When the Dallas Wings launched their All-Star campaign for Paige Bueckers, they dropped a caption that had the whole internet nodding like. “It’s almost like she’s been here before,” they wrote, and honestly? Truer words have never been typed. Despite missing time with a concussion and then an injury, Paige is still putting up the 13th-most points per game in the entire WNBA. As a rookie, that is not an easy feat. And among the 12 players above her? Only two are logging more minutes, both vets, of course.
But impressive? Absolutely. Shocking? Not in the slightest. Paige’s legend began long before she stepped onto a WNBA court. Back at UConn, she owned the college basketball scene as she dropped buckets, dimes, and, well, jaws. A five-star recruit who played like a five-tool weapon, she led the Huskies deep into NCAA runs. She became the first player in any league, college, NBA, or WNBA, to shoot 50/40/90 and lead the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. And then remember her final home game at UConn? The farewell tour? Bueckers dropped 34 points (tying her career high), went 14-of-21 from the field, casually added 4 assists, 4 steals, and 3 triples, and walked off the court with a 91–57 win.
So, no wonder she just does not look like a rookie. Just hear from Breanna Stewart herself, who was just awed by Bueckers, “What she’s done this year, in such a year of unknown, is actually ridiculous. She doesn’t look like a freshman, that’s for sure,” Stewart said. And Aces coach Becky Hammon took it a notch further, endowing her with a degree. “For a first-round pick, she’s got incredible poise and maturity..She looks like she’s been playing this game forever. She plays the right way, is what jumps out to me every time,” Hammon said. “She’s beyond her years. Most rookies, especially in a pick and roll, like, how well do they read, what’s their reading level? She reads at a doctorate level.“
She proved them all right once again. In what was supposed to be the first WNBA showdown between Caitlin Clark and Paige Bueckers, only one of them suited up, but Paige made it count. While Clark sat out with a groin injury, Bueckers went off and made WNBA history. She became the first player ever to record a game with 25+ points, 5+ assists, 2+ steals, 2+ blocks, and 0 turnovers. That’s not just impressive – that’s a clinic. Scoring, playmaking, defense, ball control… that stat line checks every box. And just cements why Bueckers has always been called an all-rounder.
Paige Bueckers becomes the first player in WNBA history to record a game with:
25+ PTS
5+ AST
2+ STL
2+ BLK
0 TOV pic.twitter.com/7mmqxieiId
— Polymarket Hoops (@PolymarketHoops) June 28, 2025
She’s been making the whole rookie transition look way too easy. In her very first game, she dropped 10 points, then had one with a 12-point, 10-assist double-double. It marked her first career double-double, and she only needed three games to do it. With that, she became the quickest player in WNBA history to drop a 10-and-10 performance. By game five, she already had 60+ points and 30+ assists, something no player in WNBA history had ever done in their first five outings.
Just last week, Bueckers helped Dallas grab its third win of the season, and once again, she was the engine. In front of a Connecticut crowd, she dropped 21 points with two rebounds, seven assists, and two steals in an 86–83 win over the Sun. It was her fourth 20-point game of the season, and incredibly, that’s as many as all other WNBA rookies combined.
What makes it even more remarkable is that she’s done all this in only 10 games, after missing four earlier in the season due to a concussion and illness. That means she’s scored 20+ in nearly half the games she’s played. Currently, she’s leading all rookies in both points and assists, averaging 18.0 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. Even with Dallas struggling at the bottom of the West, Bueckers has been a shining light, consistently delivering big numbers and even bigger moments.
Wings fall flat as Fever’s defense steps up without Caitlin Clark
The Dallas Wings had everything lined up for a statement win – home crowd, sold-out arena, and no Caitlin Clark on the other side. Instead, they fell flat. The Fever, playing the second night of a back-to-back without their star guard, walked into the arena and left with a 94–86 win. For the Wings, it was a frustrating missed opportunity. Arike Ogunbowale didn’t score until late in the second quarter, and rookie Paige Bueckers, after a quick layup and a technical free throw early, went quiet through most of the first half. As one Dallas staffer put it before tipoff, “We’re pros, so it’s not going to waver, and it’s not going to change the level of intensity.” But that energy never showed up.
Dallas is now 4–12, sitting dead last in the WNBA standings, and the problems are piling up. Without DiJonai Carrington, who was ruled out for her third straight game with a rib injury, they’ve lost a key two-way engine. In just her first season with the Wings, Carrington was averaging 11.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game—plus 1.4 steals and solid defensive versatility. She had been the glue that helped balance out this roster, and without her, the burden on Bueckers and Ogunbowale has been heavy. And when those two start slow? There just isn’t enough help around them. Li Yueru, a fan-favorite, was repeatedly targeted in pick-and-roll actions and had to deal with the physicality of Aliyah Boston all night—it was a rough defensive outing for her.
Meanwhile, Indiana is quietly sharpening its defensive edge again. Earlier this season, they held a top-three defensive rating at 93.9 through five games—and even with Clark sidelined, their offense has stayed top six. Head coach Stephanie White knows where her team’s identity lies. “On the defensive end of the floor in particular, we’re going to be a work in progress,” she said ahead of the matchup. But the progress is starting to show. Aliyah Boston is just 0.1 blocks per game behind A’ja Wilson for the league lead and continues to anchor the paint, while Lexie Hull is swarming ball-handlers on the perimeter. Add that to the grit they showed on the road with only one night’s rest, and it’s clear: the Fever are growing, and Dallas just couldn’t match the focus.
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