Paige Bueckers is having a monster season as a rookie with the Dallas Wings, reminding fans why she was the No. 1 pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
The former UConn Huskies standout, who’ve won the national championship with the college basketball powerhouse, shows that she can be one of the faces of the league for many years to come.
Bueckers has 12.7, the biggest PIE (Player Impact Estimate, a good tool to use to figure out the individual impact that a player is having on their teams’ chances at winning contests) amongst rookies who have played a majority of games this regular season.
Bueckers looks confused with her coach
Despite Paige Bueckers‘ great campaign, the All-Star guard hasn’t done enough to carry the Dallas Wings through a good 2025 season. The Texas franchise still remain one of the worst teams in the league, sitting at a dismal 7-18 record, only above the Connecticut Sun, who are 3-20.
And her frustration has shown as recently as of Friday, when the Wings lost to the Golden State Valkyries 86-76. During a tense timeout late in the third quarter, Wings assistant coach Chris Koclanes outlined a play that got Bueckers confused and lost.
Sitting right in the middle of the circle, arms draped over her knees, Paige raised an eyebrow and tilted her head ever so slightly, her face caught between curiosity and skepticism. Fans were quick to catch that and are hoping that Dallas can turn things around quickly.
Paige had a good game despite the loss
Paige Bueckers tied for the game high with 17 points while posting a game-best six assists against the Golden State Valkyries. She led four Wings in double figures to go along with Arike Ogunbowale (16) and California natives Haley Jones (10) and DiJonai Carrington (13).
The Wings shot 40% or better for the fourth straight game and made double-digit threes (10) for the third consecutive contest, but shot a season-low .632 from the free-throw line and corralled under 30 rebounds (29) for just the fourth time this season
Dallas returns home to begin a busy homestretch of four games in six days, starting on Sunday when the Wings host the Las Vegas Aces.
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