Hall of Fame in 2007.

“The future is very bright in Dallas,” said Wings’ veteran Allisha Gray. “And with the hire of Vickie Johnson I’m sure she will do great things for the Dallas Wings organization.”