Dallas Wings head coach Jose Fernandez had to know it was going to be difficult to get his team back to playing winning basketball. After going a combined 19-65 over the past two seasons, Fernandez was picked to lead the team back to playing respectable basketball.
But that’s not going to happen unless everyone is focused on the same goal. Just three games into the regular season, Fernandez ripped his locker room, calling out players for being selfish and lacking accountability.
Following Thursday’s 90-86 loss to the Minnesota Lynx, Fernandez was asked about comments he made earlier in his press conference about “emotions surrounding minutes and starting.” Fernandez took the opportunity to double down on those comments, immediately saying, “There’s selfishness in this locker room.”
“You gotta look in the mirror and be accountable.”
Jose Fernandez closed his postgame press conference with this: https://t.co/3GbcA74Pyopic.twitter.com/FbGKSn11Fs
— Drake (@DrakeKeeler) May 15, 2026
His full quote read:
“It’s real talk and it’s accountability. That’s what I told them. I go, ‘There’s selfishness in this locker room.’ There is. You gotta look in the mirror and be accountable on how you play. And don’t get upset if you think that you should have played more, or you didn’t play enough, or you didn’t get the shots that you think you should have gotten.
“Really good teams, they don’t give a s*** about that. You know what they give a s*** about? They give a s*** about winning, because that’s what matters.”
Following the loss, the Wings dropped to 1-2 on the season. After winning the first game of the season — a 107-104 victory over the Indiana Fever — the Wings have dropped the last two contests. Every game has been close, however, with the team’s biggest loss being just five points.
While that’s probably better than most expected considering the Wings’ previous struggles, Fernandez clearly isn’t happy with the way some of his players have responded to open the year.
He didn’t name names, but Fernandez will have to hope his post-game message resonates with certain players on the team. Given how close the team has come to starting the year 3-0, the Wings are showing more potential compared to the last two seasons.
The only way they’ll reach that potential is if Fernandez and the players are on the same page, though. After taking a bold step and calling out the locker room, Fernandez will have to hope his message will have its intended effect.