Paige Bueckers entered the WNBA with tremendous expectations as the first overall pick in the 2025 Draft, but her start to life as a professional has been a tough transition as she mirrors Caitlin Clark.
Teaming up with the veteran star, Arike Ogunbowale, at the Dallas Wings, there was a buzz the outfit could become a competitive force but the reality has proven starkly different, with a 1-11 record.
A narrow 88-84 defeat to the Las Vegas Aces on June 13, marking their seventh straight loss and condemned the team to remain last in the Western Conference with the worst record in the WNBA.
Despite the team’s continued struggles, there was an encouraging individual performance from Bueckers, offering a glimpse into what the franchise envisioned in drafting – a story similar to Clark‘s start with the Indiana Fever.
The UConn Huskies graduate finished with 16 points, five assists, two rebounds, and two steals, although her shooting was inefficient, hitting only seven of 19 field goal attempts and missing both three-point tries.
Her early adversity draws parallels to Clark‘s 2024, who, despite immense hype, found her year defined as much by her individual brilliance as it was by Indiana’s overall struggle to win games as they finished .500.
The same experience may now be playing out in Dallas. While Bueckers has shown flashes of star potential, the burden of turning around a franchise has proven to be a steep learning curve.
As the Wings move deeper into the season, the focus will shift from just development to results. But much like Clark, Paige may need to endure setbacks before fully establishing herself as a transformative figure in the league.
Clark set for WNBA return on Saturday, June 14
While Bueckers endures a challenging first campaign, Clark, is set to return for the Fever. Clark had missed five games with a quadriceps injury but is expected to rejoin the lineup on Saturday against the New York Liberty.
Without her, the team had struggled and went 2-3 in form, and that’s entirely understandable considering she was producing 19 points, 9.3 assists, six rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game before injury.
“As long as we don’t have any regressions, she’s going to be ready to roll,” Fever head coach Stephanie White said of Clark‘s return to the starting line-up, which comes at a good time against the 9-0 Liberty.
“I’m really excited,” Clark said. “I think it’s definitely been a process.
“I think the hardest part is when you like begin to feel really good and then it’s just a process of working yourself back into actually getting up and down and getting out there with my teammates.”
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