Paige Bueckers entered the WNBA with sky-high expectations, and in many ways, she’s delivered beyond them.
The Dallas Wings rookie took the league by storm, becoming the fastest player in WNBA history to record 400 points and 100 assists, reaching the mark in just 22 games. That put her in elite company, tying the feat set by Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper and surpassing the pace set by Caitlin Clark just one season earlier.
Her dominance reached a climax in a thrilling performance against the Los Angeles Sparks. In a win-or-go-home matchup, Bueckers exploded for 44 points on 17-of-21 shooting, a jaw-dropping 81% from the field. That made her the first player in league history to score 40+ points on better than 80% shooting. She didn’t just announce her arrival; she planted a flag.
But as often happens in sports, greatness invites resistance. Following that performance, Bueckers’ production slipped. She managed just 11 points in a loss to Seattle, and her streak of double-digit scoring ended in the game after. Wings head coach Chris Koclanes responded with calm: “We’ve got to learn from it and continue to grow.”
Analyst Robin Lundberg noted a key shift – defenses are now treating Bueckers like they treated Caitlin Clark.
“It feels like WNBA defenses have taken guarding her personally,” he said, pointing to the increased intensity and targeted double-teams. Nneka Ogwumike confirmed that all five Seattle defenders were zeroed in on stopping her, a rare defensive focus usually reserved for superstar players.
The Caitlin Clark treatment
What separates Bueckers from Clark isn’t just playstyle, it’s support. Clark had Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston, and NaLyssa Smith to share the offensive load in her rookie campaign. That balance made it harder for defenses to collapse on Clark without consequence.
Bueckers doesn’t have that luxury. She leads Dallas with 19.0 points per game. Behind her, Maddy Siegrist is the only consistent scoring option at 12.1. Arike Ogunbowale, the team’s usual go-to scorer, has been sidelined.
Beyond that, Dallas has only two other players averaging in double figures, and one of those, rookie Amy Okonkwo, reached it largely due to a pair of breakout games.
The result? Defenses know the formula: smother Bueckers, and the Wings’ offense struggles. While Clark had help to punish double-teams, Bueckers is often left stranded. The rookie has proven she belongs in the league’s upper echelon, but if Dallas doesn’t find answers soon, her brilliance may not be enough to carry them alone.
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