Paige Bueckers’ first WNBA season has been a tale of two realities. Days before being chosen as the No. 1 overall pick by the Dallas Wings, she led UConn to a National Championship as the team’s centerpiece. Fast forward to the twilight of her rookie campaign, and the Wings are languishing at 8-24, the league’s second-worst record, with fading playoff hopes just 12 games from the finish line. Yet, Bueckers has exceeded sky-high expectations individually. She’s the only player this season to score in double digits every game, a streak spanning 25 outings, with 13 of those hitting 20 points or more.
If she keeps this up through her final dozen contests, she’d join an elite group-Hall of Famer Cynthia Cooper and three-time MVP A’ja Wilson-among rookies with no single-digit scoring games. In her latest outing, despite another Wings loss, Bueckers became the fastest rookie in WNBA history to amass 450+ points, 100+ rebounds, and 100+ assists, cementing her as Dallas’ MVP and a two-time Rookie of the Month winner.
You’d think the Rookie of the Year award is hers to lose, but Washington Mystics’ Sonia Citron, the No. 3 pick from Notre Dame, is making a strong case, even if her star doesn’t shine as brightly as Bueckers’ yet.
Citron’s Surge Challenges Bueckers in ROY Race
In a head-to-head clash Sunday, Paige Bueckers and the Dallas Wings fell 91-78 to Sonia Citron’s Washington Mystics. Bueckers tallied 17 points, but Citron and fellow rookie Kiki Iriafen stole the show, combining for 42 points. Citron dropped 18 on an efficient 7-of-10 shooting, marking her eighth straight double-digit game and fueling her late push for Rookie of the Year. Bueckers, the consensus favorite since being drafted first overall in 2025, has dazzled as Dallas’ top scorer and one of the league’s premier all-around guards.
Both she and Citron earned 2025 All-Star nods, alongside Iriafen, with Bueckers standing out as a starter among just four guards. Over her last eight games since July 26, Citron has averaged 17.6 points, shooting a sizzling 53.8% from the field and 46.7% from three. The big difference I see is how opponents game-plan for the Wings versus the Mystics. Against the Wings, teams often double-team Bueckers, while Citron is only now being recognized as a serious threat, likely facing tougher defenses soon.
Bueckers leads the rookie class with 18.5 points (seventh league-wide), 5.3 assists (ninth), and ranks fourth in steals, the only rookie in the top 10 across all three categories. Citron trails at 14.8 points, but her team’s stronger position, bolstered by All-Stars like Iriafen and Brittney Sykes (traded to Seattle for Alysha Clark), gives her an edge in wins.
Citron’s Longshot Bid and Road Ahead for Both Rookies
While it seems unlikely for Citron to overtake Bueckers for the Rookie of the Year award, if she sustains her hot streak through the season’s end and Bueckers-fingers crossed-suffers an injury or a sharp decline, Citron could sneak in, as could her teammate Kiki Iriafen, who claimed Rookie of the Month in May. Bueckers is chasing a historic scoring mark, with 463 points in 25 games, eyeing Caitlin Clark’s rookie record of 769 across 40 games last season. Staying healthy could see her break it, adding a bright spot to the Wings’ rough 8-24 campaign.
The Wings face a daunting week, starting tomorrow against the Indiana Fever, who’ve beaten them in all three meetings this season and will likely be without Caitlin Clark. Then, they take on the surging Los Angeles Sparks on Friday, riding an 8-2 stretch fueled by Cameron Brink’s return, before facing the red-hot Aces on Sunday. For Citron and the playoff-hopeful Mystics, the schedule includes a Wednesday clash with the Valkyries and a Friday matchup against the Fever.
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